Category Archives: Western Australia

Could China replace Australian iron ore with metal from Africa?

Posted on by

Analysis: Amid rising trade tensions, Chinese interests are keen to develop a high-quality deposit in Guinea. Analysts warn any restrictions on Australian sales to China would ‘send shockwaves through the market’

Across China and around the clock, furnaces fuelled by Australian iron ore pump out the steel the country needs to build its way out of the coronavirus downturn.

But as China’s trade war with Australia has become louder, working its way from unofficial stoppages to swingeing tariffs on barley and wine, so too have rumblings that the country may slow or end its use of Australian ore.

Continue reading...

Australian politics live: Chinese embassy accuses Canberra of overreacting to tweet on Afghan killings

Posted on by

Embassy official dismisses ‘rage and roar’ over tweet; new WA border rules not requiring quarantine to start on 8 December; Paul Fletcher complains to ABC chair about Four Corners program. Follow latest updates

And that’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Thanks as always for reading, we’ll be back tomorrow, with Amy Remeikis at the helm in the morning.

Here’s what happened today:

And in further weather news, severe thunderstorms are set to hit Sydney in a few minutes. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of damaging winds and large hailstones.

⚡Detailed Severe Thunderstorm Warning⚡
for DAMAGING WINDS and LARGE HAILSTONES. Forecast to affect Hornsby, Parramatta and Richmond by 7:05 pm and Sydney City, Sydney Olympic Park, Mona Vale and waters off Bondi Beach by 7:35 pm.
⚠️Warnings: https://t.co/qF3XejM6Tv pic.twitter.com/qnSGNfqZND

Continue reading...

South Australians urged to get Covid tests after man with virus goes ‘out and about’ in Adelaide

Posted on by

Flinders University campus and three other locations considered ‘high risk’ after Covid-19-positive man breaks home quarantine
• Follow the global coronavirus live blog

South Australian health authorities are urging anyone who visited a Flinders University campus and three other “high-risk” locations to get tested for coronavirus immediately after a Covid-19-positive man broke his required home quarantine and wandered “out and about” in Adelaide.

While there were no new coronavirus cases to announce on Sunday, SA’s chief health officer, Prof Nicola Spurrier, revealed the “concerning turn of events” at a press conference.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus detected in Victorian sewage as state records 22 days with no new cases

Posted on by

NSW records 10 cases in hotel quarantine, while Queensland announces two and Western Australia one

Victoria has only one active Covid-19 case but authorities are concerned about traces of the virus unexpectedly found at a Melbourne wastewater facility.

Victoria has gone 22 days with no new coronavirus cases while on Saturday New South Wales recorded 10 new cases in hotel quarantine. Queensland announced two new coronavirus cases and Western Australia one – all of which were in hotel quarantine.

Continue reading...

Western Australia opens hard border as Victoria records 15th day of zero coronavirus cases

Posted on by

NSW, South Australia and Queensland all report Covid-19 cases of people in quarantine

Hundreds of people had started arriving in Perth and more were crossing into Western Australia by road after the scrapping of the state’s Covid-19 hard border closure on Saturday.

The move came as Victoria recorded its 15th day straight with no coronavirus cases or deaths.

Continue reading...

National cabinet endorses national vaccination policy – as it happened

Posted on by

PM and premiers meet as Covid-19 cases plummet. This blog is now closed

The day is winding down so we are going to wrap up the blog. Here are the main events:

The rise of rightwing extremism has coincided with the emergence of social media “echo chambers” and easily formed online communities of interest, the head of home affairs has said.

Michael Pezzullo, the secretary of the department, appeared before a parliamentary hearing into social cohesion and nationhood this afternoon.

He was asked about recent testimony from the head of Asio that rightwing extremism now made up 30% to 40% of its priority counter-terrorism investigations. Labor committee chair Kim Carr wanted to know whether Pezzullo thought the trend coincided with the rise or rightwing populist groups in the US and Europe.

Domestically it would seem to me that the groups that are of most concern are those that would either promote or seek others to adhere to a philosophy or an ideology of extra-constitutional action, and worse of course extremist action, and worst of all violent action rather than moderating legitimately held differences of political, ideological, economic views through our democratic process.

Continue reading...

Victoria’s hotel quarantine program revealed to cost $195m – as it happened

Posted on by

Four new coronavirus cases recorded in NSW southern highlands as Victoria quarantine inquiry delivers interim report. This blog is now closed

That’s it for tonight, thanks for reading. To recap today’s developments:

The chief of the defence force, Angus Campbell, has released a statement about the inquiry into alleged war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.

