Category Archives: Sydney

Australia Covid protests: threats against ‘traitorous’ politicians as thousands rally in capital cities

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Melbourne ‘freedom’ rally draws largest crowds as counter-protesters avoid confrontation

Thousands of people have marched in “freedom” rallies in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, with the largest crowds in the Victorian capital as protests against the state government’s pandemic legislation ramped up again.

Protesters marched from Victoria’s state parliament, down Bourke Street and up to Flagstaff Gardens, carrying Australian flags and placards bearing anti-vaccination, anti-lockdown and anti-government slogans, while chanting “kill the bill”, “sack Dan Andrews” and “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi”.

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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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Five reasons NSW Covid case numbers have stayed low since reopening

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Officials feared ‘freedom day’ would bring more cases and hospitalisations. But a month on, the numbers continue to drop

When New South Wales exited lockdown in October, the premier, Dominic Perrottet, warned that with extra freedoms would likely come extra cases and hospitalisations.

Modelling predicted up to 1,900 daily cases during the state’s first easing and a second, larger peak around Christmas. The Burnet Institute forecast hospitalisations would peak between 2,286 and 4,016 in Sydney by the end of September.

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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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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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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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‘I’ve got to get to my daughter, I’ve got to hold her’: families reunite at Sydney airport after international border reopens

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Fully vaccinated Australians are allowed to fly in and walk straight into arms of loved ones for first time in 583 days

Sydney airport has become the scene of tearful family reunions, with fully vaccinated Australians able to fly home and walk straight out of the airport for the first time in 583 days.

Many of the passengers who were onboard the first flights from Singapore and Los Angeles walked into the arrivals terminal shortly after 6am on Monday morning to be greeted by emotional family members and loved ones.

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The unclaimed: the ashes left waiting in Sydney’s Wayside Chapel

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In the charity’s storeroom sit the cremated remains of seven former visitors – unclaimed, contested or forgotten. This is the story of three of them

Mark was a member of an online witches and vampire community and liked to wear a bit of blingy jewellery. He really liked his friend Joe’s cooking. Gordon always had a can of Jim Beam in his hand and a flaring temper but, until he was evicted for anger management-related issues, he kept his public housing flat spotless. Marianne loved it when the volunteers did her hands and nails.

Jon Owen talks to them sometimes, Mark, Gordon and Marianne, sitting as they do in their urns on a purple-fabric-swathed table in the store room just off his office. “I often find myself chatting to them,” says the pastor of the Wayside Chapel in Sydney’s Potts Point. If the day’s particularly bad, Mark, Gordon and Marianne remind Owen that we all only live for, like, five minutes and, whatever it is that’s troubling him, he should just “let it go”.

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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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‘Phenomenal’ turnaround: how Australia is vaccinating its way to freedom

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After a slow start, vaccine uptake in three Australian states and territories has risen swiftly


Bars and restaurants along Sydney’s harbour foreshore bustled with the sounds of clinking glasses and full kitchens as thousands of people poured into venues after Covid restrictions ended this week.

Across the city, cinemas filled up and queues formed outside pubs. Salons buzzed with the sound of clippers as people jumped at the opportunity to tame their lockdown hair. Some beachside restaurants are booked up until February.

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The six ages of driving – or how I went from heroin alley speed junkie to terrified city motorist | Brigid Delaney

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One driving instructor told me he’d driven with murderers who were safer than me

The amusement arcades in Russell Street were the place in Melbourne to buy heroin in the 90s and early 2000s. But I went there to learn how to drive.

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Sydney storm: BoM warns of potential ‘tornado activity’ before thunderstorms and giant hail hit

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Bureau of Meteorology issued severe thunderstorm warning for much of the NSW coastline with sustained hail falling on western Sydney

Residents in greater Sydney bunkered down after being warned of potential “tornado activity” on Thursday afternoon and while the worst fears didn’t eventuate the city was hit by a series of thunderstorms that caused flash flooding, traffic accidents and power outages.

The severe storms also ripped the roof off a Westfield shopping centre at Mount Druitt which resulted in water gushing into stores and the mall before distressed shoppers were evacuated. There were no reports of serious injuries.

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Australia Covid news live update: TGA grants provisional determination of Pfizer vaccine for ages 5-11; Victoria records 1,571 cases, 13 deaths

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So there has been a bit of drama in the South Australian parliament, with a Liberal party defector somehow taking the Speaker of the House role in a late-night upset.

Dan Cregan, who left the Liberal party to sit on the crossbench last week, managed to take the job in a secret ballot.

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Australia Covid live update: Victoria records 1,890 cases, five deaths; NSW 477 cases, six deaths; 10,000 vaccinated people to attend Melbourne Cup

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Victoria records 1,890 new cases and five deaths; NSW records 477 cases and six deaths; 30 new cases in ACT; 10,000 vaccinated people to attend Melbourne Cup; Perrottet says NSW wants ‘to open international borders as quickly as possible’, as lockdown for those fully vaccinated set to lift at midnight. Follow updates live

Speers pivoted from asking communications minister Paul Fletcher about holding social media companies to account to holding the federal government to account.

There was a lot of back and forth and at one point Fletcher referenced the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian as NSW premier as evidence of the failings of an anti-corruption authority.

The government’s proposed federal integrity commission wouldn’t be allowed to hold any public hearings. Why not? What’s there to hide?

David, the proposed federal integrity commission would have the powers of a royal commission to deal with criminal corrupt conduct at a commonwealth level. And of course ...

