Category Archives: New South Wales

Australia live news: NSW records seven local Covid cases after 70,000 tests as Christmas Day celebrations continue

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Gladys Berejiklian discourages Sydneysiders from Boxing Day shopping; experts fear Christmas could turn into a superspreading event as ‘Avalon cluster’ rises to 108 and spreads. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

  • NSW Covid hotspots – list of venues and case locations
  • NSW premier calls on shoppers to avoid Sydney’s Boxing Day sales
  • Border restrictions: rules for NSW travellers

    • It has been a whole year since the skies parted and the almighty delivered this gift - Barnaby Joyce’s memorable Christmas message for the ages.

    In the video, the Nationals MP and former deputy prime minister declared “I just don’t want the government anymore in my life”.

    Merry Christmas pic.twitter.com/QGYPv51pTN

    One of the Australian government-facilitated repatriation flights to bring home Australians from India has been cancelled, as about 39,000 Australians remain stranded overseas for Christmas.

    The flight from New Delhi to Brisbane was scheduled to depart on Sunday 27 December, operated by Qantas.

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    Australia border restrictions: here are the state and territory Covid rules for NSW travellers

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    New border measures have been introduced as Sydney’s northern beaches Covid cluster continues to grow. Here’s what we know about the current rules

    As the coronavirus cluster on Sydney’s northern beaches grows, other states and territories have introduced border closures and restrictions.

    Here are the current border restrictions as of Sunday 20 December.

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    NSW authorities fear Sydney CBD workers could spread Covid at Christmas

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    Premier warns state is ‘far from out of the woods’ as nine new cases reported and six infections remain a mystery

    New South Wales health authorities are worried undetected Covid cases among office workers in Sydney’s CBD could spread the virus at Christmas gatherings, as the number of infections linked to the northern beaches cluster grew to 104.

    The premier, Gladys Berejiklian, pleaded on Thursday with residents to “limit your mobility” over Christmas as she reported nine new community cases from a record 60,184 tests and warned NSW was “far from out of the woods”.

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    Australia coronavirus live: NSW records nine new Covid cases as ‘Avalon cluster’ grows to 104 cases

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    Gladys Berejiklian urges people to ‘limit your mobility’ as new rules kick in for Christmas Eve in Sydney; medical experts says New Year’s Eve fireworks should be cancelled. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

    Today’s seven cases linked to the Avalon cluster brings the total number of cases there to 104.

    Chant says all people onboard a Qantas flight from Darwin to Sydney on 17 December have been considered close contacts and have been asked to self-isolate.

    A Qantas crew member contracted Covid-19 who was onboard the flight subsequently tested positive. Chant says they are investigating another potential case but the current data is preliminary.

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    Australia coronavirus live: NSW reports eight more Covid cases as premier modifies Christmas restrictions in Sydney

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    Sydney to keep 10-visitor rule but from 24-26 December children under 12 not counted; lockdown continues in half of northern beaches, but small Christmas gatherings allowed. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

    The Northern Territory has revoked its categorisation of New South Wales region Illawarra as a coronavirus hotspot.

    Health minister Natasha Fyles made the announcement this afternoon following an emergency cabinet meeting, saying the decision was made because there were no cases from the northern beaches there.

    This is based on the evidence that they’ve had no cases from the northern beaches coronavirus cluster. I know people are anxiously awaiting other local government areas, but the advice from our chief health officer Hugh Heggie ... is that it is safe to remove that hotspot declaration for the Illawarra Shire local government area. The others will remain in place.

    Victoria is reminding people from greater Sydney, the Central Coast or the northern beaches to not attempt to enter Victoria, just in case you might have forgotten.

    If you have been in Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, or Sydney's Northern Beaches since Dec 11 please do not attempt to enter Victoria. Only people who have exclusively visited or travelled through other parts of NSW can apply for a Border Crossing Permit to enter Vic. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/bad8irfvqn

    As soon as it’s safe to open back up to NSW, we will. For now, we’re making sure Victoria can stay safe and stay open.

    For more information on the NSW outbreak and a map of locations in each zone, visit: https://t.co/sDimRWNc6F (2/2)#COVID19Vic #COVID19nsw

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    Australia coronavirus live: NSW records eight new Covid cases as Gladys Berejiklian gives update

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    Victoria reports one Covid case as the number of new cases in NSW falls for a second day. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
    • NSW Covid hotspots – list of venues and case locations
    • Border restrictions: the new state and territory rules for NSW travellers
    • Australia’s Covid restrictions and lockdown rules – state by state
    • Follow the global liveblog

    Police have charged four men with unlawfully lighting fires on K’gari/Fraser Island that started the blazes which scorched more than half of the World heritage-listed tourism drawcard.

    Queensland Police and and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service carried out a joint investigation and detectives yesterday charged the four men in their 20s who are all from the Warwick area, 130 kilometres southeast of Brisbane.

    Related: Fighting for Fraser Island: how tourism and climate change put an ancient environment at risk

    Berejiklian says she is frustrated with other premiers who are closing borders to the whole of NSW.