Campbell said he received the Afghanistan inquiry report today, which examined the conduct of elite Australian forces in more than 55 incidents of alleged unlawful killings between 2005 and 2016.

Today I have received the Afghanistan Inquiry report from the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF).

The independent inquiry was commissioned by Defence in 2016 after rumours and allegations emerged relating to possible breaches of the Law of Armed Conflict by members of the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan over the period 2005 to 2016.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus Australia live updates: 800 people forced to self-isolate after outbreak at Melbourne college

Posted on by

Today’s meeting between federal, state and territory leaders will focus on removing social and border restrictions to jumpstart the economy. Follow live

On the bonuses that aren’t blingy watches.

In just the year to June, Australia Post paid $1.95 million in bonuses to 35 of its executives earning over $520,000 a year. That’s 648 Cartier watches - or 162 times the total Cartier watch spend. (Or about 27,850 Casio watches...) https://t.co/S8mmcqJmhh

We will probably be in a bit of a news lull while national cabinet is meeting and the US presidential election debate is on in about 25 minutes.

You can follow the debate in our other live blog here.

Continue reading...

Australian politics live: five Melbourne suburbs on Covid alert as Victoria and NSW premiers still under pressure

Posted on by

A school student in Melbourne’s north tested positive to coronavirus, putting the suburbs of Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston and West Heidelberg on high alert. Follow live

Australia Post is up in the communications estimates committee hearing - that starts at 9

NSW has reported just one locally acquired case - another six are in hotel quarantine.

Continue reading...

ALP pursues government over land deal as Coalition defends childcare scheme – as it happened

Posted on by

Melburnians can now travel up to 25km and spend more time out of the house; and federal parliament resumes with Senate estimates. This blog is now closed

To recap:

In the off chance you aren’t completely fed up with Covid-19 data, the federal health department has been publishing a weekly snapshot of how each state is going.

This is an interesting tool for assessing the success of contact tracing in various states, especially as the case load in Victoria continues to drop.

Continue reading...

Police say construction worker died after roof collapse at Curtin Unversity, Perth – video

Posted on by

A 23-year-old worker has died after he fell 20 metres when a roof collapsed on a building being constructed at Curtain University in Perth, Australia.

Two other men were taken to hospital, one with serious injuries, following the incident on Tuesday

Continue reading...

Coronavirus Australia latest updates: Andrews and Berejiklian face no-confidence votes, as Queensland election heats up

Posted on by

Victoria’s premier weathers upset after his top public servant resigned and NSW premier holds on after Icac revelations. In Queensland, opposition leader Deb Frecklington faces questions over event with Peter Dutton. Follow live

  • Follow our global coronavirus live blog
  • Full Australian Covid stats; Covid restrictions state by state
  • NSW cases map; Vic cases map
  • NSW hotspots list; Vic hotspots list
  • Sign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus email

    • The Queensland Liberal National Party has categorically denied claims it referred its own party leader, Deb Frecklington to the electoral commission over concerns about her fundraising events.

    The ABC reported this morning that the party referred Frecklington to the Electoral Commission of Queensland over a series of events, one where Peter Dutton was a guest, involving property developers.

    NSW Health have set up a pop-up testing clinic, and alerted to more venues, after two GPs in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba tested positive for Covid-19.

    Both doctors worked at the A2Z Medical Clinic, and are linked to a patient who was previously diagnosed with Covid-19, who attended Lakemba Radiology.

    Continue reading...

    Coronavirus Australia update: Victoria reports 11 new cases and NSW 10 as Peta Credlin questions Daniel Andrews – live

    Posted on by

    The number of locally transmitted cases in Sydney is growing, dashing hopes of the Queensland border reopening next month. Follow live

    Scott Morrison says it is the GST top up with has allowed WA to declare a budget surplus.

    So, you’re welcome, Mark,” he says

    Q: The RBA has warned today that Australia’s historically low population growth rate will heighten the risk of falls in property values in the future. And Treasury has said your housing measures bring forward demand for future years. What will the Government do?

    Scott Morrison:

    Well, the impacts from the COVID-19 recession are obvious. Whether it’s programs like HomeBuilder and others, there will always be an excess of demand over the supply of housing in this country. Always has been. And that’s what has fundamentally driven house price values all around the country.