No public hearings, which is my question. Why not?

It will go through an investigation process.And then, if appropriate, it will refer material to the director of public prosecutions, and then you go through an open-court process.

This commission wouldn’t have public hearings. I mean, don’t you think voters, taxpayers, deserve to see what’s going on? I mean, we wouldn’t know about Daryl Maguire’s business dealings from his parliamentary office and kickbacks he was receiving. Don’t we need to see this stuff?

I think the outcomes last week where a very popular and highly competent premier stood down highlights some of the flaws in the model. So we don’t support a model where you are presumed guilty unless you can prove your innocence.

Your government, of course, tried to scrap Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. You were worried about protecting free speech. Now it sounds like you want to go in the other direction and make it harder to say things that can be considered racist.

The test, David, will be the impact on the individual. If a reasonable person would consider that it was intended to harm and if it’s menacing, harassing or offensive – those words, by the way, taken from an existing provision in the criminal code dealing with online content. So what we’re doing is leaning in on this issue and all of the issues that arise in relation to online safety. Our government’s taken a leadership position on this since we came to government. The Australian eSafety Commissioner, set up in 2015, is world-leading ...

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Australia Covid live news update: Victoria records 1,838 cases, five deaths; NSW reports 646 cases, 11 deaths; restrictions eased in south-east Qld, Townsville

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Greg Hunt says Australia’s vaccination rate has hit 81.5% first dose and 60.2% second dose; Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is being investigated for not wearing a mask in public; Victoria reports record high number of new Covid cases; NSW records 646 local cases, 11 deaths three days ahead of reopening; Dr Kerry Chant says a new strain of Delta is circulating in Sydney; restrictions eased in Townsville and south-east Queensland; 44 new cases in New Zealand. Follow all the day’s news live

So, today is the final Friday under (this) lockdown in NSW, with the state due to emerge from stay-at-home orders on Monday.

But you’d be forgiven for losing track of what you can and can’t do once lockdown is lifted, considering the changes made and many, many annoucements.

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Hillsong founder Brian Houston to plead not guilty to concealing sexual abuse charge

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Police allege megachurch founder was aware of information relating to the abuse of a young man in the 1970s by his late father

The Hillsong founder Brian Houston will plead not guilty to charges alleging he concealed child sexual abuse by his late father in the 1970s.

The megachurch founder did not appear during a first mention of the case at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court on Tuesday morning.

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Australia news live update: Melbourne to set Covid lockdown world record, Dominic Perrottet set to become NSW premier

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Melbourne overtaking Buenos Aires as city that has spent most days under stay-at-home orders. Follow all the updates

When it comes to Melbourne now, by some counts, becoming the most locked-down city in the world, premier Daniel Andrews says he is proud of the sacrifices Melburnians have made over the pandemic.

Yesterday he called on Melburnians to make a final push before lockdown ends in coming weeks, reports Callum Godde from AAP.

We are going to get past this. We are going to end this lockdown and open up, and all that we will enjoy then will be a result of all that we have given.

If we let it rip last year, we would have had severe mortality and morbidity. It’s just that we haven’t had the same luck as other place.

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Australia Covid news live update: Victoria records 1,220 cases; NSW announces new rules for 70% vaccine milestone; Brisbane readies for NRL grand final

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NSW reports 10 deaths amid ‘dramatic drop’ in new Covid cases with 70% double-dose target in sight; cases continue to rise in Victoria amid vaccine mandate protests; Queensland readies for NRL grand final at Suncorp Stadium tonight as state records no new local Covid infections; ACT records 38 new local cases; 32 of New Zealand’s 33 new cases in Auckland. Follow live

Speers has asked Husic what he thinks of the state government’s plan to open up once 70% of adults are vaccinated?

Husic:

As someone who lives in a locked down LGA, who represents residents who have gone through some of the toughest measures across the LGAs in Western Sydney, we clearly want to get out of this.

As Labor has said, we at the national level support the national plan and believe that we do need to get out as quickly as we can, but it does require in particular a focus on the safety elements of this.

Icac is actually not allowed under law to delay or defer investigations. What do you think, though, about the criticism that it has chosen a terrible time to do this?

In response to your question first off, I would say that it is a bit hard for Gladys Berejiklian to make that point when she started cancelling her own press conferences, her daily press conferences. If this was such an important time, she would be there every single day. I think that needs to be borne in mind and I would urge people to consider that, but I guess overall I would understand, the two points I would quickly make:

I understand how people are confused and disoriented about the events of Friday, seeing the premier go that quickly, but it is important to emphasise that ... this explosive event was lit in 2020 when you had a New South Wales premier appear before Icac as a person being monitored, a person of interest, and clearly there was an issue there, and the reality is Icac did not force Gladys Berejiklian to resign, she did that of her own accord, following 12 months of saying that she wouldn’t do that.

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How are Australia’s neighbours faring in the Covid pandemic?

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Vaccination rates are rising in much of south-east Asia and the Pacific after recent outbreaks, but some of the largest countries are falling behind

While Australians have focused on the Covid waves in Sydney and Melbourne, many of Australia’s neighbours have recently experienced their largest outbreaks so far. This includes Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and even Singapore.

Singapore surpassed Australia’s vaccination target weeks ago, but was now seeing more than a thousand cases a day. Fiji recently had one of the highest rates of Covid cases per capita – peaking at 1,850 cases in the middle of July. But the nation of 889,000 was now regularly administering more than 10,000 new vaccinations a day.

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