Australia politics live: RBA holds cash rate at 0.1% as government shuts down attempt to censure Craig Kelly

Doctors’ group lashes out at Liberal MP, saying ‘all public figures’ should ‘act responsibly’; Morrison government to face pressure on jobkeeper and jobseeker. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

Perth and WA’s Covid restrictions explained
Perth and regional WA Covid hotspot locations; NSW hotspots
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Ed Husic is also asked about the CFMEU ad that depicts Scott Morrison driving a literal bus (called the omnibus) towards workers, which is meant to illustrate workers being hit by IR changes, and whether it goes too far:

Husic:

Some of the unions, or some people will try and characterise it in that way, and whether or not that works in their favour, to be putting it bluntly, I think there is a genuine concern about what the government’s industrial relations reforms will do, what impact they will have on working people.

When you go through the detail of what they are proposing, they will be seeing the greatest burden placed on working Australians and it’s just wrong. They shouldn’t have cuts to their take-home pay.

Ed Husic is on the ABC this afternoon, where he is asked about the topic of the day – government backbencher Craig Kelly and the government’s leadership refusal to censure him.

Husic:

The prime minister occupies an important place in the country, the words of the prime minister matter, the actions mean even more, and in this case allowing Craig Kelly to just keep rolling on the way he is, to undermine the investment of taxpayer dollars, in information campaigns to embrace the inoculation process, to help us deal with a Covid-19 pandemic that has crippled the economy for the best part of 2020, resulted in 2 million Australians being unemployed or underemployed and the vaccine bringing one way to bring us closer to normal, as it were, this is just wrong, that you could have a government MP being allowed by virtue of inaction by the prime minister for that to continue.

It shouldn’t, and if he did take this matter seriously it would be reined in and it wouldn’t be an issue and you and me wouldn’t be talking about it.

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Australia politics live: Perth and WA’s south-west enter Covid lockdown as MPs quarantined in Canberra

Much of Western Australia shut down, with politicians returning to the ACT for parliament forced to isolate. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

And you may be surprised to learn that Gladys Berejiklian has no advice for Mark McGowan over what he should do.

Surprised, because the NSW premier had a LOT of advice for her Queensland counterpart ahead of Queensland’s election. Which Annastacia Palaszczuk won, with an increased majority.

I would not presume to have any advice for any of our colleagues apart from saying that please judge New South Wales on our record of how we manage things here, it is not for me to suggest what other premiers should do, that is a matter for them. All of us have to be considerate of what is happening inWA at the moment. Our thoughts are with everyone in WA at the moment.

NSW premier Gladys Bereiklian says there will be extra screening for WA travellers - but the states borders will remain open:

I have confidence that they would do all the due diligence as we have done in the past, when New Zealand or Brisbane went through this, we make sure we had those procedures in place, the key is to make sure we act quickly and to provide as much information as possible, but also to make a proportional response. We don’t know of any community transmission within WA apart from the security guard, so we are acting according to that risk.

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Much of Western Australia goes into five-day lockdown after hotel guard tests positive to UK Covid variant

Restrictions imposed in Perth, Peel and south-west, with schools suspended and residents only allowed to leave home for essential reasons

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• Western Australia hotspots
• NSW hotspots

Western Australia has imposed a five-day lockdown in metropolitan Perth, the Peel region and the state’s south-west region amid fears a hotel quarantine worker who has tested positive to Covid-19 has contracted the highly contagious UK variant.

South Australia and Victoria shut its borders to the affected areas late on Sunday evening, and in other states and territories, WA residents were told to immediately go into self-isolation, potentially creating chaos in Canberra where MPs had flown in for the resumption of parliament this week.

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Western Australia shark attack: surfer reportedly bitten on foot off Gracetown

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development says woman emerged from water with bleeding foot

A surfer has reportedly been attacked by a shark in ocean off the south-west of Western Australia.

A spokesman for the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said the woman, 46, emerged from the water with a bleeding foot at Cowaramup Bay Beach, Gracetown.

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Australian Open gets green light for 30,000 a day as WA loosens border restrictions

WA premier Mark McGowan says travellers from Queensland and Victoria will no longer have to quarantine upon arrival

Crowds at this year’s Australian Open will be capped at half the pre-Covid average, after Victoria’s top health official signed off on allowing up to 30,000 spectators to attend the start of the tournament next month.

