Category Archives: Australia news

Australia Covid live update: Morrison doesn’t rule out further financial support as NSW records 44 new coronavirus cases

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Premier Gladys Berejiklian says 29 of the new cases were infectious in the community as new restrictions announced for Sydney; state and territory leaders meet with PM to discuss the vaccine rollout. Follow latest updates

And just a reminder these greater Sydney restrictions came into force about an hour and 15 minutes ago...

NSW residents must now carry ID while exercising to show they are within 10km of their home if they are asked by police. Other rules set out below #COVID19nsw https://t.co/De6jiaZURT pic.twitter.com/PAIVHyV94j

Significant NDIS development. We covered the background to this in detail this morning.

Big news: NSW families minister Alister Henskens confirms the government's NDIS independent assessments plan "will not proceed". pic.twitter.com/gJByatuma2

Although Victoria's disability minister Luke Donnellan is slightly less categorical about it in his statement. pic.twitter.com/zFIYR1bIgc

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Gladys Berejiklian faces instability within as a Covid storm brews outside

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Disgruntled cabinet colleagues touting a plan B are making NSW premier’s job of imposing a lockdown on the public even harder

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, emerged from her crisis briefing at the Department of Health on Friday looking more stressed – with good reason.

All the signs are that NSW is losing control of this outbreak of the Delta strain of Covid-19, despite the increasingly stringent lockdown rules.

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‘NSW facing greatest threat since pandemic started’, premier Gladys Berejiklian warns – video

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The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has announced stricter lockdown measures following 44 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, saying low vaccination rates are a significant concern. 'We cannot live with this variant,' she says. 'No place on Earth has unless they have their vaccination rates much, much higher than what we do. Because otherwise it subjects the population to thousands and thousands of hospitalisations, thousands of deaths.'

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Beetle that can walk upside down under water surface filmed in Australia in world first

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Researcher accidentally spots tiny insect walking on the underside of the water surface as if it were a pane of glass

An Australian beetle has been observed walking upside down along the surface of water – the first instance that such behaviour has been visually documented.

The tiny aquatic beetle, about 6mm to 8mm in length, has been recorded scuttling along the undersurface of a pool of water in New South Wales.

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Pfizer says no change to Australian Covid vaccine doses, contradicting reports of ‘game-changing’ deal

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Prime minister Scott Morrison says pace of vaccination rollout accelerating

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says there is no change in the number of doses the company has contracted to deliver to Australia over 2021 – contradicting reports asserting the Morrison government had secured a “game-changing deal” to triple its access to the jabs.

The prime minister – who has been under significant political pressure because of the slow pace of the vaccination rollout, pressure that has ramped up during the lockdown of greater Sydney – embarked on a media blitz on Friday to argue the pace of the vaccination rollout was accelerating.

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Two decades of Indigenous photography: the work of Wayne Quilliam – in pictures

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For more than 20 years, Aboriginal photographer Wayne Quilliam has captured significant Indigenous events across Australia, from the national apology to the Stolen Generations to the Garma, Barunga and Yeperenye festivals. In his travels through country, Quilliam often visits communities to teach Indigenous youth how to capture their own lives through a lens. His book, Culture is Life, is a modern, photographic celebration of the diversity of Indigenous Australians

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Australians fear attack from China almost as much as Taiwanese do, survey finds

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More than four in 10 Australians think Chinese are coming and analysts say that’s due to government’s ‘drums of war’ rhetoric


More than four in 10 Australians are worried China may attack Australia, according to new polling, expressing a level of fear that is nearly as high as among Taiwan’s population.

The Australia Institute, a progressive thinktank that commissioned polling in both Australia and Taiwan, said the “astounding” findings may be partly explained by some government figures in Canberra “beating the drums of war”.

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Covid Australia live news: Scott Morrison provides update; NSW education department hit by cyber attack as state records 38 new cases

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New coronavirus cases for NSW and Queensland as South Australia ends border restrictions with WA and NT, and Sydney remains in lockdown. Follow the latest updates, live

Morrison says the royal commission will be able to inquire into any death by suicide, including suspected suicide, and will make recommendations about systemic issues.

Former NSW police commissioner Nick Kaldas will lead the royal commission, Morrison says.

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NSW Covid update: Sydney lockdown extended one week as state records 27 new cases

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Focus shifts from eastern suburbs to Sydney’s south-west with Gladys Berejiklian not ruling out stricter measures for three local government areas

The greater Sydney lockdown has been extended for a week after New South Wales recorded another 27 local Covid cases and health officials expressed concern about the growing spread of the virus in some south-western suburbs.

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said the decision to extend the lockdown was a difficult but necessary one.

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Australia to send 2.5m AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Indonesia as Covid infections soar

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Aid package, including 1,000 ventilators, announced after nation records daily high of 31,189 coronavirus cases

Australia will send 2.5m AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Indonesia and will fund 1,000 ventilators as the country battles record-high Covid cases that are pushing the health system to breaking point.

The aid package, announced on Wednesday night, is in response to growing calls for Australia to help its most populous neighbour.

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Asia Pacific sees sharp rise in Covid infections as Delta strain threatens new wave

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From South Korea to Australia, authorities are struggling to contain the highly transmissible coronavirus strain that has caused a surge in UK, Europe and US

Countries throughout Asia Pacific – from South Korea to Australia – have been hit by a rise in coronavirus infections as the Delta variant threatens a new wave of the pandemic even in a region renowned for tackling the virus with a high degree of success.

China reported 57 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for 6 July, up from 23 cases a day earlier, the national health authority said on Wednesday. It was the highest daily tally of infections since 30 January.

