Category Archives: Victoria

Backed by Climate 200’s $2m war chest, independent challengers circle Coalition seats

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‘Lapsed Liberals’ and grassroots community groups are fielding high-profile candidates. Their target: the balance of power in Australia’s 2022 election

At the last federal election, the Coalition faced challenges from a string of hopeful independents in rural and city seats, largely running on climate issues. With two exceptions – Zali Steggall in Warringah and Helen Haines in Indi – they came up short.

Next year the independents will be back for another shot, focusing on heartland Coalition seats in New South Wales and Victoria. The difference this time is there is a road-tested model of how to mobilise the local community and run a campaign, and a $2m war chest on offer from Climate 200, a group established by the climate activist Simon Holmes à Court.

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Australia news live update: net zero modelling released; Morrison comments on Aukus fallout

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Federal government releases net zero modelling; Scott Morrison says ‘of course the French are upset’; Australia passes 90% first dose Covid vaccination milestone; Victoria records 1,115 cases and nine deaths; NSW records 286 cases and two deaths; state funeral for Bert Newton. Follow all the day’s news

Accused drug smuggler Mostafa Baluch is due to appear before NSW court today after he was recaptured, extradited from the Gold Coast and slapped with an additional outstanding arrest warrant charge.

It’s alleged that Baluch is the financier behind a 900kg shipment of cocaine into Australia, and was on the run for nearly two weeks after allegedly cutting off his ankle monitor.

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Australia news live update: NSW braces for widespread flooding; Victoria Covid cases still high; Morrison defends EV policy amid backlash

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Victoria records 1,313 new Covid-19 cases and four deaths; NSW records 261 cases and one death; NSW bracing for widespread flooding; man dies in police custody in Melbourne; PM continues to lash out at Labor as he responds to questions about his government’s stance on EVs – follow all the day’s news

A man has died in custody at a police station in Melbourne’s west, AAP reports.

Police say the 43-year-old Sunshine man was arrested on Tuesday and remanded to appear in court on Thursday.

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Australia news live update: WA nurse charged over alleged Covid vaccine fraud; booster shots available from today; more freedoms for NSW

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Nurse accused of faking a Covid vaccination; Adem Somyurek appears before Ibac; Victoria records 1,126 cases and five deaths; NSW reports 187 cases, seven deaths; ACT has 13 new cases; Barnaby Joyce slams ex-PMs’ criticisms of PM; vaccine boosters roll out; NSW scraps home-visit limits for vaccinated. Follow the day’s news

Health minister Greg Hunt is also on the interview circuit this morning and has been asked if booster shots will be required for people to keep the freedoms given to those who have been double vaccinated:

Not at this stage. it is not our medical advice. What a booster is, is exactly as the name says. It adds to your vaccination. It boosts your vaccination. It boosts your vaccination and protection.

We are opening up today across the country to anyone who is six months or more from their vaccination.

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Australia news live updates: NT to decide if Covid lockdown extended, Tim Smith won’t contest Victoria election after drunken crash

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Katherine stay-at-home restrictions due to lift at midnight, but source of outbreak still not known. Follow updates live

Labor will create a national anti-scam centre and double funding for services helping aggrieved Australians get stolen IDs back to counter scammers if it wins government, AAP reports.

Forcing companies to take down fraudulent ads faster, a review of the current penalties in place for scammers and a new ministerial portfolio for the issue will be introduced under its “scambuster” plan.

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Australia news live update: nation to pass 80% vaccination target today, PM says; WA reopening roadmap revealed; Melbourne Cup Covid scare

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Prime minister ‘quite certain’ Australia will reach 80% double-dose target today; Mark McGowan says Western Australia’s border restrictions could be eased by late January; Victoria records 1,343 Covid cases and 10 deaths; NSW records 249 cases, three deaths; Melbourne Cup attendee and Flemington Racecourse contract worker test positive; Northern Territory records second Covid case in two days – follow live updates here

Scott Morrison will meet with state premiers and territory chief ministers this afternoon for the first national cabinet meeting in more than a month.

We’re told the agenda includes an update on international border arrangements and an update on testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine protocols.

We don’t know where and we don’t know when but this is community transmission.

He has caught it from someone in the territory but we don’t know who ... Right now this bloke has no idea how he caught Covid and neither do we.

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NSW and Victoria to open border for fully vaccinated from midnight

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High vaccination rates and low Covid case numbers mean border can reopen, premiers Dominic Perrottet and Daniel Andrews say

For the first time in months, the border between New South Wales and Victoria will open to fully vaccinated travellers from 11.59pm Thursday, as both state governments push ahead with “normalising living with the virus”.

On Thursday evening, the Victorian acting chief health officer, Ben Cowie, reclassified the status of the Australian Capital Territory and all remaining “orange zone” areas in New South Wales.