On Saturday, Victoria’s sports minister, Martin Pakula, confirmed the government had agreed to a plan that would allow daily crowd capacity of 30,000 for the first eight days of the tournament, reducing to 25,000 per day from the start of the tournament quarter-finals.

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Australia news live: NSW considers easing Covid restrictions as vaccine information campaign launches

Limits on gatherings could be lifted in Sydney after more than a week of zero locally-acquired cases

NSW hotspots; State-by-state restrictions and lockdown rules explained
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Berejiklian was asked to comment on the new Covide-19 vaccine advertising campaign, and said the Therapeutic Goods Administration “would not have approved it if it wasn’t safe”.

We’re able to rely on research, the experience that other nations have had, and I for one will be getting it absolutely the day it’s available to me...I know some people feel strongly about not having a vaccine. I’m not one of them. I think it’s really important for us, for as many of us to get the vaccine as possible in a timely way, to safeguard all of us moving forward. And potentially to give us greater freedoms.

Oh, look, I just focus on what I need to focus on.

My view is all of us should always follow the health advice. We have experts appointed and serving in positions which have kept all of us and Australia safe to this point in time. All of us owe it to the health experts to follow the advice and what we present is based on science and fact.

He’s not in my team. You have to ask...

I’m not going to add any further to what I said. Please ask me other questions.

I think I have answered the question twice already. To say you should always base, base the advice, the actions you take based on health advice. And I think I’ve been saying that straight for about a year everyday. And I don’t think any of us should waste our time on people who express opinions not based on evidence.

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said she is “hoping” to receive medical advice that will allow her ease to coronavirus restrictions this week, but wouldn’t be drawn on exactly when or what that might look like.

She told ABC News Breakfast:

Well, look, we’ll behaving those discussions and getting the advice today. I’m hoping to make a announcement by the end of the week. We’re doing more. There’s more contagious strains of the virus coming into Australia. In New South Wales our policy always is don’t keep restrictions or burden our citizens a day longer than you need to. I hoping to have confirmation of advice that allows us to announce that later this week.

I think perhaps people will be looking forward to welcoming more people into their homes, and mask policy moving forward. There’s a number of areas looking forward. The hospitality sector also wants certainty moving forward. We’re looking forward to making the announcements later. I get advice on a daily basis from the health experts and today and tomorrow we’ll be having longer conversations about what it means.

They’re the conversations we’ll have. There could be some settings where we do think it should be an ongoing way of doing things, a way of living. In other settings we may ease off and say we remembered you do this, but you don’t have to.

The important message on public transport and we’re encouraging people to go back to work in a Covvid-safe way. We do want people to catch public transport, where they’re going to work from and how they’re going to work. Because jobs and focusing on the economy is critical for us this year. I think people will feel safer if there’s masks on public transport. Those are the conversations we’ll be having.

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Western Australian government seizes control of Fremantle’s tent city

Mark McGowan’s government accuses Fremantle council of failing to withdraw consent for occupancy of Pioneer Park in reasonable timeframe

Western Australia’s government has formally seized control of Fremantle’s tent city, ramping up the blame game over the troubled homeless camp.

The treasurer and lands minister, Ben Wyatt, has signed a revocation order under the Lands Administration Act removing the City of Fremantle as the management body for Pioneer Park.

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Australia news live: Emirates to resume flights; tennis player tests positive to Covid-19

Airline will fly to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from Monday; Spanish star Paula Badosa has coronavirus. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

  • NSW hotspots; Queensland hotspots
  • State-by-state restrictions and lockdown rules explained
  • Follow the global coronavirus liveblog
  • Daniel Andrews frustrated by the decision to award an Australia Day honour to Margaret Court:

    Do we really have to do this every single summer? But apparently we do. I thought we might not have had to have this debate this summer.

    But anyway, others have saw fit to honour her in that way. They’re not decisions that I make; you’ve asked me if I support it, I’ve indicated no, and I’ve also given a sense of why.

    More from Andrews on Margaret Court receiving an Australia Day honour. He invokes the recent debate in Victorian parliament about outlawing gay conversion therapy in the state:

    I think calling out bigotry is always important. We have just had a debate in the parliament of Victoria to outlaw the bigoted quackery that costs lives.

    My position on this has been consistent. I don’t seek to quarrel with people but I’ve been asked a question and I’ve answered it.

