Multibillion-dollar project is unnecessary and damaging to wildlife, say scientists
Australia is planning to build Antarctica’s biggest infrastructure project: a new airport and runway that would increase the human footprint in the world’s greatest wilderness by an estimated 40%.
The mega-scheme is likely to involve blasting petrel rookeries, disturbing penguin colonies and encasing a stretch of the wilderness in more than 115,000 tonnes of concrete.
Continue reading...People urged to stay home as investigation continues into source of Croydon cluster in Sydney and cases in Melbourne. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
Let’s return to those comments from NSW police regarding Tony Abbott’s exercise in the northern zone of the northern beaches.
Abbott’s most recent declaration to parliament (before his defeat in 2019) showed he lived in Forestville, which is classed as being in the southern zone of the northern beaches.
The New South Wales Labor leader, Jodi McKay, has called on Gladys Berejiklian to stop crowds from attending the cricket Test at the SCG, and urged her to make masks mandatory in certain settings:
Why are we now progressing with a crowd at the cricket? ... It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I’m urging the premier to make sure the cricket goes ahead ... but there is a general feeling there should not be people at the cricket.
I think it’s important that if masks can reduce the risk of transmission, that we’re doing everything we can.
Continue reading...Lockdowns and curfews curtail celebrations, with limited exceptions, after year most would prefer to forget
In Sydney the fireworks soared into the sky above the Opera House, but the harbour below was empty. In New York, Times Square will be mostly deserted. No light show illuminated Beijing from the top of the TV tower.
With revelry around the world curtailed by lockdowns and curfews imposed to stem the spread of Covid-19, the lions of London’s Trafalgar Square will be barricaded off, and there will be no crowds in St Peter’s Square and no one diving into the Tiber in Rome.
Continue reading...Gladys Berejiklian says households will be limited to five visitors as new cases spread to Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Sydney’s inner west. All the latest news and updates, live
The NSW opposition leader has weighed in on the debate around the Sydney Test.
You can go to the cricket but not congregate to view the fireworks. Both are outdoor events, yet different rules apply.
The cricket should be in NSW but with no spectators. Let’s watch both the fireworks and cricket on TV.
NSW Health has released a lit of new venues that have been visited by confirmed cases of Covid-19. This includes a Santa Claus Photo Booth at Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre.
Their statement is below.
Continue reading...David Simpson rescued three hours after his yacht was discovered run aground between Bribie Island and Caloundra
A man has been found clinging on to a marine beacon after he fell from his boat into the sea off Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Emergency services scrambled to find the man after his 13-metre yacht was discovered run aground between the northern tip of Bribie Island and Caloundra at about 4pm on Tuesday.
Continue reading...While there have been setbacks, in Australia at least it would be hard to find many people distrusting of scientists
Being an epidemiologist in 2020 has been a very odd experience. This time last year, when I told people my job title, more than half the time I’d be met with a blank look and then the tentative question: “Is that … like a skin doctor?”.
Explaining that it was more like a spreadsheet doctor rarely went down that well.
Continue reading...A terrible year is finally over but are we really in the mood to party? The Guardia Australian team reflect on how they’ll be marking 2020’s demise – please join us in the comments with your own plans and suggestions
In many ways, the end of this terrible year deserves the biggest, loudest and most cathartic party of all time. In a pandemic, of course, that was never going to happen – but it seems to be the last thing many want to do anyway.
When asked how they’d be marking New Year’s Eve – amid Covid restrictions, bad weather and general 2020 exhaustion – many people on Twitter shared the same sentiment: they would not be doing much. One is looking forward to “a quiet night with my dogs”; another a “rousing boardgame”; a third replied: “glass of wine, bed early.”
Continue reading...More contagious variant identified in returned traveller; three shops in Sydney CBD and two supermarkets in eastern suburbs visited by people who tested positive. This blog is now closed
And with that, we’ll wrap up the blog. Here’s a summary of everything that happened today:
Fairfield City has taken the decision to cancel New Year’s Eve celebrations, due both to the pandemic and the weather.
Mayor Frank Carbone says in a statement he knows people will be disappointed by the decision, but it is the right decision.
Council has been closely monitoring the escalating Covid situation in Sydney. The decision was made due to the increasing number of unlinked cases announced in the last few days outside of the northern beaches, which potentially means the virus has not been contained.
Continue reading...Australia, whose early call for inquiry sparked furious Chinese response, says it expects ‘robust, independent and comprehensive’ report
Australia is pushing to ensure the global inquiry it helped trigger into the early handling of the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t pull any punches – a move that has the potential to risk further recriminations from China.
Amid scepticism among several government backbenchers that the inquiry will fully address Chinese authorities’ early missteps and reporting delays, Australia is using its final months on a top World Health Organization board to press for the investigation to remain robust and independent.
Continue reading...Police say three more guests face the same fine for breaching Covid restrictions at the wedding in Pyrmont on Sunday
Nine people have been fined and three others face the same treatment after allegedly leaving Sydney’s coronavirus-hit northern beaches to attend a wedding in inner Sydney’s Pyrmont.
The 12 people were found at a wedding at a Pirrama Road venue on Sunday afternoon after police were tipped off about their whereabouts.
Continue reading...Contract tracers work to find source of five coronavirus cases as more hotspots named outside northern beaches. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
Good morning, and welcome to the Australia news live blog for 28 December. I’m Elias Visontay. Here’s what’s making news this morning.
