Health minister Yvette D’Ath breaks down in parliament as she speaks about her mother’s suffering
Opponents of Queensland’s proposed voluntary assisted dying laws have tabled 55 separate amendments to the bill ensuring there will be a protracted debate in the state parliament this week.
Many MPs shared emotional personal stories during Tuesday’s debate with packets of tissues passed around the Legislative Assembly.
Continue reading...Gladys Berejiklian has revealed a roadmap out of lockdown for the state, and an easing of restrictions for some parts of regional NSW. Here’s the full list of what you can and can’t do in NSW and the ACT
The premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has revealed a roadmap out of lockdown for the state, and an easing of restrictions for some parts of regional NSW.
From Saturday 11 September, parts of regional NSW that had seen zero Covid cases for at least 14 days emerged from lockdown. One of those areas, Yass Valley Council, was plunged back into a two-week lockdown from Tuesday 14 September after a new Covid case was detected.
Continue reading...Monday: A union is pushing for a compulsory vaccination deadline of aged care workers to be extended. Plus: why tinned food is no longer the embarrassing option
Good morning. A union is calling for the extension to the compulsory vaccination for aged care workers as the Friday deadline approaches. Analysis of green space in greater Sydney reveals another element of how Covid lockdowns are magnifying inequity. The Taliban will allow women to study in universities in gender-segregated classrooms. And it’s time to stop looking down on tinned fruit and veggies as a lesser choice.
The Health Services Union is calling for the federal government to extend compulsory Covid vaccination for aged care workers beyond Friday’s deadline, saying the sector cannot afford to lose even 5% of its workforce. The federal government has said that 90.8% of staff have now received a single dose of a Covid vaccine and 70.5% two doses. The HSU’s federal president, Gerard Hayes, said the government needed to extend the deadline by between two weeks and a month given existing workforce pressures.
Continue reading...Man in his 20s dies in NSW as state records 1,262 new cases; ACT records 15 new Covid cases. This blog is now closed
That’s where I will leave you for today. Here’s a wrap of what we learned:
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has taken to twitter to slam the Berejiklian government for calling an end to the 11am daily press conferences.
“When I feel like I need to be accountable.”
❌ That’s not good enough.
Government accountability isn’t optional.
Reinstate the daily press conferences and bring back the parliament now.#nswpol #auspol
Missed opportunities, gaps in correspondence and a failure to plan ahead. If this was a vaccine race, did Australia fall at the first hurdle?
On 30 June 2020, Victoria’s Covid cases were doubling. Within a week the state would be in its second lockdown.
That same day Pfizer wrote to the federal health minister, Greg Hunt, with a clear sense of urgency, wanting to discuss a vaccination deal.
Continue reading...Billed as the most secure phone on the planet, An0m became a viral sensation in the underworld. There was just one problem for anyone using it for criminal means: it was run by the police
The rain pattered lightly on the harbour of the Belgian port city of Ghent when, on 21 June 2021, a team of professional divers slipped below the surface into the emerald murk. The Brazilian tanker, heavy with fruit juice bound for Australia, had already crossed the Atlantic Ocean, but its journey wasn’t halfway done as the divers felt their way along the barnacled serration of its hull. They were looking for the sea chest, a metallic inlet below the water line, through which the ship draws seawater to cool its engines. Tucked inside, they found what they were looking for: three long sacks, each wrapped in a thick black plastic bag and trussed with black and white striped nautical rope.
The sacks were heavy. Each one weighed as much as a sheep and, shaped like a body bag, could feasibly have contained one. As the Belgian police opened the first bag, a stack of crimson bricks slid out. Had this cargo reached Australia, where high demand and meagre supply has pushed the price of a kilo of cocaine to eight times its equivalent cost in North America, the haul would have been worth more than A$64m (£34m).
Continue reading...Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reports five new cases and flags possible lockdown
While other states are still lacking enough supply to vaccinate those under 60 with Pfizer, South Australia is opening up Pfizer access to those over 60, AAP reports.
The premier, Steven Marshall, made the announcement less than 24 hours after the Northern Territory confirmed over-60s in the Top End could get the Pfizer jab.
Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, is asked to weigh in on New South Wales’ decision to stop holding daily press conferences from Monday.
Foley says holding daily press conferences is not fun, but it is important, and Victoria has no plans on abandoning them at the moment:
We have no plans, sadly, other than to continue to come and share as we need to, because every day the message changes, every day we need to hear from people like Ryan, and every day we need to hear from people like we did from the other day from our ICU nurses.
We need to hear what this means in real lives. And what that means. And it’s not fun, having to do these things. This is a public health crisis, the likes of which we have not seen in a century. The fate of our public health system is on the cusp here. And it’s important that we use this every opportunity.
Continue reading...Newspapers to cover ‘all views’ and ‘not just the popular ones’, indicating the Murdoch empire may continue its pattern of climate science denial
News Corp Australia has confirmed it will ramp up its company-wide coverage of climate change next month but says its stable of commentators won’t be “muzzled”.
The executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, Michael Miller, says the mastheads will cover “all views” and “not just the popular ones”, indicating the Murdoch empire may continue its pattern of climate science denial and ridicule towards climate action.
Continue reading...Therapeutic Goods Administration concerned people taking controversial medication instead of seeking proper treatment or vaccine
Australia’s drug regulator has banned medical practitioners from prescribing the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin for “off-label” uses, such as for treating Covid-19.
The move comes after prescriptions for the drug increased between three and four times in Australia in recent months.
Continue reading...NSW confirms record high 1,542 cases; Victoria has linked 149 of its 334 new cases to known outbreaks. This blog is now closed
With that, we’ll wrap up the news blog for the day.