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    Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria, NSW and Queensland record no local Covid cases as three new cases linked to Australian Open

    Two tennis players have tested positive, but hard lockdown of those who shared flights remains. Follow latest updates

  • NSW hotspots; Queensland hotspots
  • State-by-state restrictions and lockdown rules explained
  • Follow the global coronavirus liveblog
  • As our West Australian readers start to log-on, I bring to you news of possible secession. I have not clicked through to see what other images/tweets etc come up under #WAXIT but please feel free to do so:

    A group of business leaders in Western Australia want the state to break away from Australia… calling the campaign #WAXIT.

    Should WA be allowed to break away and form an independent nation? #9News pic.twitter.com/mtStO3Ayzh

    A $7bn funding injection into social housing would address surging homelessness caused by the pandemic, advocates say.

    This just in from AAP:

    Social housing advocates fear a surge in homelessness stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, and are urging swift action from the federal government to ensure Australians have a roof over their heads.

    A national campaign to end homelessness, Everybody’s Home, estimates a $7bn injection into social housing would make a serious dent in homelessness, while creating 18,000 jobs a year over the next four years.

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    Morrison will decide ‘over the course of the year’ whether to allow international travel – as it happened

    Meanwhile, three of four Covid cases found in Victoria hotel quarantine linked to Australian Open. This blog is now closed

    That’s where I’m going to leave you for today. Thanks as always for reading along.

    Here’s what we learned today:

    Fragments of Covid-19 have been detected in sewage at three sites in Queensland, the state’s health department has said.

    Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said in a statement released just now that viral fragments of the virus had been detected at wastewater treatment plants after samples were collected last week. The positive results were detected at three locations:

    While this does not mean we have new cases of Covid-19 in these communities, we are treating these detections seriously.

    A positive sewage result means that someone who has been infected was shedding the virus. Infected people can shed viral fragments and that shedding can happen for several weeks after the person is no longer infectious.

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    Coronavirus Australia live: Australian Open tennis quarantine disarray; Victoria opens border to most of Sydney as NSW records no local cases

    Victoria premier Daniel Andrews says people in most of Sydney can apply for a permit to travel to the state while 10 LGAs still remain in red zones. Follow latest updates live

    The ABC has spoken to one of the tennis players who is isolating as part of strict restrictions applied to those who travelled for the Australian Open.

    #AusOpen player Artem Sitak happy to be in Melbourne for the tournament. A lot of the players have now realised it's an unfortunate situation. News of the long Victorian lockdown & of Australians unable to return home is making them feel very lucky to be in Melbourne. #Springst pic.twitter.com/EgQ9CEix9P

    Of course I’m happy. As I said, I was prepared for the worst and unfortunately it happened to me, but I’m – I’m definitely happy. I’m here, I love Australian Open. I think it’s going to be any sixth or seventh Australian Open and I love playing here. There’s always a really – a really vocal huge crowd. Hopefully this time it will be – I don’t know the percentage of spectators that are allowed but there will still be a lot of people. We haven’t played in front of spectators since back in August. And this is going to be a lot of fun.

    The Victorian police union is less welcoming of news that Covid-19 fines in Victoria will be waived. Here’s what Victorian Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said on radio station 3AW earlier today, according to AAP:

    It’s a wee bit frustrating.

    None of this was fun for our members. It was bit of a thankless job.

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    NSW reports no new local Covid cases, as Queensland denies hotel quarantine breach – as it happened

    Madison Keys drops out of Australian Open and Andy Murray in doubt after testing positive for Covid

    With that, we’ll be closing the blog for today. Here’s a recap of the day’s headlines:

    Emergency warnings have been issued for separate bushfires threatening lives in Perth’s eastern foothills and the Wheatbelt region, AAP reports.

    Firefighters are battling to contain an out-of-control blaze in High Wycombe, near the Perth Hills.

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    Australia news live: NSW records five new locally acquired Covid cases as Qld records one

    NSW premier concerned over low testing levels as state grapples with growing number of mystery cases; partner of a Brisbane hotel quarantine cleaner who contracted new Covid-19 strain tests positive. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

    Two Emirates flight attendants are in isolation in Australia after testing positive to Covid-19 on Sunday, two days after Australia introduced mandatory quarantining and testing of international flight crews.

    The positive tests were included in Monday’s numbers.

    The crew members identified as positive cases are being managed per usual processes and remain in Australia.

