PoliticsNow: NT’s Howard Springs facility to quarantine returning Aussies from UK, India
Qantas charter flights to repatriate stranded Australians from UK, India with Howard Springs to be used for quarantine.
- Victoria job losses swamp gains
- NSW on alert with 6 new cases
- Trump’s son also tested positive
- Andrews’ office vandalised
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of federal and state politics amid the ongoing pandemic. New Qantas charter flights to repatriate stranded Australians in the United Kingdom and India are expected to start within a week, with the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs facility to be used for hotel quarantine.
Scott Morrison has said today’s jobs figures would have shown employment growth if not for the economic setback in Victoria. Unemployment has risen slightly to 6.9pc, as NSW virus clusters grow with six new locally transmitted cases. Victoria records six new cases and no deaths.
Greg Brown 11pm: Fitzgibbon gives Albanese visit a miss
Anthony Albanese visited the NSW Hunter Valley on Thursday but the region’s most senior MP, Joel Fitzgibbon, rebuffed his Labor leader in favour of visiting a school and childcare centre.
The Australian understands the Opposition Leader’s office last week invited the outspoken resources spokesman to campaign in the electorate of Newcastle with Mr Albanese. The electorate is next door to Mr Fitzgibbon’s seat of Hunter.
Mr Fitzgibbon told Mr Albanese’s office he had prior engagements.
Mr Albanese was joined by other Hunter Valley Labor MPs including Paterson MP Meryl Swanson, Shortland MP Pat Conroy and Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon. Mr Fitzgibbon instead visited Mulbring Public School and a childcare centre in Glendale, both in his seat.
Mr Fitzgibbon has been a controversial figure in the party since the election over his outspoken backing of coal and gas, and freelancing on climate policy. Mr Albanese defended the resources spokesman when asked if the Hunter MP was in danger of losing the former Labor stronghold to the Nationals. Labor suffered a primary vote swing against it of 14.5 per cent at the federal election last year as One Nation increased its vote by 21.6 per cent. On a two-party-preferred basis Mr Fitzgibbon holds the seat by a 3 per cent margin from the Nationals.
Read the full story here.
Steve Jackson 10:30pm: Tight-lipped over taxpayer-funded trips
Gladys Berejiklian refuses to reveal whether she met up with secret beau Daryl Maguire on taxpayer-funded trips to Wagga Wagga after he was forced to quit parliament in disgrace, despite vowing to be “open and transparent in answering every single question” about the scandal.
Astute political observers would have had the opportunity to see Mr Maguire winning and dining the state’s most eligible political bachelorette on a number of her trips to his electorate during their covert relationship, according to interview transcripts tendered at the Independent Commission Against Corruption late on Thursday afternoon.
One of the shamed former Wagga MP’s friends, Karen Barbey, told investigators last year she could recall meeting Ms Berejiklian over dinner at Mr Maguire’s home and during an evening out at the restaurant in the city’s Romano’s Hotel, which is famed for its pub classics — including its $20 chicken schnitzel and chips and $14 beef nachos — but could not place the relevant dates.
It was unclear whether the Premier was in Wagga Wagga for business or pleasure.
Continue reading here.
David Penberthy 10pm: Subs bonanza in $900m package
French defence giant Naval will demonstrate its commitment to using Australian manufacturers to build its submarines with the announcement on Friday of a $900m package for local builders to kick-start construction of the 12 Attack-class submarines.
Affirming what it calls a “50-year commitment to Australia”, Naval Group has decided against using French manufacturers for key components in the subs, scotching fears that much of the government’s $50bn investment in the project would effectively be spent overseas.
Naval Group is instead calling for expressions of interest from Australian firms to build and provide major components and features of the submarines in a $900m package the company is hailing as “the first of many” to benefit Australian manufacturers and suppliers.
This first package covers 23 major items of equipment within the submarines, including the steering gear system, the weapons handling system and main shaft line for the submarines, a move that Naval Group says will support hundreds of Australian jobs.
The announcement of preference for Australian manufacturers is likely to cause some consternation in Europe, where defence contractors have been eyeing off much of the Attack-class work.
Friday’s announcement will be made at Naval Group’s new offices at Port Adelaide by Naval Group executives and federal government representatives, including Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham.
Read the full story here.
Sarah Elks 9:30pm: Watchdog eyes ‘property developer’ Palmer
Clive Palmer’s massive spending on the October 31 Queensland election is in question after it emerged the billionaire is trying to get two huge property developments approved on the Gold Coast.
Under Queensland’s Electoral Act, it is illegal for property developers to make political donations and for parties to accept them, with people found to have knowingly circumvented the ban facing a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail or a $195,825 fine.
Mr Palmer denies being a property developer under the act, and the state’s electoral watchdog says all investigations into alleged wrongdoing are confidential.
Adam Creighton 9pm: Those with the most to lose have suffered dearly
It’s been a good pandemic for the bureaucracy, banking and wealth management, the most parasitic parts of the economy: same or more pay, work from home, and more colleagues with which to discuss the importance of lockdowns to “save lives”.
Since February millions have been shunted onto JobSeeker and JobKeeper, hundreds of thousands have left the job market altogether, but public administration and financial services have increased their headcount, the governor of the Reserve Bank pointed out on Thursday.
The hardest hit sectors have been those that produce things households and businesses actually want: construction, manufacturing, hospitality, arts and recreation, for instance.
Karl Rove 8.30pm: Trump has no time left to spare
The 2020 campaign has entered its stretch run. Though early voting just began, at least 14.9 million people have already cast a ballot. This points to an election turnout that will eclipse 2016’s total of 138 million votes.
President Trump is now trailing nationally by double digits in public polls. Fresh off recovering from coronavirus, he returned to the trail Monday with a rally in Sanford, Florida.
In a campaign that has often veered toward the dark side, Mr Trump was a happy warrior that night, displaying energy and pizzazz. He clearly enjoyed bathing in his supporters’ adoration and even briefly danced to the Village People’s “YMCA” as the rally wrapped up. It was as if he understood, at least for one night, that Americans want to support someone who thinks he’s got a real chance and is fighting through to victory.
AFP 8pm: Ardern vows to quit if she loses poll
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she will step down as leader of the centre-left Labour Party if opinion polls prove wrong and she loses Saturday’s general election.
The prospect appears remote, with Labour enjoying a 15-point lead in the polls, but Ms Ardern responded with a firm “No” when asked during a televised debate whether she would remain as opposition leader if the vote does not go her way.
The 40-year-old — who has led New Zealand through a string of crises in the past three years, culminating in the COVID-19 pandemic — said her commitment to the job had demanded sacrifice.
“I never take for granted that I’m here. I give my everything,” she said on Thursday.
“No matter what crisis is thrown my way, you will always be assured I will give my everything to this job, even if that means a huge sacrifice.”
Ms Ardern said even if she was not in parliament she would still be involved in politics in some capacity, saying she wanted to effect change and take debate beyond mudslinging insults.
Rosie Lewis 7.30pm: Morrison cancels national cabinet over technical hitch
Scott Morrison has been forced to cancel Friday’s national cabinet meeting after technical issues with a Royal Australian Air Force plane delayed his departure from the Queensland election campaign trail to Sydney.
National cabinet has not met for a month, due to the federal budget being unveiled last week.
It is likely it will be rescheduled for next week.
READ MORE: Principles not thrown out window: A-G
Ewin Hannan 7.15pm: Underpaid workers recover $123m
More than $123m in underpayments was recovered for 25,583 workers during the last financial year, including $90m in underpayments self-reported by employers.
