Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Amateur photographer Derry Moroney lives on the mid-corth coast of New South Wales in the community of Brooms Head. For the past three years he has been photographing landscapes, animals and insects. ‘With our pristine beaches and Yuraygir national park on my doorstep, I really didn’t have to travel very far,’ he says.
In July 2020 Moroney followed the water upstream from the estuary at Brooms Head and stumbled on to Lake Cakora. Using his drone he captured stunning images of arboreal-like drainage channels in Lake Cakora. ‘The tea trees along the banks colour the water running off into the lake after a big storm,’ he says, describing the patterns as ‘like a tree of life’.
You can see more of his work on Instagram at @derry_moroney_photography
Social media users criticise the exclusion of some trans women at McIver’s Ladies Baths, forcing a change of policy wording
A women-only ocean pool in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has come under fire over a policy that excluded transgender women who had not had surgical intervention.
The McIver’s Ladies Baths’ policy on transgender women, published on the FAQ section of its website, has been changed twice since attention was drawn to it on Monday afternoon.
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.
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
A single case of community-transmitted Covid-19 has been recorded in Australia on Saturday, but concern remains about a woman released from hotel quarantine in Victoria despite testing positive to the highly infectious UK variant of the virus.
New South Wales recorded one new case of Covid-19, with Victoria and Queensland both recording zero new cases. Other states were yet to report their numbers, but have not had cases of community transmission for several weeks, if not months.
Almost 7km of cycleways have been created in six months, a sign the government conflicts that have held up progress may be on the wane
When the officials charged with making cycling safer and more accessible in Sydney meet their international counterparts, they can expect to be greeted with a mixture of incredulity and sympathy.
“I don’t think anyone has a tougher time than we do,” says the City of Sydney’s executive manager of cycling strategy, Sebastian Smyth.
Emergency services in Western Australia have issued an updated emergency warning to residents in an area on the northern side of Lancelin, a coastal town about 140km north of Perth.
The area covered by the emergency warning was extended in the early hours of the morning to include an area west of Brand Highway, where the fire has broken containment lines.
Forecast very hot, dry and windy weather conditions over the next two days will continue to test containment lines and there is the ongoing potential for the rapid escalation of fire behaviour.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is providing a coronavirus early today, at 9.30am. This will allow him to make some comments before heading in to national cabinet.
We haven’t got the daily figures for Victoria yet — I’ll bring them to you as soon as they’re published.
High priority groups will begin receiving the vaccine earlier than anticipated; NSW south coast holiday locations on high alert; cricket crowd flocks to Sydney Test. Follow all the latest news and updates
Murphy says that over the second quarter of 2021, Australia will have vaccinated “a significant portion” of the population. That’s still mainly focusing on those first two priority groups.
He says:
The very last group that we might consider [vaccinating] is children. We know that children are at very low risk of getting Covid and transmitting Covid and the vaccine has not yet been thoroughly tested against children.
There will be vaccine hubs set up around Australia which only deliver one type of vaccine. That is to prevent confusion about which type of vaccine a person has been given, Murphy says, to ensure that people get two doses of the same vaccine.
A dose each of different vaccines will not cover you.
Two other children hurt and a 34-year-old woman was critically injured after car hit them at high speed
A father has said he is living “a nightmare” after two of his young sons were killed when an unlicensed driver hit a group of five pedestrians in central west New South Wales.
Police say the 25-year-old driver – who allegedly never held a driver’s licence and was later caught with a prohibited drug – fled the scene of the crash on foot.
People who attended venues in Merrylands, Parramatta, Mays Hill and Pendle Hill in Sydney urged to get tested. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
If you are one of the thousands of people in Victoria who are off to get a Covid-19 test following that press conference, please allow me to share some of the advice that has been coming in from readers over the past few days.
Overwhelmingly, people who had the best experience at testing sites are those who booked in to a respiratory clinic. You can find a list here. You book online, then turn up for your appointment. People who have used respiratory clinics over the past week or so have told me they were in and out between 10 and 25 minutes of their appointment time.
NSW will hold its daily press conference at 11am, as usual. We’ll bring you that as it happens.
