Category Archives: New South Wales

Coronavirus live news: cases spreading out of control in Hong Kong; UK infection rate flat, says ONS head

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Record 100 new daily cases confirmed in Hong Kong; UK’s head of Office for National Statistics calls for scaling up of testing; South Africa’s cases become fifth-highest worldwide

Thirty-nine people were detained after police were attacked with “a hail of bottles” at an open-air party in central Frankfurt attended by thousands of youngsters, police in the German city said today..

Five officers were injured in the riot that began at around 3:00 am (0100 GMT) when police intervened to stop a brawl involving around 30 people in Frankfurt’s historic Opera square.

People who travel outside of Ireland have been warned they will invalidate their travel insurance even if the place they visit is on a so-called ‘green list’ of safe countries to by published this week, the Irish Times reports.

It added that travel insurance exclusions denying cover to people who travel contrary to official guides are the norm across the sector. At present, the advice from the Irish Government is that non-essential journeys overseas should be avoided.

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Coronavirus Victoria: three more deaths and 363 new cases reported as masks made mandatory in Melbourne

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Daniel Andrews’s announcement on face coverings comes as state tries to control a second wave of Covid-19

• Follow the latest global news live
• NSW reports 18 new cases, the highest number in three months
• What you need to know about Melbourne’s stage 3 lockdown rules
• Melbourne map: where Covid-19 cases are rising or falling
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Victoria has recorded 363 new Covid-19 cases and three more people have died as premier Daniel Andrews announced face masks will be made mandatory across Melbourne as the state attempts to control a second-wave outbreak of the virus.

At a press conference on Sunday, Andrews appeared wearing a face mask and said residents in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell shire would be required to wear “masks or face coverings”, including bandannas or scarves in public from midnight on Wednesday.

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Coronavirus Australia: Victoria records three more Covid-19 deaths and 217 new cases as PM postpones parliament

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Australia’s acting chief medical officer warns people in Sydney are not taking precautions ‘as seriously’ as in Melbourne

Victoria has recorded 217 new cases of Covid-19 and three more deaths, as the prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced parliament would be postponed due to the health risks of MPs travelling to Canberra from Melbourne and south-western Sydney.

Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, described the 217 cases as “a relief” following a record 428 new cases announced on Friday, and a then-record 317 new cases on Thursday.

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Huge swells on NSW Central Coast leave Wamberal homes at risk of collapse due to beach erosion

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Several houses on Ocean View Drive now dangerously close to cliff edge as huge waves wash away beaches

Beachfront homes along the New South Wales Central Coast have been left dangling over the ocean and in danger of collapse after powerful surf caused massive erosion.

A powerful low across Australia’s east coast earlier in the week created large swells and high waves battering some coastal areas.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Queensland to imprison rule-breakers as it bans travellers from NSW and Victoria hotspots – latest news

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Fines have not been enough to deter people from ignoring public health directions, state government says. Follow the latest news and updates, live

Acting Rural Fire Service commissioner Rob Rogers has been formally appointed to the position, replacing Shane Fitzsimmons as leader of the NSW fire agency.

Rogers began volunteering with the RFS in 1979 and has been acting in the role since April. He was a deputy commissioner during the horrific 2019-2020 fires.

Rob is truly a veteran of the RFS. From his seat on the ‘Belrose Blitz’ (fire tanker) to the commissioner’s chair - the community has benefited from Rob’s leadership in action over successive fire seasons.

We’ve been working in lockstep with Rob Rogers and the RFS to ensure the state is as prepared as it can be to face disaster again this bushfire season.

The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties has called on the state government to release the draft of its bill to increase the maximum penalty for breaching public health orders to six months imprisonment.

The public health act already carries fines of $4,003 for breaching the chief health officer’s directions, which currently includes entering Queensland without a valid border declaration pass.

The proposed further Covid-19 legislation containing prison terms of up to 6 months represents a significant increase in penalties and in that regard the proposed legislation should have been the subject of public consultation.

There has been no consultation with this Council and so far as I am aware no consultation with other stakeholders such as the Queensland Law Society or the Bar Association.

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Australia’s Covid-19 face mask advice: can I reuse them, what’s the best to use and where to buy?