Court-ordered penalties against employers for underpayments totalled $4.3m for the 12 months, while Fair Work inspectors issued fines totalling $891,000.
Contrition payments of almost $1.5m were made by employers
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the prevalence and the scale of big corporations underpaying their workers was extremely disappointing and concerning.
“I strongly encourage the CEOs and boards of Australia’s largest corporations to ensure they are complying with workplace laws and to advise us immediately if they identify significant underpayments.”
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said this week unions and employers on a government’s industrial relations working group had largely agreed that employers would get immunity from civil penalties where underpayments were inadvertent and workers were quickly backpaid.
READ MORE: Verdict on Trump’s economic legacy
David Ross 6.45pm: More high-risk warnings in Victoria
High-risk warnings were issued over two more Victorian locations after a list of 10 others was announced earlier on Thursday.
Anyone who visited Coles at Tooronga Village in Glen Iris on October 10 between 12.30pm and 1.10pm or David Jones at Malvern Central on October 1 between 4pm and 4.30pm, October 2 between 1.30pm and 2pm and October 5 between 2pm and 2.20pm is urged to get tested immediately and isolate if symptoms appear.
However, the locations are no longers risks and people can visit.
READ MORE: Why Greta Thunberg refuses to ‘wake up, grow up, shut up’
AFP 6.15pm: Digital giants censor Biden criticism
US President Donald Trump has rebuked Facebook and Twitter for blocking links to a New York Post article purporting to expose corrupt dealings by election rival Joe Biden and his son in Ukraine.
The newspaper said this week it had obtained a computer abandoned by Hunter Biden that implicated his father in his Ukraine business affairs.
The former vice-president and Democrat nominee for the November 3 election has repeatedly denied any such involvement. “Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad,” the newspaper’s headline read.
As Mr Biden’s campaign denied he had ever met the businessman, Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) placed restrictions on linking to the article, saying there were questions over its veracity.
“This is part of our standard process to reduce the spread of misinformation,” said Facebook spokesman Andy Stone.
Twitter said it was limiting the article’s dissemination due to questions about “the origins of the materials” included in the article.
Republicans were outraged by what they called partisan censorship. Mr Trump, who trails Mr Biden in polls less than three weeks before the presidential election, blasted the two social media giants. “So terrible that Facebook and Twitter took down the story of ‘Smoking Gun’ emails related to Sleepy Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, in the @NYPost,” Mr Trump posted on Twitter. “It is only the beginning for them. There is nothing worse than a corrupt politician.”
Jack Houghton 5.45pm: Trad walks out of Sky News interview
Former Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has walked out of an interview with Sky News after being asked why the Premier has ruled out her return to cabinet.
Asked whether Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told her she would not be returning to cabinet before announcing it publicly, Ms Trad said she had made clear she “wasn’t seeking to return” before abruptly ending the interview on Thursday.
Ms Trad told Sky News it had been “a pretty rough year for me and my family”, citing that as the main reason why she did not want to a cabinet role after the October 31 state election.
READ MORE: The verdict on Trump’s economic legacy
Yoni Bashan 5.15pm: Raided MP eyes return to parliament
A Labor backbencher whose home and parliamentary office were raided as part of a national security investigation has indicated he will return to parliament from next week, claiming he is not suspected of any wrongdoing.
Upper house MLC Shaoquett Moselmane stepped aside from parliament in June following an unprecedented raid by Australian Federal Police and inquiries made by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
His membership with the Australian Labor Party was also suspended.
The investigation remains ongoing and the subject of High Court of Australia proceedings. While officials never publicly confirmed the focal point of the investigation, it is understood to relate to the possible infiltration of the NSW Parliament by Chinese Communist Party agents through the office of Mr Moselmane.
Also raided was Mr Moselmane’s part-time staffer, John Zhang, considered to be a person of interest to the case. Mr Zhang has commenced proceedings challenging the execution of the warrants in the High Court.
Rachel Baxendale 4.50pm: Breakdown of Victoria’s case numbers
Victoria has recorded six new cases of coronavirus since Wednesday, with the total number of cases now at 20,315, according the Health Department.
No new COVID-19 deaths have been reported since Wednesday, leaving the death toll for the state at 816 people.
● 4278 cases may indicate community transmission – a decrease of four since Wednesday
● 175 cases are active in Victoria
● 21 cases of coronavirus are in hospital, but no one is in intensive care
● 19,259 people have recovered from the coronavirus
● A total of 2,890,495 test results have been received, which is an increase of 15,439 since Wednesday.
Of the 175 current active cases in Victoria:
● 167 are in metropolitan Melbourne
● Eight are in regional local government areas. There are five active cases are in Mitchell Shire and three in Greater Shepparton.
Of the total cases:
● 18,919 cases are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 1199 are from regional Victoria
● Total cases include 9689 men and 10,613 women
● Total number of healthcare workers: 3599. Active cases: 14
● There are 25 active cases relating to aged-care facilities
Active aged care outbreaks with the highest active case numbers are as follows:
● 13 active cases are linked to Estia Aged Care Facility Keilor (total cases: 52)
● Five active cases are linked to Uniting Age Well Preston (total cases: 5)
● Three active cases are linked to Embracia Moonee Valley Aged Care Facility (total cases: 83)
Non-aged-care outbreaks with the highest number of active cases include:
● 14 active cases are Wednesday linked to the Chadstone Shopping Centre (total cases: 37)
● 11 active cases are linked to the Box Hill Hospital (total cases: 12)
● Nine cases are linked to the south-eastern community (total cases: 9)
● Five active cases are currently linked to the Frankston Family (total cases: 13)
● Five active cases are currently linked to the Oddfellows Café in Kilmore (total cases: 6)
● Five active cases are currently linked to the Elwood community (total cases: 4)
READ MORE: How luxury hotels are keeping the lights on
Rachel Baxendale 4.20pm: Shepparton tests to hit 2000 in one day
Health authorities in Shepparton, Victoria, are pushing to test 2000 people on Thursday — up from more than 1300 on Wednesday — as well as 500 tests in Kyabram, Numurkah and Cobram. Of the 175 active cases in Victoria, three are in Greater Shepparton.
If you have visited any of these high-risk location, you should get tested and quarantine for 14 days.
● Central Tyre Service, Welsford Street, Shepparton, on Wednesday, September 30, to Tuesday this week.
● Mooroopna Golf Club Members Bar Sunday, October 4, from 11am to 2pm and Sunday, October 11, from 11am to 2pm
● Bombshell Hairdressing, Fryers Street, Shepparton, on Wednesday, October 7, from 9.30am
● Thai Orchid Restaurant, Nixon Street, Shepparton, on Wednesday, October 7, from 7pm
● Shepparton Market Place Medical Centre, Midland Highway, Shepparton, Thursday, October 8, from 9.15am to 10.15am
If you have visited any of the locations of concern below you should get tested and stay at home while you await your results. In addition, people should be vigilant for symptoms of COVID-19 and get tested again at the first sign of any symptoms.
● Bunnings Warehouse Shepparton, Benalla Road, Shepparton, Wednesday, September 30, from 5pm to 7pm
● McDonalds Shepparton North, Numurkah Road, Shepparton, Saturday, October 3, from 12pm to 2pm
● Lemon Tree Cafe, Fryers Street, Shepparton, Wednesday, October 7, to Monday of this week
● Mooroopna Golf Club Pro Shop, Sunday, October 11, from 11am to 2pm
● Caltex Kalkallo Service Centre South Bound, 1340 Hume Freeway, Kalkallo, September 30, from 7pm to 9pm.