    “There are parts of New South Wales completely unaffected by this current outbreak and yet everybody in New South Wales is suffering because other state leaders made decisions,” she says.

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    ‘It’s 2020 being 2020’: Sydney Covid outbreak disrupts Christmas plans across Australia

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    A week ago, Australia was shaping up to celebrate. Now state and territory borders are slamming shut to NSW and many are planning ‘a quiet Christmas’

    Just one week ago, things were looking rosy. There were no known active locally acquired coronavirus cases in Australia. State borders were mostly open. Christmas hams had been ordered. While many other countries were facing extended lockdowns, the festive season in Australia was in full swing.

    But things never stay good for long in 2020.

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    Greater Sydney lockdown fears as Gladys Berejiklian warns coronavirus cases to worsen

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    NSW premier says Sydney ‘on notice’ as travellers into Queensland to require border pass declaration and WA reimposes hard border

    The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has warned residents of greater Sydney to prepare for an increase in restrictions if the outbreak of Covid-19 expands beyond the northern beaches.

    Meanwhile travellers coming from NSW to Queensland will require a border pass declaration from 1am on Sunday and Western Australia announced it was reinstating its hard border with NSW.

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    Covid hotspots NSW: list of Sydney and regional coronavirus case locations

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    Here are the current coronavirus hotspots in New South Wales and what to do if you’ve visited them

    New South Wales health authorities have updated a list of hotspots where Covid-positive people have visited while infectious.

    Those who attended some locations must isolate immediately for 14 days after you were last there, others must monitor for symptoms.

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    Coronavirus Australia live update: NSW records 10 new Covid cases on northern beaches as Qld and Victoria border restrictions outlined

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    Christmas travel plans up in the air after Sydney cluster grows to 28 and Qld, WA, Victoria and Tasmania announce new border restrictions and quarantine measures

    When asked why he isn’t implementing a hard border with NSW, Mcgown says it’s because the outbreak is not as “spread out” as the Adelaide outbreak, when the state did implement a hard border.

    “It’s based upon the number of cases and the spread of the cases. So if the cases are out from their existing location to other parts of Sydney or New South Wales, if the numbers grow as they have, or even more, then there may well be a requirement to go to a harder border arrangement.”

    WA health minister Roger Cook has announced one additional case in the state overnight, which takes total cases to 844.

    In relation to the clinics, he says all travellers who have arrived in WA from NSW between 11 and 17 December are required to immediately self-quarantine and be tested at a Covid clinic. They will have to remain in quarantine until they receive a negative result.

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    NSW coronavirus hotspots: list of Sydney and regional Covid case locations

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    Here are the current coronavirus hotspots in New South Wales and what to do if you’ve visited them

    New South Wales health authorities have released a list of hotspots where Covid-positive people have visited while infectious.

    Those who attended some locations must isolate immediately for 14 days, others must monitor for symptoms.

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    Australia news live: NSW authorities scramble after three cases of local Covid transmission

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    State breaks 12-day streak with no local transmission as Sydney airport driver test positive and two mystery cases emerge in the northern beaches. Follow latest updates

    Late morning the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, will release the mid-year economic and fiscal update which is expected to show that the budget deficit will be less than $200bn due to a $11bn saving on jobkeeper and rising iron ore prices boosting revenue.

    Asked about the $11bn jobkeeper saving, the finance minister Simon Birmingham told Channel Nine:”Look, it is really encouraging to see the strength of the recovery in the Australian economy. Now, there is still a long way to go but we’ve seen more than 650,000 jobs created across Australia in recent months. More Australians back in work, fewer Australians on JobKeeper - this is a trend that we want to see continue but we know that there are always threats present.

    The Victorian Ombudsman has tabled an investigation into the detention and treatment of public housing residents at the onset of the second wave in the state.

    Ombudsman's Investigation into the detention and treatment of public housing residents arising from a COVID-19 'hard lockdown' in July 2020 tabled today, a non-sitting day https://t.co/cXTFf4wPIy #springst

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    Australia news live: federal government takes China to WTO over barley tariffs

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    Plus: aircrew driver tests positive for coronavirus in Sydney, and heavy rain and flash flooding forecast for northern NSW. Follow the latest updates

    • Aircrew driver tests positive for Covid in NSW
    • Follow coronavirus global news live

    A severe weather warning has been issued for Wagga and much of the Riverina for flash flooding this afternoon.

    Severe thunderstorms have been forecast for the entire region, all the way from Hay in the west, right across to the east coast, and from the Queensland border down to Tumbarumba.

    ⚡SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING⚡ for HEAVY RAINFALL. Warning current for much of central and eastern NSW and the ACT.
    2hr Obs: 92mm @ Lismore.
    30min Obs: 26mm @ Glen Alice, 25mm at Mt.Werong & 22mm @ Lake Burley Griffin.
    ⚠️Warnings: https://t.co/30woSZ6O2x#ifitsfloodedforgetit pic.twitter.com/L8OXMiSlAz

    Victoria police commissioner Shane Patton has sought to differentiate between the police approach during the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne in early June and anti-lockdown protests that were broken up during the second wave, with many more fined.