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The health department now recommends masks where community transmission of coronavirus is occurring and physical distancing is difficult. From washable cloth face masks to reusable ones and how to wear them, here’s what you need to know

  • Follow live news from around Australia
  • What you need to know about Melbourne’s stage 3 lockdown rules
  • Melbourne coronavirus map: where Covid-19 cases are rising or falling
  • Sign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus email

    • Last week, the national cabinet updated its position on the use of face masks, deciding that people should wear them in locations where there is community transmission of the coronavirus and where social distancing is difficult.

    The announcement was a response to rising case numbers in Melbourne, which is now in the early stages of a six-week stage three lockdown.

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    Abortion drugs remain inaccessible, unsafe and unaffordable for many Australian women | Gina Rushton

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    A dearth of political leadership means abortion drugs remain inaccessible, unsafe and unaffordable for many women

    It has been 24 years since the federal government chose the partial privatisation of Telstra over the rights of Australian women to safely terminate a pregnancy with abortion drugs. In 1996, anti-abortion independent Brian Harradine, who held the balance of power in the Senate, agreed to support John Howard’s one-third float of the telecommunications company if the government amended legislation to give the health minister veto to prohibit the import, manufacture or use of abortion drug RU486 (mifepristone).

    A perpetual dearth of political leadership in the subsequent quarter century has meant the drugs remain inaccessible, unaffordable and at times unsafe for many women in Australia outside of a certain income or major city.

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    NSW on ‘extra high alert’ for Covid-19 resurgence as hotel crackdown announced

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    Premier Gladys Berejiklian details stricter regime for pubs as cluster linked to the Crossroads Hotel grows to 30 cases

    New South Wales is on “extra high alert” for a widespread Covid-19 resurgence and will require so-called hygiene marshals to enforce social distancing at every pub in the state.

    The crackdown comes after patrons who visited a Sydney hotel at the centre of the state’s largest outbreak expressed concern over relaxed safety practices and the pub’s manager conceded more could have been done to record visitors’ contact details.

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    Former NSW water minister defends exclusion of driest years from sustainable water calculations

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    New water-sharing plans use data that ends at 2004 to calculate extractions from major tributaries in the Murray-Darling system

    The former NSW water minister Kevin Humphries has defended controversial legislation that effectively excludes some of the driest water years from figures used to calculate sustainable water allocations for irrigators, towns and the environment.

    Humphries, who confirmed he had been referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption over unspecified decisions he took as water minister, told a NSW parliamentary committee that the 2014 legislation he introduced was to give greater certainty to all water users.

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    Crossroads Hotel: thousands told to isolate for two weeks as Sydney coronavirus cluster grows

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    Nine cases have been added to the cluster in Casula and the contact dates have been widened to 3 to 10 July

    Thousands of pub-goers have been asked to self-isolate for two weeks after a hotel staff member and three other people became the latest cases in an emerging coronavirus cluster.

    The 18-year-old staffer and a close contact in her 50s, plus a woman in her 40s and a Victorian man in his 20s, who both dined at the venue, were on Sunday confirmed as new cases linked to Sydney’s Crossroads Hotel cluster.

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    Coronavirus Australia: Victoria reports 216 new Covid-19 cases and death of man in his 90s

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    Daniel Andrews says effects of lockdown won’t be reflected for weeks as NSW cases linked to Casula pub

    Victoria has recorded another 216 cases of coronavirus and one additional death, a man in his 90s, as the state tries to contain the second wave of the virus that returned Melbourne residents to lockdown.

    Thirty of the new cases are linked to known outbreaks and 186 are under investigation, with the state’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, saying it was becoming more difficult to quickly trace the source of new infections.

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    NSW government backs multimillion-dollar lifeline for Sydney arts hub Carriageworks

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    The arts institution, which is home to eight resident arts companies, had gone into voluntary administration in May

    Sydney arts institution Carriageworks has been saved from administration after the NSW government backed a multi-million dollar lifeline from a group of 15 philanthropists.

    The multi-arts organisation that operates performance and gallery spaces in repurposed 1880s locomotive workshops in Sydney’s inner west owes more than $2m to more than 140 creditors, and went into voluntary administration on 4 May.

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    Coronavirus Australia live update: NSW records 14 new Covid-19 cases as Victoria reports 288 new cases

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    Pop-up testing facility to be set up in Sydney hotel car park as Victorian premier says 37,588 tests were conducted in the state yesterday. Follow live news and updates

    Victoria is preparing two-million reusable masks for people in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire by the end of July, and a million single-use masks, but in case you want to go and make your own now, you can find a CDC guide on how to make one here.

