Category Archives: Victoria

Australia news live: passenger on India flight tests positive for coronavirus; Singapore next potential travel bubble

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One passenger onboard Saturday’s repatriation flight from India tests positive for Covid in Howard Springs quarantine facility in Darwin. Follow all the latest news live

• Call for medevac-style repatriation flights for Australians with Covid from India
• Stranded cricketers touch down in Sydney two weeks after IPL suspended
• Measures to support refinery industry could cost Australians $2bn over a decade

Health Minister Greg Hunt has stepped up to speak at a press conference in Somerville in Victoria, giving an update on the vaccination program.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian earlier today expressed surprise at a legal loophole that allows students to bring knives into schools.

It comes after a 14-year-old boy at Glenwood High School in Sydney’s North West faces serious charges after allegedly stabbing a 16-year-old boy with a “religious knife.”

Students should not be allowed to take knives into school under any circumstances and I think it doesn’t pass the common sense test.

Even if they’re not using weapons, others might take them from them so I was very taken back when I learnt that.

Schools in NSW are among the safest places in the community, and Glenwood High School is one of those schools.

We are currently working with the department and community representatives to discuss how best to enable students to meet aspects of their religious faith and, at the same time, to ensure our school remains a safe place.

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Victorian treasurer takes swipe at ‘elitist’ men’s only clubs as budget lifts property taxes

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Tim Pallas announces plans to strip single-gender social clubs of land tax concessions traditionally afforded to charities

The Victorian government has taken a swipe at exclusive men’s only clubs, announcing plans to strip them of land tax concessions traditionally afforded to charities and social associations.

Victoria’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, is preparing to deliver the state’s 2021 budget next Thursday, and staring down an eye-watering bill from the devastating Covid-19 second wave. In order to raise revenue Pallas has announced new land tax measures, expected to bring in an extra $2.7bn over the next four years.

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Australian neo-Nazi Tom Sewell charged by counter-terrorism police

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Police say the arrests of Sewell and another man in Melbourne followed an investigation into an alleged armed robbery

Australian neo-Nazi Tom Sewell has been charged by police in Victoria over an alleged armed robbery earlier this month.

On Friday, counter-terrorism police arrested two men – 28-year-old Sewell and another 22-year-old – and executed search warrants in Eildon Parade in the Melbourne suburb of Rowville.

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Budget 2021 reply speech: Anthony Albanese delivers Labor response to Australia federal budget

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Labor leader set to continue attack over sluggish wages growth; NSW Liberal minister Gareth Ward steps down over allegations which he denies. Follow latest updates

Anthony Albanese is on his way to the ABC studios for his 7.30 interview

The house is adjourned

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Alleged Isis recruiter Mohamed Zuhbi arrested on return to Australia

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Sydney man charged with terrorism offences after he allegedly travelled to Turkey in 2013 and on to Syria, where police say he recruited foreign fighters for Isis

A 30-year-old Sydney man who is alleged to be an Islamic State recruiter has been arrested and charged with terrorism offences upon his return to Australia.

Mohamed Zuhbi arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Turkey about 4pm on Saturday and was taken into custody by counterterrorism authorities at the airport.

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Australia live news: Australia live news: Covid breach at Brisbane airport after traveller tests positive; Brittany Higgins and PM to meet

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Former Liberal staffer will speak to Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese in Sydney, and Brisbane and Melbourne on Covid alert. Follow latest updates

Here's Justice Katzmann on the jingle being a benefit to Palmer pic.twitter.com/6fjHIDyBFX

Clive Palmer has been ordered to pay Universal Music $1.5m in damages over the “unauthorised” use of a version of the hit 1980s song We’re Not Gonna Take It by glam metal band Twisted Sister in a political ad during the 2019 election campaign.

Palmer used a cover version of the song during his multimillion-dollar advertising blitz during last year’s federal election campaign. The Palmer version of the song changed the lyrics to:

Australia ain’t gonna cop it, no Australia’s not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it any more.

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Australia news live: AMA says WA hotel quarantine not ‘fit for purpose’ for containing Covid

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Top doctor says leaks continue to happen because federal experts ‘deny’ virus is airborne; WA premier Mark McGowan to decide today whether Perth and Peel can reopen after three days of lockdown. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

• WA Covid hotspots: list of exposure sites
• Perth and WA Covid lockdown rules explained
• WA premier furious that Australian residents are travelling to ‘Covid-infected countries’

The social media giant Facebook has released a short statement confirming it has removed the page of independent federal MP Craig Kelly for repeated breaches of misinformation policy.