David Ross 3.50pm: Sydney outbreak sparks alert in southeast
The outbreak in southwest Sydney has triggered an alert for the city’s southeast.
The alert relates to one of the 11 new cases of COVID-19 in NSW that were revealed on Thursday.
Tracing is underway and close contacts of the infected person are isolating.
READ MORE: Experts rethink lockdowns as Covid cases surge
Lucy Fisher, Will Humphries, Kieran Andrews 3.15pm: UK under strain amid border restrictions
British border restrictions are to be introduced as pressures over coronavirus strain the Union and support for Scottish independence rises.
The Welsh government announced its intention to implement border rules that will prevent Britons from travelling into Wales from areas with high infection rates.
First Minister Mark Drakeford unveiled the plan in response to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s refusal to meet his demand to make travel guidance in English hotspots mandatory instead of advisory.
The Labour politician insisted that the border measures, which will come into force on Friday, would stop outsiders “bringing the virus with them” as he declared that he was determined to “keep Wales safe”. At present local restrictions block people moving beyond their country boundary without a reasonable excuse.
Mr Drakeford said evidence from public health professionals suggested the virus is “moving from east to west across the UK” and “is concentrating in urban areas and then spreading to more sparsely populated areas as a result of people travelling”.
He said it was designed to target holidaymakers travelling to rural areas of Wales where the incidence of Covid-19 remain low and where there is not the medical infrastructure to deal with an outbreak.
From Friday night, local time, if people travel from a high incidence area, they will be breaking the law in Wales. Police forces will stop cars and try to persuade them to go home and if they refuse, they will be handed a fixed penalty notice.
The Police Federation of England and Wales criticised the plans, describing them as “unenforceable”.
The ban puts pressure on Mr Johnson as support for Scottish independence reached a record level, according to a poll. When undecided voters were excluded, 58 per cent said they would vote “Yes” in another ballot and 42 per cent would vote “No”, the research by Ipsos Mori for STV News found. It is the highest level of pro-independence sentiment recorded by the company.
With 6 per cent of voters still to make up their minds, 55 per cent back separation with 39 per cent in favour of the Union when they are included. Senior figures in the SNP said ahead of the 2016 Scottish parliamentary election that consistent polling of about 60 per cent in favour of independence would prove that the country had changed its mind since the 2014 referendum.
Looking to the Holyrood election in May, the poll suggests the SNP enjoys a strong lead for both the constituency and regional list, at 58 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. The Conservatives are on 19 per cent in both votes, Labour, 13 per cent, the Liberal Democrats, 8 per cent, and the Greens on 9 per cent. Such a result would almost certainly put the SNP within touching distance of a Holyrood majority.
The UK government should agree to a second referendum within the next five years if the nationalists take full control of the Scottish parliament, according to 64 per cent of those surveyed. Mr Johnson has signalled that he will not countenance such a vote while he is prime minister.
The popularity of Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, appears to be critical to the surge in support for both the SNP and independence, while her opponents are struggling to cut through.
The Times
READ MORE: Why are millions of Americans voting early?
Ellen Ransley 2.41pm: Victorian woman hides in truck on Queensland border
A Victorian woman, who police found hiding behind the driver’s seat of a Queensland-bound truck, has been ordered to leave the state and fined more than $4000.
Goondiwindi police found the 41-year-old hiding in the truck at the Texas border checkpoint as part of a major COVID-19 compliance operation by Queensland Police.
The 61-year-old male driver was also hit with a $4003 fine.
Bodycam footage shows the moment a police officer finds the woman hiding in the truck’s cab, decked out with pillows and blankets.
“I didn’t know anybody could fit back there,” the officer says.
The truck was one of more than 180 heavy vehicles intercepted for compliance checks across three sites: Cunningham Highway at Goondiwindi, Leichhardt Highway at Goondiwindi and New England Highway at Wyberba.
Officers also conducted heavy vehicle road safety patrols on major highways, including intercepting vehicles for roadside breath and drug testing, as part of Wednesday’s operation.
Three truck drivers returned a positive drug test.
Acting Chief Superintendent Ray Rohweder said the operation “indicated a satisfactory overall compliance of the public health directions within the freight transport industry”.
“Officers intercepted a significant number of vehicles, and while there were some issues identified, the vast majority of truck drivers clearly understood their requirements to social distance and limit their contact to others while in Queensland,” Superintendent Rohweder said.
“Unfortunately, some drivers were not complying with laws around drug driving, fatigue management and vehicle maintenance.
“Heavy vehicle drivers have a responsibility to drive safe vehicles and drive them in a safe manner.
“We make no apologies for our enforcement actions against those drivers.”
The traffic operation, which has been planned for several weeks, followed last week’s investigation in Mackay where 16 carnival operators from Victoria were fined $4003 each after travelling around Queensland in breach of their freight pass directions.
OPERATION STATS
• 184 heavy vehicle intercepts (includes semi-trailers, road trains and oversized vehicles)
• 46 heavy vehicle traffic offences (mostly work diary and fatigue management)
• 183 RBTs, 140 RDTs
• 3 positive drug tests
• 56 police officers involved in joint operation
— NCA Newswire
READ MORE: How luxury hotels are keeping the lights on
Kieran Gair 2.15pm: What’s going on in Maguire’s ICAC hearing?
While we’re waiting for ICAC to resume its live feed following the inquiry’s switch to a private hearing due to sensitivities under discussion, it’s worth recapping some of the key developments this morning.
- Former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire has admitted he orchestrated a “drop-in” meeting between Premier Gladys Berejiklian and “tipsy” property developer Joseph Alha in 2017. On the 18th day of hearings at the ICAC, Mr Maguire said he told Mr Ahla that they could “pop in and say hello to Glad” while the pair were sharing a “glass of red” with his former chief of staff Robert Vellar.
- Mr Maguire told Ms Berejiklian that he would be able to pay off a $1.5m debt when Louise Waterhouse sold a parcel of land around the western Sydney airport zone. Counsel assisting Scott Robertson played the phone call between Ms Berejiklian and Mr Maguire. “Can you believe it, in one sale,” Mr Maguire says, referring to Badgerys Creek. “I can believe it,” Ms Berejiklian replies.
- Ms Berejiklian and Mr Maguire broke off their five-year relationship in “August or September” of this year after deciding not to go public with their secret relationship.
- Mr Maguire was told he would be “looked after” by business associate William Luong if Louise Waterhouse managed to sell the land she owned around the western Sydney airport zone. Mr Maguire believed the sale could net almost $330m.
- Mr Maguire’s ministerial diary revealed he set up a “meet and greet” between Chinese developers and planning minister Anthony Roberts to discuss the land around the planned second Sydney airport.
- The Premier was not the only high-profile politician to whom Mr Maguire sought to connect to property developers. The inquiry heard an intercepted phone call in which Mr Maguire told developer Joe Alha he would try to arrange a meeting with Transport Minister Andrew Constance to discuss the site of a new train station.
- Mr Maguire has admitted he acted as a “door opener” for a network of Chinese business associates while he was the chair of the NSW Parliament Asia Pacific Friendship Group.
- Mr Maguire asked people to pay $1000 to come to Parliament House and listen to his secret partner Ms Berejiklian and the NSW Treasurer Dominic Perottet
speak about his candidacy at a re-election fundraiser in 2017.