-Health authorities in New South Wales are racing to uncover the source behind a mystery case they hope will shine light on the initial northern beaches outbreak, as further cases with unknown transmission threaten Sydney’s new year’s eve. Five of the nine locally-acquired cases in NSW under investigation are people who live outside the northern beaches.
Continue reading...Seventh case lives on northern beaches with source under investigation, as Avalon cluster grows to 122. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
Sticking with Cricket for a bit, Cricket Australia is edging closer to a decision on where the third Test will be held, with officials saying its a “50-50 situation”.
Preparations have begun to prepare the MCG for the test, as Cricket Australia remains in negotiations with the NSW and Queensland governments.
Related: Sydney Test a '50-50' chance as MCG starts work on standby pitch
The cricket is on, as per summer tradition, but that of course also means we get good banter.
Why are Aussies and Kiwis so good at banter? #AUSvIND #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/LL55SFOSVZ
Related: Australia v India: second Test, day two – live!
Continue reading...Warning comes as all passengers on board a regional flight told to isolate, and alerts issued across Sydney for a gym, cafes, shopping centre, food court and Santa photos
Sydney shoppers have been urged not to enter the central business district for the traditional Boxing Day sales after the state recorded seven new locally acquired coronavirus cases and the northern beaches cluster grew to 108.
The Australian Retailers Association labelled the NSW premier’s plea for consumers to stay at home on “the biggest day on the retail calendar” as “incredibly disappointing”.
Continue reading...Gladys Berejiklian discourages Sydneysiders from Boxing Day shopping; experts fear Christmas could turn into a superspreading event as ‘Avalon cluster’ rises to 108 and spreads. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
It has been a whole year since the skies parted and the almighty delivered this gift - Barnaby Joyce’s memorable Christmas message for the ages.
In the video, the Nationals MP and former deputy prime minister declared “I just don’t want the government anymore in my life”.
Merry Christmas pic.twitter.com/QGYPv51pTN
One of the Australian government-facilitated repatriation flights to bring home Australians from India has been cancelled, as about 39,000 Australians remain stranded overseas for Christmas.
The flight from New Delhi to Brisbane was scheduled to depart on Sunday 27 December, operated by Qantas.
Continue reading...Ships, helicopters and planes traverse thousands of kilometres of icy continent in complex, multinational medical evacuation
Australia and China have collaborated on a mission to medically evacuate an Australian expeditioner from Antarctica with help from the United States.
The operation took five days, used ships, helicopters and planes, and covered thousands of kilometres of the icy continent.
Continue reading...New border measures have been introduced as Sydney’s northern beaches Covid cluster continues to grow. Here’s what we know about the current rules
As the coronavirus cluster on Sydney’s northern beaches grows, other states and territories have introduced border closures and restrictions.
Here are the current border restrictions as of Sunday 20 December.
Continue reading...Traditional owners acknowledge mining company’s efforts in rebuilding relationship but say more needs to be done
High-level talks have been held between Rio Tinto and the traditional owners of the Juukan Gorge rock shelter in an attempt to repair the fractured relationship.
Rio blew up the 46,000-year-old caves in Western Australia’s Pilbara region in May to extract $188m worth of high-grade iron ore, devastating the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people.
Continue reading...Premier warns state is ‘far from out of the woods’ as nine new cases reported and six infections remain a mystery
New South Wales health authorities are worried undetected Covid cases among office workers in Sydney’s CBD could spread the virus at Christmas gatherings, as the number of infections linked to the northern beaches cluster grew to 104.
The premier, Gladys Berejiklian, pleaded on Thursday with residents to “limit your mobility” over Christmas as she reported nine new community cases from a record 60,184 tests and warned NSW was “far from out of the woods”.
Continue reading...Gladys Berejiklian urges people to ‘limit your mobility’ as new rules kick in for Christmas Eve in Sydney; medical experts says New Year’s Eve fireworks should be cancelled. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
Today’s seven cases linked to the Avalon cluster brings the total number of cases there to 104.
Chant says all people onboard a Qantas flight from Darwin to Sydney on 17 December have been considered close contacts and have been asked to self-isolate.
A Qantas crew member contracted Covid-19 who was onboard the flight subsequently tested positive. Chant says they are investigating another potential case but the current data is preliminary.
Continue reading...Sydney to keep 10-visitor rule but from 24-26 December children under 12 not counted; lockdown continues in half of northern beaches, but small Christmas gatherings allowed. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
The Northern Territory has revoked its categorisation of New South Wales region Illawarra as a coronavirus hotspot.
Health minister Natasha Fyles made the announcement this afternoon following an emergency cabinet meeting, saying the decision was made because there were no cases from the northern beaches there.
This is based on the evidence that they’ve had no cases from the northern beaches coronavirus cluster. I know people are anxiously awaiting other local government areas, but the advice from our chief health officer Hugh Heggie ... is that it is safe to remove that hotspot declaration for the Illawarra Shire local government area. The others will remain in place.
Victoria is reminding people from greater Sydney, the Central Coast or the northern beaches to not attempt to enter Victoria, just in case you might have forgotten.
If you have been in Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, or Sydney's Northern Beaches since Dec 11 please do not attempt to enter Victoria. Only people who have exclusively visited or travelled through other parts of NSW can apply for a Border Crossing Permit to enter Vic. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/bad8irfvqn
As soon as it’s safe to open back up to NSW, we will. For now, we’re making sure Victoria can stay safe and stay open.
For more information on the NSW outbreak and a map of locations in each zone, visit: https://t.co/sDimRWNc6F (2/2)#COVID19Vic #COVID19nsw