    Since the incoming Emirates flight EK430 from Dubai to Brisbane was serviced by the same crew, as per the airline’s safety protocols the remaining crew members were determined to be close contacts. As a precautionary measure, the decision was therefore made to cancel flight EK431 from Brisbane to Dubai for the safety of its passengers.

    The health and safety of our crew, customers and communities remains our top priority, and we continue to work closely with all relevant authorities to implement the latest health and safety protocols.

    And just when you thought acting prime minister Michael McCormack’s controversial day was over, he has now used the controversial right-wing phrase “all lives matter” at a press conference when discussing the “black lives matter” protests.

    The Nationals leader has come under fire today and yesterday for comparing the insurrection at the Capitol building by far-right rioters to the Black Lives Matter protest and riots earlier in the year.

    I abhor violence of any form. The Black Lives Matter protests, as at mid-last year, cost 19 lives. That’s 19 lives that should not have been lost. I’m not going to apologise because I said that violence in any form should not happen, from a protest...

    I appreciate there are a lot of people out there who are being a bit bleeding heart about this and who are confecting outrage, but they should know those lives matter too. All lives matter.

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    Australia’s state by state Covid restrictions and coronavirus lockdown rules explained

    What are the restrictions in Brisbane since a worker tested positive to the UK strain of Covid-19? Do I have to wear a mask and how do Victoria’s border closures with NSW and Queensland work? Untangle Australia’s Covid-19 laws and guidelines with our guide

    Australian states and territories have different levels of restrictions to contain Covid-19.

    Here we answer some common questions about restrictions in each state, based on the information available as of 8 January.

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    Coronavirus Australia live news: NSW reports eight new Covid cases while Victoria records three

    Many customers of Sydney bottle shop are considered to be close contacts and must isolate for 14 days. Follow latest updates

    MEDIA RELEASE: From 1am Monday 4 January, anyone who has been in Victoria on or since 21 December will be restricted from entering vulnerable facilities, including aged care facilities, hospitals, disability accommodation and correctional facilities.https://t.co/xd8p24VvdZ

    Some more details on that cyclone warning from AAP.

    A severe weather warning has been issued for far north Queensland as a tropical cyclone is expected to develop in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

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    Australia border restrictions: here are the state and territory Covid rules for NSW travellers

    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.

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    Rio Tinto addresses ‘hurt and devastation’ of Juukan Gorge blast as remedial works begin

    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.

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    Greater Sydney lockdown fears as Gladys Berejiklian warns coronavirus cases to worsen

    NSW premier says Sydney ‘on notice’ as travellers into Queensland to require border pass declaration and WA reimposes hard border

    The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has warned residents of greater Sydney to prepare for an increase in restrictions if the outbreak of Covid-19 expands beyond the northern beaches.

    Meanwhile travellers coming from NSW to Queensland will require a border pass declaration from 1am on Sunday and Western Australia announced it was reinstating its hard border with NSW.

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    ‘The platypuses were glowing’: the secret light of Australia’s marsupials

    The discovery that bilbies, bandicoots, Tasmanian devils and echidnas emit bio-fluorescence under UV light has sparked the burning question. Why?

    Dr Kenny Travouillon turned off the lights and headed straight for the shelf holding the stuffed platypus, armed with an ultraviolet torch to test something out. Would the monotreme glow?

    “All the platypuses were glowing,” says Travouillon, the mammals curator at the Western Australian Museum in Perth. “We went through with other mammals and we found they were glowing too.”

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    Coronavirus Australia live update: NSW records 10 new Covid cases on northern beaches as Qld and Victoria border restrictions outlined

    Christmas travel plans up in the air after Sydney cluster grows to 28 and Qld, WA, Victoria and Tasmania announce new border restrictions and quarantine measures

    When asked why he isn’t implementing a hard border with NSW, Mcgown says it’s because the outbreak is not as “spread out” as the Adelaide outbreak, when the state did implement a hard border.

    “It’s based upon the number of cases and the spread of the cases. So if the cases are out from their existing location to other parts of Sydney or New South Wales, if the numbers grow as they have, or even more, then there may well be a requirement to go to a harder border arrangement.”

    WA health minister Roger Cook has announced one additional case in the state overnight, which takes total cases to 844.

    In relation to the clinics, he says all travellers who have arrived in WA from NSW between 11 and 17 December are required to immediately self-quarantine and be tested at a Covid clinic. They will have to remain in quarantine until they receive a negative result.

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