FOLLOW all the ICAC developments here
Rosie Lewis 1.54pm: NT facility to quarantine returning Aussies
New Qantas charter flights to repatriate stranded Australians in the United Kingdom and India are expected to start within a week, with the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs facility to be used for hotel quarantine.
The arrangements are set to be discussed and possibly finalised at Friday’s national cabinet meeting after months of “extensive preparations”.
The Australian understands the NT, which has no commercial international flights at the moment, would have to lift its hotel quarantine cap so that the Howard Springs facility can be used for overseas arrivals.
Campaigning in Cairns for the Queensland state election, Scott Morrison said he expected more Australians to come home within a matter of days.
“We’ve been working now for some months as we’ve been getting more and more Australians home, particularly those in vulnerable situations,” the Prime Minister said.
“About a quarter of those who have been identified as vulnerable when I first made announcements of this several weeks ago, we’ve already got back.
“I’m a bit disappointed at one level. We were keen when we had those extra slots opened up for people to come back with quarantine that Cairns could have played a role in that. There are empty hotel rooms here in Cairns that could have been used for that quarantine. You’d have to ask the Premier as to why she said no to it being done here in Cairns but that’s where the decision was made.”
The top five locations for Australians overseas are India, Britain, the Philippines, Thailand and South Africa.
Late last month nearly 27,000 Australians were attempting to return home.
READ MORE: 20,000 plane seats empty as Aussies stranded
Will Glasgow 1.40pm: China wages Covid war in Qingdao
Chinese authorities say they have conducted almost nine million tests in less than a week to stamp out a coronavirus outbreak in Qingdao, a city with a population roughly twice Melbourne’s population.
On Wednesday evening, the city’s government said they had performed over 8.8 million tests and processed more than 5 million of them.
Workers, retirees and schoolchildren have all been enlisted into an outbreak Qingdao party secretary Wang Qingxian said required a “state of war” spirit.
“We must guarantee absolute safety at every corner of the schoolyard,” said Tian Ke, vice-principal at the Second Experimental Middle School in Qingdao, in an interview with the state controlled China Daily.
The extraordinary mobilisation of national resources for an outbreak that official numbers tally at less than 20 cases is the latest demonstration of China’s outwardly confident approach to managing COVID-19.
READ the full story here
Joe Kelly 1.24pm: Jobs would have grown if not for Victoria: PM
Scott Morrison has said today’s jobs figures would have shown employment growth if not for the economic setback in Victoria after the unemployment rate climbed from 6.8 to 6.9 per cent in September.
“What they show is that, bar for what we’ve seen in Victoria, we would have continued to grow the number of jobs in Australia,” the Prime Minister said.
“We’ve already had a very strong bounce back over the last few months. In the last two jobs alone, more than 170,000 jobs all around the country bar Victoria have come back into the economy.
“Sadly, 70,000, just over that, jobs have been lost in Victoria ... Down in Victoria I know they’re feeling it incredibly hard.”
Mr Morrison also appealed to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to re-open the economy, warning the extended lockdown was harming the mental health of people living in the state.
“Yesterday in Victoria we learnt of the mental health impacts of what the shutdown has required. Today we’re seeing what the economic cost of that shutdown is — 70,000 jobs lost in Victoria in the last two months,” he said.
“That’s why we’ve got to get Victoria opened safely again, so people can open their businesses again, people can get back to work again and people get on with building back that Victorian economy.”
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Henry Zeffman 1.19pm: Why are millions of Americans voting early?
The queues of Americans waiting hours to vote, weeks before the election concludes, are not always a sign of poor administration. Above all they show a voting public that is both enthusiastic and worried.
The enthusiasm seems to be higher than ever. Asked by Gallup to gauge their keenness for voting, 71 per cent of Americans said last week that they were more keen than usual. Only 18 per cent said they were less keen, a 53-point gap. Before the 2016 election that gap was nine points.
This year’s figure looks more like 2008, when the gap was 49. That election had the highest turnout since the 1960s, and many think this year’s will surpass it. — The Times
READ the full analysys of the US election here
Jack McKay 1.01pm: Palaszczuk: Party fundraisers to remain until 2022
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk won’t rule out her ministers taking part in further cash for access fundraising events before they become illegal in two years time.
As she hit the hustings in the electorate of Rockhampton on day nine of the campaign, Ms Palaszczuk claimed every party would continue holding the events before new laws begin in 2022.
It comes after The Australian revealed Queensland Labor sold access to state Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath to gambling giant Tabcorp and government-favoured consultant KPMG less than a year after she had introduced legislation to outlaw cash-for-access fundraisers.
Asked today why her ministers won’t stop holding them now, Ms Palaszczuk said: “because the laws come in in 2022”.
“We have brought in the strongest electoral reforms in the nations, that has been widely celebrated,” she said.
“That comes into play in two years time, as does the public funding at the next election.
“Until then, parties need to fundraise, but everything must be done in accordance with the law.
“We have to abide by the laws and that’s exactly what we will be doing.”
READ MORE: Labor sold gambling giant access to A-G
Charlie Peel 12.38pm: Deputy premier under fire for spreading ‘dirt’
The Liberal National Party’s Candidate in the Townsville seat of Mundingburra has had to fend off a personal attack after Deputy Premier Steven Miles handed out a supposed dirt sheet to journalists.
READ the full story here
Staff writers 12.30pm: Eight flights set to bring stranded Aussies home
Eight repatriation flights are expected to fly into Darwin in coming weeks, with two planes likely to arrive within the next fortnight, the NT News reports.
It’s understood Prime Minister Scott Morrison, potentially with NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner who is flying to Sydney today, will announce the flights this afternoon.
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Robyn Ironside 12.16pm: Virgin CEO Scurrah to exit airline
Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah will leave the airline once the sale to Bain Capital is complete, with former Jetstar CEO Jayne Hrdlicka to replace him.
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 12.05pm: Active cases down, testing rates up in Victoria
Victoria now has 175 known active cases of coronavirus — a decrease of seven since Wednesday.
Of six new cases on Thursday, two have so far been linked to known outbreaks while four are under investigation.
Two previously reported cases have been reclassified, meaning the net increase in cases on Thursday is four.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the four cases still under investigation are likely to be linked to family clusters.
There are 21 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus on Thursday, none of whom are in intensive care.
This compares with 23 in hospital on Wednesday.
Victoria’s coronavirus death toll remains 816, with no deaths reported in the 24 hours to Thursday.
There were 15,439 tests processed in the 24 hours to Thursday, including 1862 in the northern Victorian town of Shepparton, after locals flocked to get tested following three positive cases there on Tuesday.
This brings the total number of tests processed in Victoria since the pandemic began to 2,890,495.
The positive test rate on Thursday is 0.04 per cent — the same as on Wednesday and the lowest rate for at least three months.
There are 25 active cases linked to aged care on Thursday, down from 30 on Wednesday, and 14 active cases linked to health workers, including aged care workers, down from 16 on Wednesday.
All six of Thursdays new cases are located in metropolitan Melbourne.
The local government areas with the highest active caseloads are Wyndham, in the city’s outer southwest, with 21 case, Brimbank in the west with 16, Hume in the outer north with 15, and Hobsons Bay in the southwest with 13.
There are eight active cases in regional Victoria, including five in the Mitchell Shire and three in Shepparton, all of which are linked to the Chadstone shopping centre cluster in Melbourne’s southeast.