    Patton told a Victorian parliament Covid-19 committee on Wednesday that at the time of the BLM protest, the spread of Covid was not as big as it was later on in the second wave, and there weren’t the severe restrictions at the time that were seen later – in June, groups of up to 20 people could assemble.

    We eventually made a decision to reluctantly allow that Black Lives Matter to go ahead, because of the emotion that was in the community, because of the emotion that was being displayed across the world.

    And that’s what we did.

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    NSW records new local Covid case, raising questions over airline crew quarantine

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    The 45-year-old man who tested positive was a van driver transporting international flight crew to and from the airport
    • Follow Wednesday’s Australia liveblog

    New South Wales has recorded a new locally acquired case of Covid after a van driver transporting international airline crew to and from Sydney airport contracted the virus.

    The state’s health minister, Brad Hazzard, said the case was discovered Wednesday morning.

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    Australia news live: New Zealand agrees to travel bubble; wild weather hits south-east Queensland

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    Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand’s cabinet has agreed to a proposal for a trans-Tasman travel bubble; storms forecast to continue in parts of south-east Queensland and northern NSW. Follow the latest updates

    If you were hoping to grab some of the Victorian government’s vouchers for travelling into regional Victoria for a holiday, you have missed out on the second round, AAP reports 30,000 vouchers sold in 31 minutes.

    An extra 30,000 Regional Travel Voucher Scheme vouchers, worth $200 apiece, were snapped up within 31 minutes of becoming available from midday on Monday via a new-look state government webpage.

    AAP reports the extreme weather in northern NSW and southeast Queensland will continue to intensify overnight.

    Sites in NSW’s Northern Rivers District had about 400mm of rain in just a few days, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Jane Golding told reporters on Monday.

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    NSW and Queensland weather expected to worsen: ‘Similar to a category one cyclone’

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    Potentially serious flooding and dangerous surf forecast for Queensland and northern NSW as heavy rain and damaging winds pound coast

    Wild storms battering the Queensland and New South Wales coastline are expected to worsen later on Monday, and authorities have warned the heavy rain and strong winds could be “similar to a category one cyclone”.

    Emergency services in both states have received thousands of calls for help since Saturday, as the conditions cause flash flooding and dangerous waves that have washed away large sections of beachfront.

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    Wild weather continues as flooding expected in Queensland’s south-east and northern NSW

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    Authorities urge people to brace for more heavy rain, gales and dangerous surf as some areas record more than 300mm of rain since Saturday

    Heavy rain across south-east Queensland and the north of New South Wales has prompted flood warnings as authorities urge motorists not to drive into floodwaters.

    Some areas, in the Gold Coast hinterland and northern NSW border, have recorded more than 300mm of rain since Saturday.

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    Australian politics live: NSW and Victoria to ease Covid restrictions; final sitting week of parliament

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    NSW to lift tranche of restrictions while in Victoria it will no longer be compulsory to wear face masks in offices or cafes; federal parliament returns for the final sitting week of 2020 – latest updates

    Victoria will begin accepting international flights again from today – a flight from Sri Lanka is about to touch down in Melbourne. All up, there will be about 125 travellers arriving as part of the hotel quarantine program in Victoria today.

    There is no longer any private security guards as part of the Victoria program – and any worker has to work exclusively for the Victorian government.

    The latest foreign interference laws are also due to pass parliament this week – these ones are the ones looking at agreements with foreign governments that private organisations and state governments have made.

    States, Territories and local governments will have three months to handover agreements with foreign governments which @dfat "will carefully and methodically consider against Australia's foreign policy settings" #auspol @Birmo @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/pwT5PtCEta

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    Three people in Daryl Maguire’s cash-for-visa scheme could be stripped of citizenship

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    Home affairs will be ‘tough-minded’ if fraud is proven, Michael Pezzullo tells Senate estimates

    Three Australians who received visas with the help of the disgraced former New South Wales Liberal MP Daryl Maguire could be stripped of their citizenship if it was obtained through fraud, the home affairs department chief has warned.

    Michael Pezzullo made the threat in Senate estimates on Friday when he promised his department would be “tough-minded” if fraud was proven after a departmental and Australian Border Force investigation into the cash-for-visa scheme.

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    Australia news live: China row simmers; NSW awaits Covid case numbers

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    MP Andrew Hastie has criticised the release of details included in the war crimes report for allowing China to ‘malign our troops’; PM faces questions over Murdoch Christmas party flight; NSW awaits update on new Covid cluster. Follow all today’s news

    Good morning, Matilda Boseley here. It’s nearly the end of the week and what better way to reach the finish line than to stick around on the Guardian live blog and get all your much-needed news updates, Covid-19 or otherwise.

    First up, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has criticised the Brereton Report which he says was filled with “unproven rumours” of Australian soldiers murdering Afghan children, saying the report has given China an opening to malign Australian troops.

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