    The Victorian government is going to prepare its own how-to guide for masks in the coming days.

    Due to the heightened public health risk with the current outbreak in Victoria, we are asking ALL South Australians with symptoms (fever/chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell) to get tested for COVID-19. https://t.co/daEpRqXyQV pic.twitter.com/lccT3Rvwef

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    Coronavirus Australia live update: ‘extremely high’ chance Victoria outbreak has spread to NSW as Melbourne enters lockdown

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    The NSW premier is expected to announce new restrictions today as the state tries to contain ‘high-risk situation’. Follow live news and updates

    2020 motto: Please scream inside your heart

    Japan’s theme parks have banned screaming on roller coasters because it spreads coronavirus. “Please scream inside your heart.” https://t.co/DJjC40H0Ap

    Just re-upping, because it seems relevant

    The Armchair Epidemiologist pic.twitter.com/t4CvJo3KCL

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    Coronavirus Australia live update: prime minister Scott Morrison holds press conference on Covid-19 response as Victoria records 134 new cases

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    Confusion over NSW-Victoria border closure as the state’s northern border closes for the first time in a century and Melbourne prepares for lockdown. Follow the latest news

    Someone asks about some sort of foreign travel tax? I don’t know - there is a lot in the question, and it’s involving shiz that none of us can even think about until at least July next year, because I’m not sure if this is common knowledge or not - but Australia’s international borders ARE CLOSED.

    Scott Morrison:

    Well, there’s a lot of speculation on all those questions. So I don’t intend to engage in what is the normal budget speculation when you lead up to a budget.

    Those matters will be addressed in the budget.

    On what we are planning on doing with Hong Kong residents, Scott Morrison says:

    We continue to be concerned about issues in Hong Kong as many nations are, and we have remained in close contact with other like-minded countries about this issue.

    This is about how we, as a nation, are responding, domestically, to these issues.

    On the issue of the broader shutdown of Melbourne - this is a matter that the Premier advised me of and, of course, based on their advice and the advice that I have received from the chief medical officer, then this was necessary.

    I hope it isn’t for that long. I hope it’s for a shorter period as possible.

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    NSW-Victoria border closure: when does it start, and are there exemptions?

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    Melbourne’s Covid-19 spike has prompted the ‘unprecedented’ move to stop people coming into NSW from Victoria. We look at the details

    NSW will temporarily close its border with Victoria at 12.01am Wednesday 8 July in response to Melbourne’s coronavirus outbreak.

    The closure, announced at a press conference by Victorian premier Daniel Andrews on Monday, will be enforced by NSW police.

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    NSW-Victoria border closure: do I need an entry permit and are there exemptions?

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    Melbourne’s Covid-19 spike has prompted the ‘unprecedented’ move to stop people coming into NSW from Victoria. We look at the details, from how to get a crossing permit to whether you need to self-isolate

    New South Wales temporarily closed its border with Victoria starting from 12.01am Wednesday 8 July in response to Melbourne’s coronavirus outbreak.

    The closure, announced at a press conference by Victorian premier Daniel Andrews on Monday, is being enforced by NSW police.

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    Eden-Monaro byelection: Labor tipped to win NSW seat but yet to claim victory

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    Postal votes are still to be counted but ALP’s Kristy McBain is just ahead of Liberal Fiona Kotvojs

    Labor has pulled in front at the close of the count in the Eden-Monaro byelection on Saturday night – but the contest remains tight, with postal votes still to tally.

    While senior Labor sources expressed confidence that Kristy McBain would get across the line, and the ABC’s respected election analyst Antony Green predicted a likely Labor win after a five week campaign conducted in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, the count remained in progress.

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    Powerhouse museum: NSW premier dumps plans to close Ultimo site

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    Industrial science museum will not be closed and moved to Parramatta but will operate across both sites

    The New South Wales government has made a U-turn on its decision to relocate Sydney’s Powerhouse museum, more than five years after the announcement was made.

    The industrial science museum in inner-Sydney’s Ultimo will not be closed and moved to Parramatta, but will stay open and operate along with the new Powerhouse facility planned for western Sydney.

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