Mr Andrews said Greater Shepparton would usually have testing numbers of approximately 60 per day, but 1862 people had been tested on Wednesday, with another 2000 expected to get tested on Thursday as new testing centres including drive through facilities open.
Imogen Reid 11.57am: Frydenberg sets Andrews deadline for restrictions
Josh Frydenberg has again called out Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews over his strict COVD-19 restrictions.
The Treasurer said his message to Mr Andrews “every day is: give Victorians back their freedom”, and nominated this Sunday for the lockdown measures to be eased.
“Look what has been achieved here in South Australia. Look what Gladys Berejiklian has achieved in New South Wales. Victorians need their freedom back and businesses need to be open again,” Mr Frydenberg said.
READ MORE: Can we eat without meat?
Patrick Commins 11.31am: Victorian job losses swamp national gains
Australia’s unemployment rate inched higher to 6.9 per cent in September from 6.8 per cent before, after employment dropped by 29,500 over the month as job losses in locked-down Victoria swamped employment gains elsewhere.
The number of unemployed nationally lifted by 11,300 people, and the underemployment rate — which measures those who are working but would like to work more — also ticked higher to 11.4 per cent from 11.3 per cent.
The 0.2 per cent fall in employment nationally compared to the 1.1 per cent drop in Victoria, while employment jumped by 1.3 per cent in Queensland and by 0.1 per cent in NSW.
Across the country there were fewer people in work or actively looking for jobs, with the participation rate declining to 64.8 per cent from 64.9 per cent.
The latest seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics represented only a partial reversal of August’s surprise 110,000 lift in employment for the month that drove a sharp 0.7 percentage point drop in the jobless rate.
Treasury recently improved its employment outlook, saying the jobless rate will peak at 8 per cent by the end of the year, rather than 10 per cent.
READ MORE: Sprint, then slog as jobs dry up
Charlie Peel 11.27am: LNP pledges $67m for aquaculture hub
Queensland’s aquaculture industry would more than double in size in the next decade under a $67m investment by a Liberal National Party government into a research hub at James Cook University.
JCU vice chancellor Sandra Harding said the Tropical Aquaculture Accelerator, to be based at the university’s Townsville campus, would support $2.6bn in gross regional product by 2035 and create more than 11,000 jobs.
LNP leader Deb Frecklington announced the funding at the university on Thursday.
The $67m would go towards building the facility as well as equipment, tanks and other infrastructure.
Ms Harding said the project was shovel-ready.
“The aquaculture industry is taking off in the north and we know it’s going to become more important moving forward,” she said.
“This is one of those feature industries we should be focusing on in northern Queensland and indeed northern Australia.”
Ms Harding said seafood had overtaken beef as a source of protein worldwide and the LNP’s funding was a “landmark announcement” that would “turbocharge the industry”.
Ms Frecklington said the funding would mean “more Barra, more prawns and more jobs”.
“This is about growing an industry,” she said.
“Right now Queensland is trailing South Australia and Tasmania in aquaculture and that is not good enough.”
READ MORE: Labor sold gambling giant access to A-G
Imogen Reid 11.12am: NSW records 11 new cases as clusters grow
New South Wales has recorded 11 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, six of which were locally transmitted.
NSW has reported six new cases of locally transmitted #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 15, 2020
Five cases in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine were also diagnosed, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,132. pic.twitter.com/luMFadcmo1
Three of the locally acquired cases are connected to the Lakemba GP cluster, while one is a household contact of a man in Bargo who tested positive yesterday. Two additional locally acquired cases remain under investigation.
The remaining five infections are in travellers in hotel quarantine.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has urged the community to be truthful when they come forward for testing, following reports a Melbourne truck driver did not provide accurate details of his movements to contact tracers and spread the virus to regional Victoria.
“Public health officials need to be able to track the trains of transmission,” Mr Hazzard said. “That’s impossible if people do not tell us where they have been.”
Mr Hazzard said residents in the NSW/Victoria bubble which includes the regional city of Shepparton, which is now linked to three positive cases, need to be on “very high alert in that southern area”.
“We are not interested in any of your personal activities, we are not interested in any legal acticies you may have been involved in, public health just wants you to tell us the truth and nothing but the truth.”
Health alert locations
A fresh wave of alerts have been issued for a range of train lines in New South Wales after they were caught by members of the public who have since tested positive for COVID-19.Anyone who travelled on the following trains is considered a contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop:
Train from Mount Druitt Station at 4pm to Auburn at 5:15pm on 8 October
Train from Auburn Station at 8:45pm to Rooty Hill Station at 9:30pm on 8 October
Train from Mount Druitt Station at 8:50am to Parramatta Station at 9:30am on 10 October
Train from Parramatta Station at 1:00pm to Mount Druitt Station at 1:40pm on 10 October
Train from Mount Druitt Station at 9:20am to Auburn Station at 10:05am on 11 October
Train from Auburn Station at 4:55pm to Mount Druitt Station at 5:35pm on 11 October
“NSW Health strongly encourages people to wear masks when unable to physically distance, particularly in indoor settings and on public transport, to keep everyone safe,” NSW Health said.
“As previously advised, when taking taxis or rideshare commuters should sit in the back and wear a mask.”
READ MORE: Covid vaccine on track for mid-2021, CSL says
Rachel Baxendale 11.05am: Andrews to address media at precisely 11.51am
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media at 11.51am, alongside his Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan.
The precise time for the press conference is a mark of respect for the West Gate Bridge collapse, which occurred at 11.50am exactly 50 years ago, killing 35 construction workers.
The press conference comes amid news taxpayers could be set to fork out between $1.5bn and $2bn to cover cost blowouts on the Andrews government’s signature Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel.
Legislative Assembly Question Time is due to be held at 2pm in state parliament.
READ MORE: Recalcitrant truckie linked to cluster
Paige Taylor 10.42am: ‘McGowan gaslighting on borders’: Hastie
Federal Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has accused West Australian premier Mark McGowan of breaching voters’ trust by keeping the state’s border closed for his own political gain after WA’s chief health officer said he it was possible to open up to some other states and the NT.
The evidence of WA chief health officer Andy Robertson at a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday created difficulties for Mr McGowan who has repeatedly said the state’s border is closed on health advice. The state government last published Dr Robertson’s advice on September 25.
But on Wednesday, Dr Robertson told a parliamentary committee: “I have just given broad guidance to say that further exemptions could be considered — whether that includes things like business travel or family reunion — we could consider removing the quarantine requirements for states that have no community spread”.
Dr Robertson said that would depend on whether WA was satisfied with the border controls in those jurisdictions, then went on to describe border controls in other states as “robust”.
Mr Hastie said on Thursday that the WA border was closed despite health advice that the state could open up.
“We can only assume that the Premier is gaslighting us for political reasons,” Mr Hastie wrote on his Facebook page.
“He wants to win an election next year.
“We were behind him when it was about health. This is a breach of trust.”
READ MORE: We’ll give more of Pilbara spoils, Rio vows
Lilly Vitorovich 10.28am: ABC outrage: ‘Give Covid a Nobel prize if it kills Pell’
An ABC journalist, in an email inadvertently copied across the newsroom, has suggested the coronavirus should be awarded a Nobel prize “if it killed (George) Pell”.
Lincoln Rothall, a cameraman with the public broadcaster, made the statement in response to an internal news alert noting Pope Francis had met Cardinal Pell.
