Category Archives: Queensland

Coronavirus Australia update: Victoria reports 11 new cases and NSW 10 as Peta Credlin questions Daniel Andrews – live

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The number of locally transmitted cases in Sydney is growing, dashing hopes of the Queensland border reopening next month. Follow live

Scott Morrison says it is the GST top up with has allowed WA to declare a budget surplus.

So, you’re welcome, Mark,” he says

Q: The RBA has warned today that Australia’s historically low population growth rate will heighten the risk of falls in property values in the future. And Treasury has said your housing measures bring forward demand for future years. What will the Government do?

Scott Morrison:

Well, the impacts from the COVID-19 recession are obvious. Whether it’s programs like HomeBuilder and others, there will always be an excess of demand over the supply of housing in this country. Always has been. And that’s what has fundamentally driven house price values all around the country.

And that is still true today. There is still a surplus of demand over supply. And that’s why our HomeBuilder program - and to give you an idea of its impact, what we’ve done in the housing sector is we’ve been unlocking and bringing forward the decisions that home builders want to make. And that will see some 20,000 homes built at a cost of around $500 million.

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Australia coronavirus news: NSW reports eight new cases of community transmission as Victoria records 11 – live updates

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Victoria reports no new deaths as NSW Health warns of several new Sydney locations linked to Covid-19. Follow all today’s news

NSW says a new cluster of three people is likely linked to an existing cluster. The premier Gladys Berejiklian is also warning that the public will be told of “additional venues, additional locations” to respond to during the day.

The remaining three cases of community transmission are all linked, and that source is being investigated by Health. Health has not ruled out also being able to establish a link between that new cluster of three people and also an existing cluster. It’s also important to note that we anticipate during the day there will be additional venues, additional locations, which we’ll be asking the public to respond to.

We anticipate that because we’ve identified these eight cases, that a number of close contacts and family members could be found to be positive as a result, so it’s really, really important for everybody to stay on high alert, look at the information which Health provides during the course of the day, and please react and make sure you take that advice. If you’re asked to get tested and stay home for 14 days, please make sure you do that.

In NSW, another four cases were recorded from returned travellers.

Of the eight locally-acquired cases, one is under investigation and seven are linked to a known case or cluster. NSW Health said:

One new case reported today was locally acquired, is likely to have been infected some days ago and appears linked to the Liverpool Hospital Dialysis cluster. Four more cases are close contacts of this case.

One new case is locally acquired whose source is under investigation. The remaining two cases today are close contacts of this case.

Testing numbers have dropped recently, which is a concern. NSW Health renews its call for increased testing across Sydney, even if you have the mildest of symptoms like a runny nose or scratchy throat, cough, fever or other symptoms that could be COVID-19.

This is especially important for people across West and South West Sydney with these new cases and after the state’s sewage surveillance program detected fragments of the virus at the North Richmond and West Camden treatment plants.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria reports nine new cases and Bondi beach to close as crowds reach capacity

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Victoria to return to staged face-to-face teaching next week; treasurer Josh Frydenberg promises a jobs-focused budget. Follow live

Here’s the latest case data from Victoria:

Three of today’s nine new cases have been linked to known outbreaks or are considered complex cases. These are linked to the Butcher’s Club Chadstone Shopping Centre outbreak, with single cases linked to Corrigan Produce Farms Clyde North and Coles Williamstown. The other six cases remain under investigation.

Anglicare is calling on the federal government to increase jobseeker and fund social housing projects in tomorrow’s budget announcements.

“A permanent boost to jobseeker will add billions of dollars to the economy and at least 145,000 full-time jobs. The benefits would go straight to the areas that need them most,” Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers said in a statement.

Social housing will offer relief for the tens of thousands of people who are homeless in Australia. It also boosts GDP, and creates jobs in construction for the regions that need it most.

With the economy reeling in the wake of the coronavirus, we need to invest in projects that are shovel-ready. There is no time to waste. Social housing projects can get off the ground quickly – and they bring long-term benefits.

The fact is that one-off payments and tax cuts won’t help people out of poverty. And they won’t boost the economy. A jobseeker increase and social housing will do both.