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Australia news live update: Dutton urges France to ‘put aside hurt feelings’; Labor attacks Morrison over leaked Macron texts

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Peter Dutton says France would’ve reacted the same if told earlier about Aukus; Victoria records 1,247 new Covid cases and nine deaths; NSW records 308 and four deaths; Queensland records three local cases; Labor attacks Morrison over leaked texts – follow today’s news live

And here is the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, joining the condemnation of Scott Morrison, speaking now to ABC News Breakfast.

Well, [the Australian and French relationship] needs some repair done, quite clearly.

It’s quite extraordinary for the leader of a major nation, like France, to say the Australian prime minister lied to them. And it’s quite extraordinary for them, in response, for the Australian prime minister to release a private text message that doesn’t really show much.

Now ultimately, this is the decision [to exit the French submarine deal to pursue nuclear options with the US and UK] that the government took and we [Labor] backed in the national interest, that is to move to the down the path of nuclear-propelled submarines.

That’s a big decision and, for the French, it was always going to be difficult to manage, but the job of the leader of the country is not to behave in this way ... it’s to deal with the inevitable negative response of the change in a mature and responsible way.

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Victorian Labor MP gave staffer more than $33,000 to pay for party memberships, Ibac hears

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Investigators obtain bank records of transfers between Marlene Kairouz and electorate office manager Kirsten Psaila, hearing told

A Labor MP gave a staffer more than $33,000 to pay the party memberships of people within her faction, according to evidence provided to the Victorian anti-corruption commission.

But the MP, Marlene Kairouz, whose evidence is considered critical to the investigation into the alleged misuse of public funds by paying staff to do factional activity – including branch stacking – will not be subject to a public examination by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac).

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Australia news live update: Barnaby Joyce sure Australia and France can ‘get over’ submarine rift; Mark McGowan stands firm on WA hard border policy

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Barnaby Joyce says WA premier ‘lost his marbles’ when asked about opening the border; Victoria records 1,471 new Covid-19 cases overnight; NSW records 135; vaccine mandate for ACT disability workers; first flights land as NSW allows fully vaccinated people to enter without quarantining. Follow all the day’s news

Frydenberg:

[France’s] disappointment is obvious, and it’s understandable too. I mean, this was a large defence contract that they were hoping to see through to completion, but it’s not going to happen that way – because of the Aukus arrangement.

With respect to the next steps, well, the prime minister and the president will, you know, no doubt talk about those in subsequent conversations. But we’re thinking about how to build that partnership back, the areas of activity where we can continue to cooperate.

Do you believe Emmanuel Macron is lying? Somebody is not telling the truth here.

Well, the prime minister has made it very clear that he refutes those claims that have been made.

He’s also said, in other statements, that the French knew that we were considering various options and that that contract wouldn’t necessarily meet our strategic and national interests.

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Victoria Covid restrictions: reopening rules for Melbourne, regional Vic, freedoms for vaccinated people – explained

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Melbourne’s restrictions ease from 6pm, 29 October. Here’s what you need to know about schools, travel, childcare, retail and work

Covid restrictions across Victoria changed from 6 PM, 29 October, after the state reached an 80% full vaccination rate.

Melbourne had endured 262 days, nearly nine months, of stay-at-home restrictions that went over 6 lockdowns since March 2020.

No restrictions on travel around the state.

No masks outside.

People can return to work if fully vaccinated.

Outdoor public gatherings of 30 people allowed.

Gyms and retail reopen, subject to density limits.

Indoor and outdoor hospitality venue limits increase.

Indoor entertainment venues open at 75% capacity, as many as 1000 patrons.

Outdoor venues as many as 5000 patrons.

Indoor sport resume with density cap.

All schoolchildren back in classrooms full-time.

Queensland

New South Wales

South Australia

Western Australia

Tasmania

Australian Capital Territory

Northern Territory

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Australian politics live: Scott Morrison heads to Rome for G20 before climate summit

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Prime minister is flying to Europe amid global criticism of his plan for Australia to reach a net zero emissions target. Follow all the day’s news

McKinsey, a consulting company paid to advise on the vaccine rollout before receiving another contract to advise on the government’s net zero 2050 commitment, is now being paid to advise on how to cut down on waiting times for veterans waiting for their benefits.

From estimates overnight:

To mark this new chapter, Australia will invest $154 million into our cooperation with Asean through:

· a new Australia for ASEAN Futures Initiative, which will provide $124 million to support projects that address complex challenges including health security, terrorism and transnational crime, energy security, promoting the circular economy and healthy oceans, and support implementation of the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP);

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Australia politics live news: government faces net zero ‘plan’ fallout; Covid vaccine booster shots approved; overseas travel for fully vaccinated

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Question time tackles climate policy as PM faces mounting criticism over roadmap for reducing emissions by 2050; vaccine booster program to begin from 8 November; 16 Covid deaths in Victoria and NSW; international travel exemption scrapped for vaccinated Australians; national child abuse prevention strategy announced. Follow all the day’s news

The UN Environment Programme’s latest emissions gap report is out and it makes for sobering reading. The accompanying statement includes this:

Alok Sharma, incoming COP26 President, said the report underlined why countries need to show ambitious climate action at COP26:

“As this report makes clear, if countries deliver on their 2030 NDCs and net zero commitments which have been announced by the end of September, we will be heading towards average global temperature rises of just above 2C.