“I would have voted Covid for the Noble (sic) Prize if it killed Pell,” Rothall wrote at 10.13pm on Monday.
READ the full story here
Reid, Imogen 10:19am: Berejiklian won’t appear at today’s virus update
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and Minister for Health Brad Hazzard will provide an update on coronavirus at 11am AEST. Gladys Berejiklian has not called a press conference today.
READ MORE: Not happy snaps for Berejiklian
Patrick Commins 10.08am: Inflation, unemployment goals ahead of rates: RBA
The prospect of rate hikes has dwindled even further into the future, after Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe announced the central bank will only move rates higher when the bank’s inflation and unemployment goals are met now, rather than within its forecast 2-3 year time horizon.
“The board will not be increasing the cash rate until actual inflation is sustainably within the target range,” Dr Lowe said on Thursday. “It is not enough for inflation to be forecast to be in the target range.”
Dr Lowe said he had largely given up trying to set monetary policy according to where he believed inflation will be in the future, abandoning a multi-decade approach to managing the rate cycle that only made sense when “the inflation dynamics were relatively stable and well understood”.
In a speech in Sydney at the Citi Investment conference, Dr Lowe also said “we want to see more than just ‘progress towards full employment’.”
The announcement represents a significant change from altering policy based on the expected achievement of those goals within its 2-3 year horizon.
READ the full story here
Imogen Reid 10.03am: HomeBuilder ‘succeeding’ with 11,000 applications
Housing Minister Michael Sukkar has said he never expected the HomeBuilder program would deliver an increase in new home sales that would exceed pre-COVID levels, saying the scheme is succeeding in driving stimulus to get the construction industry through the pandemic.
Speaking on Sky News, Mr Sukkar said there had been a 49.8 per cent increase in new home sales, which is higher than any month in the past two years.
“The HomeBuilder program was designed to get the housing industry at least back to where it was at pre-pandemic levels. We never expected it to actually get to exceeding where the housing market was pre-pandemic,” he said.
Mr Sukkar said around 800 grants have been paid out so far, with more than 11,000 home builders and renovators having applied for the $25,000 fund to boost housing activity.
“The payouts of the grant are guaranteed, they just occur when you reach a milestone. We don’t give people the grant on day one when they make the application,” Mr Sukkar said.
“That’s certainly not how these schemes operate.”
Treasury forecasts expect 27,000 people will apply before the scheme ends in December.
READ MORE: Covid highlights agriculture value for investors
Kieran Gair 9.59am: Inquiry set to address Berejiklian relationship
Daryl Maguire has arrived at ICAC for a second day of questions on his alleged business dealings.
The anti-corruption body is nearing the end of its four-week public probe into Mr Maguire, and whether he misused his public office in the pursuit of his own financial interests by attempting to broker property deals.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s future could be resting in the hands of Mr Maguire, who is expected to be asked about phone taps today, including a call in which he told Ms Berejiklian on September 7, 2017, that his business associate “William” had told him “we’ve done our deal”, in apparent reference to a deal relating to land at Badgerys Creek near Sydney’s planned second airport.
“I don’t need to know about that bit,” Ms Berejiklian said. “No you don’t,” Mr Maguire replied.
FOLLOW Daryl Maguire’s ICAC appearance live here
Richard Ferguson 9.47am: ICAC, women, childcare: Talking points leaked
Liberal MPs have been advised on how to bat away questions on child care, a federal ICAC and claims the budget has not done enough for women in an embarrassing leak of government talking points.
Journalists woke up this morning to a full list of the Morrison government’s agenda for the day when the Prime Minister’s Office accidentally sent it to their email boxes.
Most of the talking points cover the budget sell Australians have heard from Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg for days.
But it did aim to cover off Labor attacks on the lack of extra funding for childcare and women’s issues.
“IF ASKED - Labor’s approach: Labor are baking in additional expenditure into the Budget with no plan to pay for it – an increase of $6 billion for childcare over four years,” the talking points state.
“Every measure in the Budget is a measure not just for Australian women, but for all Australians.”
The talking points also advised Liberals how to deal with claims the government is not pursuing a federal ICAC, after both Queensland senator Gerrard Rennick and NSW MP Jason Falinski both criticised the idea.
“The Government remains committed to establishing the Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) and will progress to the next steps with the release of draft legislation as soon as possible after the more immediate priorities concerning the management of the COVID recovery have been dealt with,” the talking points said.
Interestingly, the media notes gave Liberal MPs no guidance on how to handle questions about embattled NSW Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her ties to disgraced ex-MP Daryl Maguire.
READ MORE: Border advice exposes Premier
Craig Greaves 9.27am: Ardern on track to win, Peters in trouble
Barring a dramatic late shift in voter sentiment, New Zealand is set to awake this Sunday to the dawn of a Labour-Green government — the first of its kind, and one that could alter the country’s relations with Australia and its broader foreign policy.
It is expected that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party will handily defeat the conservative opposition National Party in Saturday’s election, and subsequently commit to open coalition talks with the left-wing Green Party, a current governing partner.
The contours of a Labour-Green government will be shaped in the post-election coalition negotiations, where the parties will table their policy priorities for consideration and engage in various policy trade-offs.
With Labour’s current coalition partner, New Zealand First — led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters — looking highly doubtful to win any seats, the next government’s foreign policy will likely be more progressive and possibly more activist.
The Greens, for instance, may insist that New Zealand’s foreign policy elevate further the goal of maintaining and defending human rights, social justice and environmental standards around the world, regardless of the cost.
“Criticism of any foreign state or overseas organisation by Aotearoa New Zealand for violation of these principles should never be muted in the name of narrow economic or political interests, or historic affiliations”, Green Party global affairs policy states.
For Australia, that might mean even stronger New Zealand criticism of its refugee policy. It might also mean the next government taking a more critical look at the Australian mining practices and its oil and gas sectors, as New Zealand seeks to green its economy.
READ MORE about the New Zealand election here and Sheridan — Priestess of woke rules, but Kiwis pay
David Rogers 9.16am: ‘Very real challenges ahead’: RBA governor
RBA Governor Phillip Lowe sounds a little aggressive on his aims for monetary policy, telling the Citi conference that the RBA “wants more than just progress toward full employment”.
This headline gives a dovish tone to his speech.
AUD/USD has drifted down from 0.7168 to 0.7159 since he began talking.
Dr Lowe tells the Citi conference that the RBA’s business liaison in Perth is hearing of labour shortages in some areas, but that some parts of the country face very real challenges.
READ more at Trading Day
Amos Aikman 9.12am: Childrens’ desperate ‘cry for help’
Aboriginal girls were sniffing petrol so they could get admitted to rehabilitation and escape the troubled Arnhem Land community of Yirrkala in what the Northern Territory Coroner has been told was a “massive red flag” that agencies missed.
On the second day of his evidence, the senior bureaucrat in charge of mental health, alcohol and drug-treatment programs, Richard Campion, conceded that neither he nor his staff understood the law and guidelines relevant to their work.
His department had on many occasions wrongly closed volatile substance-abuse cases for children as young as 11 who desperately needed help, failed to keep proper records, incorrectly assumed no reports of sniffing meant kids were safe and used that as an excuse to “monitor” vulnerable patients off its books.
The department wrongly ended the assessment of a 17-year-old girl, known as Ms B, who had twice been sexually assaulted, engaged in self-harm, threatened suicide, said she would “rather die” than go back to Yirrkala and begged for help, deeming her not to be at high risk.