    And that is still true today. There is still a surplus of demand over supply. And that’s why our HomeBuilder program - and to give you an idea of its impact, what we’ve done in the housing sector is we’ve been unlocking and bringing forward the decisions that home builders want to make. And that will see some 20,000 homes built at a cost of around $500 million.

    Continue reading...

    Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria reports nine new cases and Bondi beach to close as crowds reach capacity

    Posted on by

    Victoria to return to staged face-to-face teaching next week; treasurer Josh Frydenberg promises a jobs-focused budget. Follow live

    Here’s the latest case data from Victoria:

    Three of today’s nine new cases have been linked to known outbreaks or are considered complex cases. These are linked to the Butcher’s Club Chadstone Shopping Centre outbreak, with single cases linked to Corrigan Produce Farms Clyde North and Coles Williamstown. The other six cases remain under investigation.

    Anglicare is calling on the federal government to increase jobseeker and fund social housing projects in tomorrow’s budget announcements.

    “A permanent boost to jobseeker will add billions of dollars to the economy and at least 145,000 full-time jobs. The benefits would go straight to the areas that need them most,” Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers said in a statement.

    Social housing will offer relief for the tens of thousands of people who are homeless in Australia. It also boosts GDP, and creates jobs in construction for the regions that need it most.

    With the economy reeling in the wake of the coronavirus, we need to invest in projects that are shovel-ready. There is no time to waste. Social housing projects can get off the ground quickly – and they bring long-term benefits.

    The fact is that one-off payments and tax cuts won’t help people out of poverty. And they won’t boost the economy. A jobseeker increase and social housing will do both.

    Continue reading...

    Pilot scheme: planes may be grounded but there’s work on Australia’s farms

    Posted on by

    With the airline industry at a standstill and farmers desperate for workers, aviation staff are finding opportunities in a new field

    The cabin of a harvester in the middle of a vast wheat field might be a strange place to find an airline pilot at work, but for Andrew King it all makes sense.

    King worked as a passenger jet pilot for Hainan Airlines but has been on leave without pay since the pandemic hit in February.

    Continue reading...

    New Zealand refuses quarantine-free trips from Australia as ACT joins travel bubble

    Posted on by

    Jacinda Ardern says her country will not open up until Australia records a month without community transmission of Covid-19

    New Zealand will not reciprocate quarantine-free trips across the Tasman as the Australian Capital Territory joins Australia’s travel bubble with the country.

    On Friday, Australia’s deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, announced New South Wales and the Northern Territory would allow Kiwis to bypass the compulsory fortnight of quarantine on arrival from 16 October.

    Continue reading...

    Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria reports four deaths and 13 new Covid cases as NSW records four

    Posted on by

    NSW records no new locally acquired cases for fifth day as pressure mounts over border closures and budget speculation intensifies. Follow all today’s updates

    In aviation news, the regional airline Rex has announced it will start flights between capital cities in 2021, as a competitor to Qantas and Virgin.

    Rex has signed letters of intent to lease six Boeing 737 planes, which will fly between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, AAP reports.

    Hi all, it is Naaman Zhou here. Thanks as always to Amy Remeikis for her blog captaining today.

    Pokies profits dropped sharply during the first wave of the pandemic, but are still in the billions, according to new figures released today and reported by AAP.

    Continue reading...

    Coronavirus live updates Australia: NSW eases restrictions as Victoria records 12 new Covid cases and two deaths

    Posted on by

    Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos has told the hotel inquiry she had no role in the hiring of private security, while NSW Covid restrictions eased at schools and weddings. Follow live

    And that includes a breakdown of the current cases and clusters:

    In Victoria at the current time:

    Victoria Health has put out its official update:

    Victoria has recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus since yesterday, with the total number of cases now at 20,105.

    Continue reading...

    Bradley Robert Edwards found guilty of two murders in Claremont serial killings

    Posted on by

    Judge says the former Telstra technician is guilty of the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon but acquitted him of the murder of Sarah Spiers

    Bradley Robert Edwards, a 51-year-old former Telstra technician from Western Australia, has been found guilty of the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon but acquitted of the murder of Sarah Spiers in the Claremont serial killings case, Australia’s longest-running and most expensive criminal investigation.

    The Claremont serial killings refer to the deaths of Rimmer, 23, Glennon, 27, and Spiers, 18, between 1996 and 1997. All three women went missing after a night out at the Claremont entertainment district in Perth’s eponymous western suburb.

    Continue reading...