A Facebook company spokesperson said:

We don’t allow anyone, including elected officials, to share misinformation about COVID-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm or COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts.

We have clear policies against this type of content and have removed Mr Kelly’s Facebook Page for repeated violations of this policy.

Thanks to Matilda Boseley for another electric display of web logging.

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Federal government tears up Victoria’s Belt and Road agreements with China

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Foreign minister Marise Payne cancels two deals between Victoria and China under new foreign veto laws

The Morrison government has used its sweeping new foreign veto laws to tear up Victoria’s Belt and Road agreements with China, in what the Chinese embassy has denounced as a “another unreasonable and provocative move”.

The foreign minister, Marise Payne, said she would cancel those two deals, along with two older agreements between the Victorian government and Iranian and Syrian entities, because they were “inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations”.

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Australia news live: Scott Morrison says Brittany Higgins meeting ‘in process’; Victoria to make mRNA Covid vaccine

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State commits $50m to domestic manufacturing of cutting-edge vaccines; former Liberal staffer to ask Scott Morrison to fix ‘systemic coercive control’ in Parliament House. Follow live

That is where we will leave the blog for Wednesday. Thanks for following along. Here’s what made the news today:

The government has closed a loophole that would have allowed Australians to use New Zealand as a stepping stone to travelling to another country following the opening of the Trans Tasman travel bubble.

On Monday, health minister Greg Hunt amended the biosecurity legislation to specify that Australians could not go to any country other than New Zealand. Unlike Australia, New Zealand does not have an outbound travel ban.

Travellers should be aware that international travel to any other country, except New Zealand, continues to pose a significant risk to public health, and for that reason outgoing travel to other countries remains restricted.

“Australians considering travel outside of Australia or New Zealand are still required to apply for an exemption from the outgoing travel restrictions through ABF, and ensure they review the information available on Smartraveller relevant to their destination.”

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Australia news live: Greg Hunt has ‘full confidence’ in NZ Covid controls after border worker contracts coronavirus

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Queensland premier says people need confidence in vaccine before mass rollout; US secretary of state says countries investing in new coal ‘will hear from US’. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
• Secretary of state says countries investing in new coal ‘will hear from US’
• Australia increasingly isolated as US and others ramp up climate ambition
• Melbourne GP clinic with capacity to vaccinate 2,100 a week supplied with just 50 doses

The health department secretary, Brendan Murphy, has made opening remarks at the Covid-19 Senate inquiry. Murphy said Australia is “still in a very good place” even as comparable countries are battling fresh outbreaks and a fourth wave of the novel coronavirus.

He said:

“We are in a very fortunate place, even though we have border measures in place we are basically living a normal life – we have full football stadiums, restaurants, things are back to normal.”

Two state education ministers, Labor and Liberal, had criticised the milkshake video earlier today, via AAP.

Victoria’s Education Minister James Merlino called for the federal government to pull all content featured on The Good Society website, which launched as part of the Department of Education’s Respect Matters program last week.

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‘Like hunting for unicorns’: Australians on the search for adequate, affordable mental healthcare

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Countless inquiries have found the same problems afflicting the mental health system, but cost and access barriers still leave those seeking and providing care in despair

Many Australians experience the country’s mental health system as inadequate, dangerous and financially punishing, saying they often feel unsafe in hospitals, are dismissed by health professionals and are hit with prohibitive costs that government subsidies do not come close to covering.

And practitioners in turn have spoken of burnout and their frustration with misplaced funding, inadequate quick fixes, overmedication of patients and inconsistencies and duplication in the system, while acknowledging that many seeking help find the system “deeply traumatic”.

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Daniel Andrews to miss Victorian budget as back injury recovery takes longer than expected

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The premier had intended to take six weeks off after breaking his ribs and fracturing a vertebra, but now expects to return to work in June

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has delayed until June his return to work after a serious back injury and will now miss next month’s state budget.

Andrews suffered broken ribs and a fractured T7 vertebra after slipping on wet stairs at a holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula on 9 March.