Two weeks later, Ms B got into a drunken argument at Yirrkala with her brother and stabbed him in the back and stomach. A community night patrol vehicle took her home, where she hanged herself, the inquest was told.
The information about Aboriginal girls deliberately sniffing was recorded on her file. The inquest also heard of a fight at Yirrkala between up to 150 “sniffers” and “non-sniffers” armed with baseball bats and hammers.
If you need help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
READ the full story here
Ellen Ransley 8.46am: Urgent search to link Townsville virus case
Authorities are scrambling to determine whether a Townsville woman contracted COVID-19 while still in Queensland, or upon her arrival to Victoria.
Scientists will use genomic sequencing to compare wastewater samples from Townsville, where parts of the virus were found last week, with a swab from the woman to find out where the woman, in her 30s, had contracted the virus.
The Townsville woman arrived in Melbourne on October 7 to be with family while receiving medical treatment, and tested positive a few days later.
While Queensland Health authorities suspect it’s more likely the woman contracted the virus in Victoria, urgent contact tracing is underway for several Townsville locations, including Icon Cancer Centre, Mater Day Surgery and NQ Vascular.
The coronavirus scare comes after testing in sewage in Townsville revealed the deadly virus was present in the water system, which Health Minister Steven Miles said would explain the positive test result of the woman now in Melbourne.
At least 14 people have been placed in quarantine in north Queensland as a precaution and are awaiting their test results.
“We know health care environments are very risky,” Mr Steven Miles said.
“We’re being very, very cautious.
“She’s not showing any symptoms of COVID-19. That’s why it’s challenging for us to identify when she may have been infectious because she appears to be one of these asymptomatic cases.”
Queensland has just two active cases, the lowest number since July 21.
It comes as Queensland remains on high alert as virus cases continue to rise in NSW. — NCA Newswire
READ MORE: Covid lessons must inform euthanasia debate
Imogen Reid 8.19am: Berejiklian ‘played’ by her ex-lover: Constance
New South Wales Minister for Transport Andrew Constance has said he is not nervous for the embattled Premier, insisting Gladys Berejiklian is an “incredible” leader who has been hoodwinked by former MP Daryl Maguire.
“I am not nervous because I know (Ms Berejiklian) has done nothing wrong. She is an incredible leader, as we said the other day,” Mr Constance told Today.
“What is extraordinary about the evidence yesterday is he [Maguire] has played everybody… it was extraordinary evidence and it just demonstrates the extent of the corruption that was being undertaken by him and of course the fact that he played everybody.”
Mr Maguire will continue his evidence in the witness box on Thursday.
READ MORE: Overington — Daryl, I do have some standards
Rachel Baxendale 8.18am: Victoria records six new cases, 0 deaths
Victoria has recorded six new cases of coronvirus and no deaths in the 24 hours to Thursday, despite thousands of people queuing to get tested in the northern Victorian town of Shepparton on Wednesday, after three cases were detected there on Tuesday.
Yesterday there were 6 new cases & the loss of 0 lives reported. The rolling 14 day average is down in metro Melb & stable in regional Vic. More information will be available later today. Info: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/VSwDHaV7mW
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 14, 2020
The six new cases follow seven on Wednesday (compared with 11 locally acquired cases in NSW that day), 12 on Tuesday and 15 on Monday, representing a 17th straight day of daily case numbers above five.
Victoria was supposed to record a 14-day daily average of below five, with no more than five cases with an unknown source of infection by next Sunday October 18 in order to move to the next stage of easing restrictions on Monday.
Mebourne’s 14-day daily average number of new cases is now 8.9 — the lowest for more than three months, and down from 9.6 on Wednesday and 10.0 on Tuesday.
This compares with a 14-day daily average of 0.6 in regional Victoria — the same number as on Wednesday and up from 0.4 on Tuesday and a low of 0.1 on October 3.
All known cases in regional Victoria are linked to an outbreak at the Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne’s southeast, after a truck driver whose relative worked at a Chadstone butcher’s shop ate an illegal meal at the Oddfellows Cafe in Kilmore, north of Melbourne, where six people have so far been infected, and visited a tyre business in Shepparton, in the state’s north, where three people now have the virus.
The man failed to reveal the Shepparton section of the trip when first interviewed by contact tracers more than a week ago, but was forced to confess after the tyre business workers tested positive on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday there were 182 active cases of coronavirus statewide, down from 186 on Tuesday.
There have been 15 cases with an unknown source of infection in metropolitan Melbourne in the most recent fortnight for which this statistic is available — the highest number in more than two weeks and up from 14 on Wednesday and a low of 10 over the weekend.
Regional Victoria has had no unknown source cases over the same fortnight, which spans September 29 to October 12.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has signalled Monday’s planned easing of restrictions will not be as substantial as previously planned, given Victoria will not reach the threshold of a 14 day daily average of fewer than five cases, with fewer than five unknown source cases over the fortnight.
The previous plan was set to see stay-at-home rules relaxed for the first time since July 7, and hospitality businesses able to reopen to predominantly outdoor service, subject to density limits and a limit of 10 people per group.
Melburnians are currently under stay-at-home restrictions allowing them to leave home only for permitted work, medical care, essential shopping, exercise and public outdoor gatherings of up to five people from up to two households for up to two hours.
Victoria’s coronavirus death toll is steady at 816 deaths.
All but 19 of these deaths have occurred as a result of the state’s second wave of coronavirus cases, sparked by breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program.
READ MORE: Beach mix-up behind evidence
Imogen Reid 7.48am: NSW Attorney-General coy on Berejiklian’s position
New South Wales Attorney-General Mark Speakman has again refused to comment on whether he will step into Gladys Berejiklian’s position as premier should she resign.
Speaking on Sunrise, Mr Speakman was adamant Ms Berejkilian would not be forced to stand down by the end of the week, saying: “She will be Premier on Friday, next month and at the next election. The party is 100 per cent behind her.”
Asked if he thought Ms Berejiklain knew of Daryl Maguire’s business dealings, Mr Speakman said there have been no allegations made against the Premier by ICAC, insisting it was an investigation into Daryl Maguire.
“ICAC has not put any suggestion to her that she has breached the ministerial code, that she has breached the members code,” he said.
“There is no allegation against her by ICAC, this is an investigation of Daryl Maguire.”
Mr Speakman said Ms Berejiklian’s focus is to protect people’s health and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ MORE: Berejiklian’s slow, painful end looks inevitable
Rachel Baxendale 7.45am: Andrews’ office vandalised, graffitied with ‘Sack Dan’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has had his southeastern suburban electorate office attacked by vandals overnight, as public pressure grows for an easing of coronavirus restrictions as the state enters its 98th day in stay-at-home lockdown.
The words “tyrant”, “scum”, “liar” and “CCP (Chinese Communist Party) lackey” were scrawled in red paint across the front window of the Premier’s Noble Park office overnight.
The graffiti was being removed early on Thursday morning.
BREAKING: Daniel Andrews office vandalised overnight... brick on the ground and plenty of CCTV cameras. Live on @TheTodayShow in a moment @9NewsAUS @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/VX6EUSYAxH
— Izabella Staskowski (@IzaStaskowski) October 14, 2020
“Sack Dan” has also been scrawled across the office door, with windows cracked and a brick evidently used to inflict damage nearby.
Police are at the scene looking for witnesses and are expected to investigate footage from nearby CCTV cameras.
