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New South Wales has reported similarly high numbers, with 41 deaths and 14,953 new cases in the 24-hours to 4pm yesterday.
There are 2,176 people with Covid-19 in hospital, and 59 in intensive care. Just over 68% of people have received their third shot, despite a fourth booster now being available.
Continue reading...The Byron Bay event kicked off on Saturday after festival goers endured flooded campsites, long queues and the cancellation of the first day’s programming
Revellers at Splendour in the Grass have tried to make the most of the muddy situation, but long queues and “a lack of communication” have left some running low on patience.
Organisers of Australia’s biggest music festival urged fans to turn up to the event on Saturday, after performances were cancelled on Friday.
Continue reading...Douglas ‘Mootijah’ Shillingsworth’s ear problems would have been picked up by proper procedures, coroner Joan Baptie finds
The death of an Aboriginal man from an ear infection while in custody was preventable and due to failures in the New South Wales justice system, a coroner has found.
Douglas “Mootijah” Shillingsworth, a Budjiti and Murrawarri man, died of a middle ear infection, known as otitis media, at the age of 44 on 15 February 2018 while incarcerated at the Silverwater prison in Sydney.
Continue reading...Domestic violence advocates warn drafted laws could be discriminatory if pushed through by government
Domestic violence and legal experts say the New South Wales government’s attempt to push through new coercive control laws before the end of the year could result in flawed legislation that unwittingly discriminates against migrant and First Nations communities.
The state’s attorney general, Mark Speakman, released a draft of the new laws on Wednesday with consultation open for six weeks.
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Continue reading...Joseph Brayford tells inquiry former NSW deputy premier wanted to turn trade roles into ministerial appointments ‘ASAP’
Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro fast-tracked a cabinet submission to turn the senior trade jobs now at the centre of a political scandal into ministerial appointments, instructing a staff member to get it done “ASAP”, an inquiry has heard.
A transcript of evidence given by former advisor Joseph Brayford to the parliamentary inquiry probing Barilaro’s appointment to a $500,000-a-year New York trade posting also suggests Barilaro planned to discuss the change with his ministerial colleagues in the NSW government.
On Thursday the committee running the probe released a transcript of evidence given by Brayford in a secret hearing held earlier this week.
No change in Operation Sovereign Borders policy
Clare O’Neil is asked about the desperate situation in Sri Lanka, where many people are trying to find a way out.
Operation Sovereign Borders is Australian government policy.
Victorian students aged eight and over are being urged to wear masks when indoors to help counter the Covid-19 surge.
The request comes in a joint letter from the state education department and independent and Catholic schools.
I respect the fact that people on the crossbench were elected to deliver action on climate change and our government wants to work with them to do just that.
That’s why one of the very first acts of the new government will be to legislate that higher ambition. They want more than the 43% that Labor is offering though.
Charges flow from 2014 corruption investigation into infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings
Former New South Wales Labor ministers Eddie Obeid, Joe Tripodi and Tony Kelly are facing criminal charges flowing from an Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into a controversial water infrastructure company.
The trio will face court charged with criminal offences after a 2014 NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry into infrastructure company Australian Water Holdings.
Continue reading...While masks remain optional in schools nationwide, authorities in several Australian states have strengthened requests for action
The Victorian education department and independent schools have written a letter to parents urging students over the age of eight to wear masks at school.
While masks are not currently mandated for general student populations anywhere in Australia, a letter signed by the heads of the Victorian government, Catholic and independent schools sectors asks students aged eight and over to wear masks during class and if travelling on public transport. The state opposition has seized on the recommendation, labelling it a “mandate by stealth”.
Continue reading...Gorgeous images coming through from Tasmania where snow has fallen this morning.
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is on ABC Radio following the national cabinet meeting which has seen emergency isolation payments reinstated.
If the state is taking away people’s liberty, then the state has an obligation to provide financial support.
Continue reading...Wallabies fan who made his way to roof during third Test against England charged by police and condemned for ‘deplorable’ behaviour
Rugby Australia has condemned the “deplorable” behaviour of a Wallabies fan who climbed up the big screen during Saturday’s third Test against England and appeared to urinate from the roof of the SCG.