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Australia news live update: Scott Morrison unveils details of 2050 net zero plan; Victoria premier outlines new pandemic laws

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Prime minister gives press conference on Australia’s commitments to climate action; Daniel Andrews explains new measures; Victoria confirms four Covid deaths overnight, NSW one death – follow all the day’s news

The estimates hearings today cover off the same committees as yesterday:

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Australia Covid live updates: Victoria to have freedom of movement from Friday as state records 1,935 cases; 296 cases in NSW

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Victoria may reach jab milestone allowing greater freedoms this week, while figures show worrying number of school closures from outbreaks

The full rundown on Covid in NSW today, brought to you by AAP:

NSW has added a further 296 locally acquired infections to its Covid caseload along with four more deaths.

Some 480 people with the virus remain in hospitals across the state, 119 of them in intensive care.

Meanwhile, Halloween enthusiasts are being warned to keep trick-or-treating Covid-safe.

“If you and your family are planning to celebrate Halloween this year ... aim to keep the celebrations outside, provide closed packaging for treats and instead of communal lolly bowls consider other ways to distribute your treats,” NSW Health’s Jeremy McAnulty advised on Saturday.

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‘Incredibly worried’: end of Covid disaster payment looms for many still out of work

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At 80% vaccination the support will be gone. Some will be hit hard, particularly if Australia’s economy doesn’t bounce back strongly

It’s the lifeline that’s kept nearly 2 million people in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT on a steady weekly income during Covid lockdowns.

Since June, the government’s Covid-19 disaster payments – paid at either $750 or $450 a week, or $200 a week for existing welfare recipients – have been available to people who lost work due to stay-at-home restrictions.

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‘Nervous giddy excitement’: relieved Melbourne residents enjoy weekend out of lockdown

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The world’s lockdown capital emerges for its first Friday night of freedom, but not everyone joined the party

From St Kilda to Coburg the traffic is heavy in Melbourne for the first time in months. The bars are filling up and friends are having long hugs as the world’s lockdown capital sheds its Covid restrictions and opens up.

“Melbourne is back!” yells one man out of his car window on Lygon Street in the inner-city suburb of Carlton.

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‘The plan is to drink all day’: sunny Melbourne celebrates its freedom day. First stop – brunch!

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As the first hints of summer creep into the air, residents crowd into cafes – but a grim new record Covid death toll casts a shadow

For the first time in a long time, there are plenty of people out on Melbourne streets as the sun rises over the city.

Just hours after lockdown lifted, cafe workers are out in the cool morning air, dragging chairs and tables out the front of the stores, anticipating hordes of brunch-starved customers.

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Australia politics live: Scott Morrison in last-ditch talks with Nationals on net zero

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Prime minister expected to push Liberals and Nationals to find agreement on emissions roadmap in meeting on Tuesday. Follow the latest updates live

And also worth keeping in mind – the Liberals don’t actually need the Nationals to move ahead with the climate commitments. Nothing is going to parliament (at least at this stage – because we are talking a 2050 plan) which means there is no danger of people crossing the floor.

Scott Morrison told the Liberal party room yesterday he planned on taking Australia’s commitment to net zero by 2050 to Glasgow as an NDC – a a nationally determined contribution – which doesn’t need the parliament either. It’s essentially a pledge which says ‘we intend to do this’, and makes it a little more official, rather than just a speech. He doesn’t need the Nationals for that either.

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Australian politics live: Victoria records 1,903 Covid cases, NSW 265; Liberals hear climate plan; Gladys Berejiklian Icac hearings begin

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Liberals hear climate plan; Victoria and NSW release Covid numbers; Tasmania snap lockdown to end tonight; Icac hearings begin into Gladys Berejiklian; Barnaby Joyce ‘hopes’ climate won’t split the Coalition – follow the latest updates live

The federal treasurer and Victorian Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg has once again ramped up his attacks on the Victorian Labor government over lockdowns (you may remember some of his speeches on the Victorian lockdown last year) a theme he continued yesterday, even as the state government announced an earlier than expected loosening of restrictions.

Daniel Andrews responded to that on ABC News Breakfast this morning:

Well, look, I would just say to Josh, this is not about you and your breathless political rants don’t work against this virus. This day and this week, and the weeks to come, are all about Victorians who have done an amazing thing.

They’ve got vaccinated in record numbers and in record time. And this is their moment. It’s not for Josh. And his endless criticism and negativity, I just don’t think it goes down very well in Victoria because it doesn’t work against this virus. So, I will say no more about him.

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