It is the second time Mr Andrews’ office has been vandalised in as many months. In September graffiti labelling the premier a “tyrant” was removed from his electorate office in suburban Melbourne.
The words “tyrant”, “liar”, “scum”, “lackey” and “CCP” (Chinese Communist Party) had been scrawled in red on the Noble Park office.
READ MORE: Andrews told: Give people back their freedom
Imogen Reid 7.29am: Pandemic impacts put 19 million at risk of famine
More than 19 million people are at risk of famine due the economic impacts of COVID-19, World Vision has warned.
The humanitarian agency fears that millions could die if the funds are not boosted to meet urgent food needs in 12 of the world’s most fragile countries.
Senior Policy Advisor for Children in Armed Conflict at World Vision Australia Carsten Bockemuehl has appealed to Australia to provide more funds to alleviate acute hunger, which has been pushed into overdrive by a deadly mix of conflict, climate disasters and coronavirus.
“COVID-19 is one more shock for the most vulnerable children living in fragile societies who face multiple crises, including armed conflict and forced displacement, which deeply affect their access to nutritious food,” Mr Bockemuehl said.
“Restrictions put in place to contain the spread of the virus continue to hit the incomes of poor families the hardest, meaning they don’t have enough money to purchase food. Conflict and COVID-19 are a disastrous combination, making it incredibly difficult to get help to the children and families who need it most.
“There is no social welfare safety net to support these people and that’s why the international community must urgently step up.”
READ MORE: it by curbs in China: BHP
Agencies 7.15am: Trump’s son Barron also contracted virus
Barron Trump, the 14-year-old son of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive to coronavirus at the same time as his parents earlier this month.
Mrs Trump posted a statement on the White House website saying her teenage son showed no symptoms.
She said that after she and the president tested positive two weeks ago, “Naturally my mind went immediately to our son.” Barron Trump, 14, first tested negative, she said.
“But again, as so many parents have thought over the past several months, I couldn’t help but think ‘what about tomorrow or the next day?’ My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive,” the first lady said.
“He has since tested negative,” she wrote in an essay entitled “My Personal Experience with Covid-19.” “In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together,” the first lady wrote. — AFP
READ MORE: Battleground grows as Biden soars
Imogen Reid 6.50am: UK records highest numbers since pandemic began
The UK has reported almost 20,000 new coronavirus cases, a record high and a jump of almost 14 per cent from yesterday.
Official figures registered 19,724 new infections on Wednesday up from 17,234 the previous day. The UK also had 37 new deaths, down from the previous day’s figure of 143 which was the highest daily tally since early June.
Meanwhile, schools, pubs and restaurants will close in Northern Ireland as a new wave of restrictions are introduced to contain surging rates of COVID-19 infections.
The new rules will take effect from Friday and will last for four weeks, except for schools which will be shut for two weeks.
Universities will be encouraged to use off site learning only while ‘bubbles’ of 10 people from up to two households will be permitted.
In Wales, work has begun to enforce a travel ban on visitors from high-risk areas in England.
The government has indicated they will act by the end of the week if the UK continues to let people from COVID hotspots travel to Wales.
It comes as Boris Johnson repeatedly refuses requests from Cardiff for English regulations to be used to bar visitors entering Wales.
Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething said it was clear the easing of lockdown laws had coincided with a rise in cases, which have been “partly driven by imports from other parts of the UK and wider world.”
READ MORE: Confusion reigns in Covid hit Europe
David Ross 6.00am: NSW ‘on verge’ of another virus surge
NSW is now “on the verge” of being at the same risk of a coronavirus surge as when the Crossroads Hotel cluster emerged that sparked Sydney’s second wave in July.
With 12 new cases recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, and more locally acquired COVID-19 cases than Victoria, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new cases forced the government to hold off easing restrictions further.
“We had intended to ease some further restrictions (today) but we decided to hold off until Dr Chant gives us the green light,” she said.
There were 16,000 tests performed but “that is not enough” in current circumstances, Ms Berejiklian said.
“This is the most concerned we’ve been” since the Crossroads cluster began, she said.
There were three cases in hotel quarantine, taking the total number of NSW cases to 14.
On Wednesday night alerts were issued for further venues in Western Sydney which will be added to today’s tally.
NSW Health is alerting the public that confirmed cases of #COVID19, which will be included in tomorrow’s numbers, have attended venues in Western Sydney: https://t.co/kHwSLzXvsP
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 14, 2020
Full list of locations linked to known cases: https://t.co/pqkRdfh3cR. pic.twitter.com/x39Y6IEIb7
Anyone who attended the following venues is considered a close contact and must get tested immediately and isolate for a full 14 days from exposure regardless of the result:
Al-Jabr – A Different Class of Mathematics, 37 Queen St, Auburn on Thursday 8 October 2020, between 4:30pm – 8:45pm and Sunday 11 October 2020, between 10am – 4:30pm
ACE Tutoring, 25 George St, Parramatta on Saturday 10 October 2020 between 9:30am – 1:20pm
Anyone who attended Westfield Mount Druitt, Cnr Carlisle Ave & Luxford Rd, Mount Druitt on Monday 12 October 2020, between 11:30am – 1pm is considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop. After testing, they must remain in isolation until a negative test result is received:
NSW is calling for people to come forward for testing as recent days have seen a concerning fall in volume.
READ MORE: Kangaroo court ‘ruining lives’
Steve Jackson 5.45am: Gladys fires up over ‘offensive’ prying
Gladys Berejiklian’s demeanour has hardened in the midst of ongoing speculation about her clandestine romance with disgraced former colleague Daryl Maguire, with the Premier labelling questions about the dynamics of their relationship “offensive” and warning that her tolerance for answering them was on the wane.
She bristled on Wednesday and responded angrily when a press conference she was giving on the latest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in NSW was overtaken with personal queries about her former partner and his dodgy business dealings.
“With all due respect, I’ve answered every question I’ve been asked over the past couple of days, I have been very open about issues that are very uncomfortable to me, issues I don’t talk about,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Never ever have I done anything wrong in relation to my position, never ever have I tolerated anybody else doing anything wrong and if I ever saw it or witnessed it or knew about it, of course I would have taken action.
“Please be careful with the dots you are trying to draw, which simply do not exist … again I’m happy to answer all questions in relation to the public interest but my tolerance for answering questions which frankly are offensive is waning.”
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 5.30am: Recalcitrant truckies linked to latest Victoria cluster
A tyre delivery worker’s failure to disclose a trip to Shepparton has given coronavirus a two-week head start in the northern Victorian town, a week after Premier Daniel Andrews declared that the associated Chadstone virus cluster was “under control”.
Thousands of Shepparton residents queued for hours to get tested on Wednesday, after health authorities issued a late-night alert on Tuesday confirming three workers at the town’s Central Tyre Service had tested positive for the virus, having been exposed on September 30 — 13 days prior — with numerous sites around Shepparton now considered high risk for exposure.
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Wednesday that the three Shepparton cases were linked to a Melbourne-based tyre delivery truck driver, who had previously admitted to illegally eating at the Oddfellows Cafe in Kilmore, north of Melbourne, on September 30, and later spending 90 minutes at White Line Tyres in Benalla, in Victoria’s northeast, but had not revealed the Shepparton visit to contact tracers.
The man was a household contact of a worker at the Butcher Club store at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s southeast.
On September 28, two days before the man’s regional road trip, the Butcher Club store manager had tested positive for the virus. The shop was closed the next day for a deep clean and staff details were forwarded to DHHS.
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