Cricket Australia to refund all tickets to Test and require re-purchase, as John Barilaro says Sydney testing numbers are ‘far too low’. Follow the latest updates
Here’s some bits and pieces from the Cricket Australia press conference:
It is fairly predictable, but the Victorian opposition is calling for premier Dan Andrews to come back from leave because of the new Covid-19 cases in the state. Haven’t seen similar yet re NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who is also taking a break this week.
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.
Gladys Berejiklian announces new measuresfor greater Sydney and $200 on-the-spot fines, as Victoria’s hard border takes effect
The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said she does not want to “restrict business activity, jobs or economic activity”, announcing new restrictions including mandatory masks, as seven new cases of community transmission of coronavirus were announced on Saturday.
Western Australia has recorded three new cases, but all of them are in hotel quarantine.
Acting premier and health minister, Roger Cook, said he was pleased with testing numbers, which increased from 827 yesterday to 2,179, and pointed out the state had now gone 266 days without community transmission.
266 days is an extraordinary fact, but it is a fact we cannot take for granted. It is a testament to the professionalism and hard work of so many people on the frontline, day in, day out, keeping us all safe from Covid-19. They deserve our respect and support for what they do.
An emergency bushfire warning has been issued to part of Red Gully in the shire of Gingin, north of Perth.
The warning is for people north of Marri Heights Road, south of Dandaragan-West Road and east of Cowalla Road.
People urged to stay home as investigation continues into source of Croydon cluster in Sydney and cases in Melbourne. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
Let’s return to those comments from NSW police regarding Tony Abbott’s exercise in the northern zone of the northern beaches.
Abbott’s most recent declaration to parliament (before his defeat in 2019) showed he lived in Forestville, which is classed as being in the southern zone of the northern beaches.
The New South Wales Labor leader, Jodi McKay, has called on Gladys Berejiklian to stop crowds from attending the cricket Test at the SCG, and urged her to make masks mandatory in certain settings:
Why are we now progressing with a crowd at the cricket? ... It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I’m urging the premier to make sure the cricket goes ahead ... but there is a general feeling there should not be people at the cricket.
I think it’s important that if masks can reduce the risk of transmission, that we’re doing everything we can.
Gladys Berejiklian says households will be limited to five visitors as new cases spread to Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Sydney’s inner west. All the latest news and updates, live
The NSW opposition leader has weighed in on the debate around the Sydney Test.
You can go to the cricket but not congregate to view the fireworks. Both are outdoor events, yet different rules apply.
The cricket should be in NSW but with no spectators. Let’s watch both the fireworks and cricket on TV.
NSW Health has released a lit of new venues that have been visited by confirmed cases of Covid-19. This includes a Santa Claus Photo Booth at Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre.
More contagious variant identified in returned traveller; three shops in Sydney CBD and two supermarkets in eastern suburbs visited by people who tested positive. This blog is now closed
And with that, we’ll wrap up the blog. Here’s a summary of everything that happened today:
Fairfield City has taken the decision to cancel New Year’s Eve celebrations, due both to the pandemic and the weather.
Mayor Frank Carbone says in a statement he knows people will be disappointed by the decision, but it is the right decision.
Council has been closely monitoring the escalating Covid situation in Sydney. The decision was made due to the increasing number of unlinked cases announced in the last few days outside of the northern beaches, which potentially means the virus has not been contained.
Contract tracers work to find source of five coronavirus cases as more hotspots named outside northern beaches. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
Sticking with Cricket for a bit, Cricket Australia is edging closer to a decision on where the third Test will be held, with officials saying its a “50-50 situation”.
Preparations have begun to prepare the MCG for the test, as Cricket Australia remains in negotiations with the NSW and Queensland governments.
Warning comes as all passengers on board a regional flight told to isolate, and alerts issued across Sydney for a gym, cafes, shopping centre, food court and Santa photos
Sydney shoppers have been urged not to enter the central business district for the traditional Boxing Day sales after the state recorded seven new locally acquired coronavirus cases and the northern beaches cluster grew to 108.
The Australian Retailers Association labelled the NSW premier’s plea for consumers to stay at home on “the biggest day on the retail calendar” as “incredibly disappointing”.