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Australia news live: Christine Holgate says she was ‘bullied’ and Australia Post chairman fabricated evidence

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Holgate says she was ‘humiliated’ by prime minister Scott Morrison; man dies of coronavirus in Queensland. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
• Australia won’t purchase Johnson & Johnson jab
• AstraZeneca blood clotting: what is this rare syndrome?
• Andrew Laming blocked from recontesting next election
• More than half of Australians think vaccine rollout is too slow

Wow, it’s been a busy few hours! With that, I’m going to hand you over to Michael McGowan to take you through the rest of the afternoon.

Christine Holgate gave some evidence about executive bonuses. It is a little confusing and we’ll come back to it, because even the senators seem a little confused about what is being said. And it’s important we get it right, so I’ll head back over the transcript to see what she was saying there.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has the question call now. She says she has been very moved by Holgate, and what she went through. She asks whether she thinks the questioning on the 22 October estimates hearing was fair.

Holgate:

In all honesty, I didn’t consider whether it was fair or not fair. I absolutely respect and Senator Carr, forgive me but you’ve asked me many tough questions over my time with you (“that’s my job,” Carr says)...and I was about to say ‘that’s your job’.

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Bees bounce back after Australia’s black summer: ‘Any life is good life’

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Australia’s bushfires were devastating for bee populations. But steady rain and community efforts are seeing the return of the pollinators

You could say that Adrian Iodice is something of a stickybeak neighbour. On Iodice’s once-lush bushland property, nestled within the Bega Valley of New South Wales, there stands a majestic rough-barked apple tree that the beekeeper used to, every now and then, jam his head into.

In the hollow of the trunk lived a flourishing wild colony of European honeybees that Iodice had been keeping an eye on for years. “I’d have a chat with them,” he laughs. “Stick my head in and see how they’re getting on in life. They were very gentle bees; they never had a go at me.”

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Scott Morrison announces 20m more Pfizer vaccine doses after problems with AstraZeneca-led rollout

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Vaccine rollout faces delays as authorities scramble to secure alternatives to AstraZeneca such as Pfizer for under-50s over blood clot fears. Follow updates live

Labor MP Josh Burns has criticised the government for failing to deliver vaccines to aged care staff and residents, noting the issue is unrelated to fresh concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine causing blood clotting in those under 50.

Burns’ comments follow reports in the Guardian this morning that the federal government is expected to miss a self-imposed target on delivering “pop-up” hubs to vaccinate critical aged care staff and has given no details on the proposal to workers, despite multiple requests for information and meetings from the nursing union.

We’ve not had any federal aged care providers in Macnamara receive their vaccinations or have any indication on what day they are going to be having them, not to mention the staff that are still vulnerable and haven’t been vaccinated.

The frustration that Australians rightly have is that the promises that have been made have not been made by the Labor Party, they’ve been made by Greg Hunt, they’ve been made by Scott Morrison, they’ve been telling Australians that they’ve got it under control, that all is well, they are going to be vaccinating Australians and they haven’t been.

Related: Australia’s aged care nurses still in the dark about promised ‘pop-up’ vaccination hubs

Women need more information about contraceptive options, experts said, after concerns over rare blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca Covid jab prompted a debate over side-effects caused by certain forms of the pill.

On Wednesday the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that evidence that the jab could be causing a rare blood clotting syndrome was growing stronger. As a result the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that healthy people under the age of 30 who were at low risk of Covid should be offered a different vaccine if possible.

Related: Contraception blood-clot risk: ‘public need better access to advice’

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Daniel Andrews walking 18 minutes a day as he recovers from serious back injury

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Victorian premier says he’s making ‘steady progress’ after a ‘pretty painful’ few weeks

Daniel Andrews says he’s making steady progress in his recovery from a serious back injury and is now walking about 18 minutes a day.

Victoria’s premier suffered broken ribs and a fractured T7 vertebra after slipping on wet stairs at a holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula on 9 March.