The intruder, who made his way to the roof of the Bill O’Reilly stand during the second half of the series decider, was charged by police after the game in Sydney and on Monday RA handed him a lifetime ban.
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Labor adopting ‘take it or leave it’ approach, says Bandt
Bandt warns the government is adopting a “take it or leave it” approach to negotiating climate legislation, when there are real issues to address, such as the extent of climate ambition and how to phase out fossil fuels.
We’re saying that’s not our position. We’re saying we’d be willing to have discussions with the government but these are the things that have to be on the table. We’re not going into it with ultimatums.
I’m not talking about bottom lines and ultimatums but you can’t even have this discussion if the government is saying it’s my way or the highway, which is with where, with respect to the target, where they’re at at the moment.
If we’re negotiating climate legislation, then this government, now they’re in power, has to grapple with the question of are they going to open up more coal and gas projects that could potentially blow 43% out of the water? Just one of those projects could do that.
Continue reading...Officials raised concerns water level targets would not ensure river health or meet needs of downstream communities, documents show
The Perrottet government has been warned by its own advisers that proposed flood plain harvesting rules will not adequately protect the environment or the needs of downstream communities in the Murray Darling Basin.
Documents obtained through parliament by independent MLC Justin Field show the government received advice that proposed targets meant to ensure river health were too low.
Continue reading...Australia’s chief medical officer will give a briefing to state and territory leaders on Saturday and the pandemic leave payment is expected to be extended. Follow live
There were 11,082 new cases in the last reporting period, and 66 people are in intensive care.
First home buyers blowing their budgets
Underquoting is where a property is listed at a price lower than what it’s worth to bait buyers.
It’s illegal but it does happen, particularly in the case of auctions, where underquoted prices can attract more buyers and lead to a bidding war.
Continue reading...Ongoing focus on disaster management needed to avoid kneejerk reactions from one event to the next
Australia’s response to flood emergencies will only improve when governments can maintain focus in the times between crises, a researcher specialising in the topic has warned.
Speaking before the release of reports into this year’s floods in Queensland and NSW, Dr Alastair Stark, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Queensland, said disaster inquiries often produced effective lessons only for their implementation by governments and agencies to stall.
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Continue reading...Experts warn of worse to come, with most states likely several weeks away from peak hospitalisation rates
Hospitals across the country are “bursting at the seams” as the number of people being admitted with Covid-19 reaches record levels in several states.
Western Australia recorded its highest number of Covid hospitalisations to date on Thursday, with Queensland also expected to surpass its January peak in coming days.
Continue reading...Australia’s chief medical officer will give a briefing to state and territory leaders on Saturday as government backflips on pandemic support
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Anthony Albanese will propose that Canberra and the states extend the pandemic leave payment during a snap national cabinet briefing that has been expedited to Saturday.
The government has spent the past week signalling the existing $750 payment would not be extended over the winter for budgetary reasons, but that decision has been reversed after mounting pressure from backbenchers, premiers, and health experts.
Continue reading...Guardian Australia brings together all the latest on daily new Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and live state by state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT. We bring together the latest numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.
Due to the difference in reporting times between states, territories and the federal government, it can be difficult to get a current picture of the pandemic in Australia. Here we have brought together data on cases, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccinations.
Continue reading...Federal government announces $2.7m package day before Norco’s workforce was to be stood down
The federal government has stepped in to save jobs at a flood-ravaged ice-cream factory in Lismore a day before 170 workers were due to be stood down.
The Norco ice-cream factory was severely damaged by catastrophic floods in February, and the dairy co-operative’s farmer members are unable to cover workforce costs while it is out of action.
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Continue reading...NSW Crime Commission issues paper also asks whether poker machine credit limits should be lowered
The New South Wales Crime Commission has suggested some of the state’s gambling laws have increased the risk of money laundering through poker machines, while raising the prospect of “significantly” reducing their credit limits in clubs.
This comes as anti-gambling advocates dismissed an “utterly cynical” proposal from lobby group Clubs NSW for a new “code of practice” that would allow family members of gambling addicts to request they be banned from venues.
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