Here were the top headlines today:
Prof Sharon Lewin, director of the Doherty Institute that has provided modelling for Australia’s reopening plan agreed to by national cabinet, has responded to NSW’s roadmap to freedom that was unveiled this week.
Of the plan to reopen at 70% double vaccination in NSW, Lewin told ABC’s The Drum: “I think the with situation in NSW, I’d be going slowly, slowly”.
We will see interpretations that will vary around the country and I think that is going to cause confusion.”
When you don’t have optimal TTIQ then you’ve got to bring in public health measures. That’s why this slow exit from the lockdown is probably going to be important.
I think the biggest challenge for NSW at the moment is keeping an eye on the burden on the healthcare system.
Continue reading...NSW freedoms come into effect the Monday after 70% over-16 vaccination is achieved; state confirms five more deaths; new case in Qld quarantine; 107 of Victoria’s new cases linked to known outbreaks – follow the latest updates live
An update on another story I did this week regarding those Craig Kelly text messages everyone has been getting.
We know that under the current legislative situation, there’s nothing preventing political parties like the United Australia Party from sending out those text messages, and people cannot unsubscribe from them.
The carriage of messages is generally a commercial matter for telecommunications providers, except in circumstances where there may be offences against the laws of the commonwealth or states or territories.
Both the Telecommunications Act 1997 and Spam Act 2003 contain provisions about implied freedom of political communications. These provisions set out that the acts or parts of them do not apply to the extent they would infringe on any constitutional doctrine of implied freedom of political communication.
There’s a press conference with the PM at 1.40pm AEST.
Continue reading...Data suggesting 20.3% of people are unwilling or unsure on getting jab prompts call for new strategies to reach nation’s wary
Australians must be prepared to see the Covid vaccination uptake curve start to flatten in coming months, a leading vaccine communication expert has warned, due to the rate of hesitancy.
But she is calling for health policy to reach this group in order to stop their lives becoming too difficult or to drive them away from healthcare.
Continue reading...Victoria to lift regional lockdown for most areas after 221 new coronavirus cases; NSW records nine deaths and 1,480 cases, says international quarantine period likely to be reduced for vaccinated travellers; Morrison throws support behind vaccine certificates for travel – follow updates live
This daily infographic provides the total number of vaccine doses administered in Australia as of 7 September 2021
Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccine information here: https://t.co/lsM33j9wMW pic.twitter.com/roF2l4PwYr
It might be repetitive to say, but I’ll take the good news anywhere. With that in mind, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have recorded zero new cases today. South Australia recorded one case in hotel quarantine, and zero locally acquired cases.
Continue reading...The clinic, which set up an online page to book $85 consultations for the drug, has been listed as a coronavirus exposure site
A medical clinic in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs has been offering patients off-label prescriptions for the anti-parasite drug ivermectin to treat Covid-19, despite a lack of evidence for its use in treating the virus.
The clinic set up a dedicated online page to apply for a consultation to be prescribed the drug to treat Covid-19 on its website after receiving an “influx of ivermectin inquiries”.
Continue reading...Video footage recorded earlier in the day appears to show dozens of people entering the building, without wearing masks
Victoria Police are monitoring an ultra-Orthodox synagogue in the Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea as part of an investigation into an alleged breach of Covid public health orders.
Video footage recorded earlier in the day appears to show people entering without wearing masks.
Continue reading...Gladys Berejiklian under pressure over modelling showing state’s health system to be ‘overwhelmed’ by Covid cases; rapid antigen tests approved for use at home. Follow the latest updates live
The New South Wales government has set a target of zero extinctions of native wildlife in the state’s national parks estate, the first time an Australian government has set the goal.
The environment minister, Matt Kean, said the target, which will apply to all parklands in NSW, was a response to the continued decline of threatened plants and animals and Australia’s status as the country with the highest rate of mammal extinctions.
Related: Zero extinction target for NSW national parks welcomed by environment groups
And the Victorian Liberal’s deputy position is filled, with member for Caufield, David Southwick, scoring the gig.
New VICLib team: Guy and deputy David Southwick. #springst
Continue reading...Relatives of 298 people killed when Malaysia Airlines plane shot down in 2014 give their testimonies at trial of suspects
The families of 298 people killed when flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in 2014 have demanded justice from Russia as they testified in the Dutch trial of four suspects.
People who lost close relatives in the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane said they could not truly say goodbye to their loved ones until those responsible had been brought to account.
Continue reading...Jeroen Wiemar downplayed the potential for spread at the Broadmeadows facility but advocates fear serious outbreak
Asylum seeker advocates are calling for people held in immigration detention to be released into the community after Victorian health officials revealed a guard at a facility in Melbourne had tested positive for Covid-19.
Victoria’s Covid commander, Jeroen Wiemar, on Sunday confirmed at least one coronavirus case at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accomodation centre in Broadmeadows in Melbourne’s north.
Continue reading...An industry brought to its knees by Covid-19 lockdowns calls on Australians to help bring back live performance in a national advertising campaign
Dozens of the biggest names in the Australian music industry have joined forces for a pro-vaccination advertising campaign launched on Monday.
Tim Minchin, Jimmy Barnes, Amy Shark, Paul Kelly and the Hilltop Hoods are just some of the more than 200 acts who have joined forces with major Australian record labels, ticketing agencies, tour promoters and festival organisers for the #Vaxthenation campaign.
Continue reading...Guardian Australia brings together all the latest on active and daily new Covid-19 cases, as well as maps, stats, live data and state by state graphs from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT to get a broad picture of the Australian outbreaks and track the impact of government responses
Due to the difference in reporting times between states, territories and the federal government, it can be difficult to get a current picture of how many confirmed cases of coronavirus there are in Australia, where cases are increasing, and the overall trend for each state and territory.
Continue reading...