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Threats, insults and China’s influence on Australian universities

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A landmark report by Human Rights Watch has detailed accounts of pro-democracy students and academics in Australia who are being harassed and threatened over their comments relating to China. In some cases, people have been doxxed, and others claim their actions have been reported to Chinese authorities. Reporter Daniel Hurst explains why academics and students are experiencing this harassment, and what Australia can do about it

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‘Dire need’: Australia urged to offer more aid to Indonesia as Covid crushes health system

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Critics say government not doing enough to help neighbour as record cases deplete oxygen supplies

The Australian government has been urged to rapidly step up its assistance to Indonesia, amid warnings the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases is fuelling an “escalating crisis right on our doorstep”.

With aid groups fearing the Indonesian health system is on the verge of collapse, and with oxygen and bed shortages reported in some hospitals, there are growing calls for the Morrison government to help its most populous neighbour.

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Qld Covid restrictions: update to Brisbane, south-east Queensland and Townsville coronavirus rules explained

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Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced changes to restrictions in Brisbane, Townsville and several SEQ local government areas. Here’s the full list of what you can and can’t do in Qld

The Queensland government has outlined two weeks of restrictions following the short lockdown of Brisbane and surrounding areas.

Brisbane City Council and the Moreton Bay local government area, north of the city, came out of lockdown at 6pm on Saturday, 3 July.

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NSW Covid update: Sydney hospitals on ‘red alert’ as more than 600 health workers in isolation over case contact

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More than 500 staff at Royal North Shore hospital, and more than 120 staff at Fairfield hospital, are now isolating and unable to work

Hundreds of health workers have been forced to isolate after being deemed close contacts of an unvaccinated student nurse who worked across two Sydney hospitals while infectious with Covid-19, wreaking havoc on staffing levels.

As hospitals in greater Sydney were placed on ‘red alert’ due to the latest Covid outbreak, restrictions on visitors triggered alarm among expectant mothers.

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Covid Australia live updates: 620 NSW health staff isolating and visitors restricted as all Greater Sydney hospitals on ‘red alert’

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New Zealand restarts the travel bubble with Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT; infected aged care resident at SummitCare home in NSW was not vaccinated. Follow latest updates

Circling back on that story involving the NRL penalties handed out to St George Illawarra players for attending a party in breach of Covid-19 restrictions.

Sure, there’s enormous fines of $305,000 total for the 13 players. But the suspensions are also fairly significant, ranging from eight matches, handed down to Paul Vaughan, who hosted the party, to one match for some of the attendees.

The NRL alleges that player Paul Vaughan invited players to a gathering at his home on Saturday 3 July which was attended by 12 teammates, in breach of NSW Public Health Orders and the Game’s biosecurity protocols. It’s alleged a number of players hid or fled the residence when NSW Police attended the home after complaints from neighbours.

It’s also alleged that a number of players gave or were involved in giving misleading information about the event during the NRL’s investigation into the breaches and that some of the players conspired to withhold key information from the NRL. The notices allege that all players involved knowingly breached the game’s biosecurity rules by attending the premeditated gathering. They were made aware of the game’s Biosecurity Protocols by the club and admit they knew they were breaching the game’s rules.

It has been very hot in New Zealand, which is not a great sign for the planet (but worth considering if you’re planning on travelling there now the bubble has reformed):

Related: New Zealand experiences hottest June on record despite polar blast

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Feral deer in the headlines: Australia’s ‘slow-moving plague’ is finally being noticed

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Experts say now’s the time to get on top of the destructive impact of the invasive species on vulnerable ecosystems

If there is one thing beef cattle farmer Ted Rowley has learned while trying to manage feral deer on his property, it is this: for every deer that you see, there are at least another 10 that you can’t see.

“In the beginning you see a few deer and think that’s pretty cute,” he says. “But what you don’t see is the very large number that are across the landscape.”

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International airlines may be forced to suspend flights to Australia after arrival cap halved

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Industry says any suggestion by Coalition government that airlines are price gouging is ‘insulting and bizarre’

• Families of Australians stranded overseas devastated after arrivals cap slashed

International airlines claim they could be forced to suspend services to Australia from next week after national cabinet agreed to halve the number of people allowed to enter the country – and they say any suggestion of price gouging is “insulting and bizarre”.

From 14 July, overseas arrivals will be slashed from 6,070 to 3,035 a week – crushing the hopes of thousands of Australians stuck overseas and looking to get home.

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Australia Covid live news update: NSW reports 16 local cases; three residents positive at Sydney aged care home

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Two residents of SummitCare home at Baulkham Hills taken to hospital as a precaution and facility is in lockdown; Queensland records one new local case. Follow live

Police have recovered the bodies of three fishermen and their upturned boat near Wollongong south of Sydney.

Relatives raised the alarm about 6am on Sunday after the trio set off from the Bellambi boat ramp in Wollongong about 2pm the previous day.

Tasmanian’s opposition leader, David O’Byrne, has announced he’s quitting as Labor leader, with the ALP investigating allegations he sexually harassed a woman more than a decade ago.

O’Byrne announced he was resigning on Sunday and said while he would remain in parliament as the member for Franklin, he would not seek or accept a position in the shadow cabinet.

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Queensland Covid update: premier Annastacia Palaszczuk lifts Brisbane lockdown despite five new cases

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Man who works as a baggage handler at Brisbane domestic airport among new coronavirus cases

Brisbane’s lockdown ended at 6pm on Saturday despite the state recording five new Covid-19 cases, including one not linked to an existing outbreak.

Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, told reporters on Saturday morning that the state was “not out of the woods yet” and that some restrictions, including mask mandates, would remain in place, but that the snap lockdown announced last week would end.

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