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Australia news live: federal clinics open vaccine bookings to ease pressure on GPs; ‘dangerous’ rainfall continues along NSW coast

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More than 100 federally funded clinics will take bookings for Covid-19 jabs from Friday and will begin administering them from Monday. Follow latest updates

This is Elias Visontay bringing you this morning’s main stories: some Covid vaccine developments, a growing political feud, and misogyny culture in the spotlight across the globe.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is “safe and effective”, Europe’s medicines regulator has said, but it will continue to study possible links between the shot and a rare blood clotting disorder. Australian doctors have complained about vaccine supply issues but, from Monday, an additional 6.14 million Australians will be eligible to receive the jab – here’s how to to find out if you’re one of them, and how to book. Australia’s economic performance is also under scrutiny, as the worst performer on a list of the world’s 50 largest economies for “green recovery” spending to kickstart economic growth after the pandemic.

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Australia politics live: organisers of March4Justice rally reject PM’s offer of closed door meeting

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More than 100,000 women are expected to march in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to demand action in response to allegations of workplace abuse. Follow latest updates

Michael McCormack Michael McCormacked his way through an interaction with Janine Hendry this morning, when she asked him for action - and for change.

He ‘can’t give that assurance’.

#March4Justiceau organiser @janine_hendry bumped into Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack in the Parliament corridors ... here's how it ended. @10NewsFirst #auspol pic.twitter.com/fnkr3nam0h

Janine Hendry, a founder and organiser of the March4Justice, explained to the ABC this morning about why organisers turned down Scott Morrison’s offer of a private meeting with a small number of march delegates:

I think it is really quite disrespectful to the women whose voices need to be heard to have a meeting with our prime minister behind closed doors.

I have invited the prime minister, as I have all other sitting members of parliament, to come and march with us, to come and listen to our voices. I don’t think it is really a big ask – we have come to Canberra.

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Australia news live: Morrison defends tourism package; WA election campaign enters final day

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The PM has rejected claims of favouring Coalition and marginal seats through subsidised flights; and WA opposition leader Zak Kirkup insists he has no regrets as he prepares for landslide defeat. Follow all the latest updates, live

Good news for NSW residents in Auckland, they will once again be allowed to return to Australia without quarantine, as the New Zeland cluster dies out with no more new cases reported in the recent Auckland cluster since 28 February.

NSW health released a statement last night confirming the (one-way) travel bubble will reopen:

People who have been in Auckland in the past 14 days will be exempt from hotel quarantine provided that they seek testing for Covid-19 after arriving in NSW. They must self-isolate in their accommodation until they receive a negative result.

NSW Health will follow up arrivals from Auckland if a negative test is not recorded for them, to inform them of their obligations.

The OECD has so far been unable to find a clear winner in the contest between former Australian finance minister Mathias Cormann and former European trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström – so the decision may not be finalised until later this month.

Cormann and Malmström, the Swedish candidate, are the final two nominees for the role of secretary general of the Paris based OECD. The selection process is based on seeking to find consensus among OECD member states.

Following discussion with the Selection Committee, the Chair’s conclusions were finalised and these were communicated first to the nominating ambassadors, and then to the Heads of Delegations in plenary. Following these consultations, the Chair has been unable to identify which candidate has the most support. Further steps will be taken in March, with the aim of concluding the process.

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Australia news live: Dan Andrews moved to trauma ward; Qantas chief highlights risk of long-term border closure

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Gladys Berejiklian receives the AstraZeneca jab; Qantas chief Alan Joyce warns tourists and students could abandon Australia. Follow latest updates

Cairns hospital called a code yellow on Tuesday due to an influx of patients, including a number of Covid-19 payments from Papua New Guinea.

More from AAP:

More than 260 people presented at the emergency department on Tuesday, with road crash victims adding to increased pressure on services.

“A sustained high number of presentations to the ED, alongside a spike in trauma admissions and several patients needing isolation for Covid-19 had led to the hospital declaring a Code Yellow,” the hospital said in a statement on Wednesday.

News that the Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui is settling in Australia after being granted a travel exemption by the Australian government is unlikely to go down well in Beijing.

When Guardian Australia contacted the Chinese embassy in Canberra for comment on the matter, an official pointed us to remarks made by the foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing last week. The foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, told reporters Monday last week:

China’s position on Hong Kong-related issues is consistent and clear. Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong, and every bit of Hong Kong affairs belongs to China’s internal affairs, in which no other country has the right to interfere.

The Chinese side urges the Australian side to stop meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs and China’s internal affairs in any way. Otherwise the China-Australia relations will only sustain further damage.

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