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Pilot scheme: planes may be grounded but there’s work on Australia’s farms

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With the airline industry at a standstill and farmers desperate for workers, aviation staff are finding opportunities in a new field

The cabin of a harvester in the middle of a vast wheat field might be a strange place to find an airline pilot at work, but for Andrew King it all makes sense.

King worked as a passenger jet pilot for Hainan Airlines but has been on leave without pay since the pandemic hit in February.

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Far north Queensland bushfire threatens lives and homes as residents told ‘leave now’

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Residents of Cooktown in far north Queensland are being advised to leave the area as an uncontrolled bushfire burns along Oakey Creek Road

A large “dangerous and uncontrolled” bushfire was threatening lives and homes in far north Queensland, with residents told to leave immediately.

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services was fighting a blaze travelling on both sides of Oakey Creek Road in Cooktown, north of Cairns.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria records seven new cases as Queensland opens borders to NSW from 1 November

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The government will announce tax and deregulation measures on Friday, as declining Covid-19 cases offer hope for economic revival. Follow all today’s news

Labor’s Julie Collins has responded to the aged care royal commission’s Covid response report:

I am sure the public will have very little confidence that this government, or the minister, is up to implementing these recommendations by 1 December because what we have seen is that when it came to the royal commission’s interim report, very unusual of a royal commission to actually issue an interim report, the very first recommendation – the first one was to fix the home care wait list.

Here we are 12 months later, [and there are] still [more than] 100,000 older Australians waiting for home care.

Linda Burney was on ABC Queensland radio talking about the people the jobseeker changes were going to affect the most.

It’s your mum, your grandmother, or their friends.

The reduction in the jobseeker allowance is going to disproportionately affect older women, particularly women who are over 60.

And it’s very hard for those women to find a job because you face age discrimination. All those – all those issues, of course, that we are familiar with older people trying to get a job.

Related: 'It's degrading': Australians on the poverty line brace for pain after jobseeker cuts

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria reports four deaths and 13 new Covid cases as NSW records four

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NSW records no new locally acquired cases for fifth day as pressure mounts over border closures and budget speculation intensifies. Follow all today’s updates

In aviation news, the regional airline Rex has announced it will start flights between capital cities in 2021, as a competitor to Qantas and Virgin.

Rex has signed letters of intent to lease six Boeing 737 planes, which will fly between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, AAP reports.

Hi all, it is Naaman Zhou here. Thanks as always to Amy Remeikis for her blog captaining today.

Pokies profits dropped sharply during the first wave of the pandemic, but are still in the billions, according to new figures released today and reported by AAP.

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Coronavirus live updates Australia: Daniel Andrews to face Victoria hotel quarantine inquiry – latest news

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Victorian premier is the last witness who can shed light on the decision to use private security guards, as border restrictions ease around Australia. Follow live

Peter Dutton then followed up that comment, with this one:

Honestly when we had people who couldn’t go to their dad’s funeral and the same time the Premier was approving people from Hollywood to come in and lay by the pool for two weeks, why wouldn’t we call it out?

It was just unfair and it was unjust. It has now changed.

Peter Dutton was on the Nine Network this morning, talking the Queensland border closures:

I just think we want to work very closely together and we’ve been able to do that, and as the Deputy Commissioner pointed out, the ADF and Queensland Police have had a very longstanding relationship and a necessary one and the ADF personnel are going to provide support at the additional hotels that will be stood up to bring more Australians back from overseas. So that will be a very worthy task for them to be involved in. And already they’ve been involved in providing support to the Queensland Police at hotels where people are quarantining. So I think it was obvious yesterday that Dr Steven Miles, who really just picks a fight every day on this issue, I think back-tracked pretty quickly when he realised what he said was actually factually incorrect. And I think the Premier’s pulled him back into line.

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Coronavirus live updates Australia: NSW eases restrictions as Victoria records 12 new Covid cases and two deaths

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Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos has told the hotel inquiry she had no role in the hiring of private security, while NSW Covid restrictions eased at schools and weddings. Follow live

And that includes a breakdown of the current cases and clusters:

In Victoria at the current time:

Victoria Health has put out its official update:

Victoria has recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus since yesterday, with the total number of cases now at 20,105.

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Victoria reports 21 new coronavirus cases and seven deaths as Brett Sutton apologises to Afghan community

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State’s chief health officer says it was ‘inappropriate’ to single out migrant community in Casey

Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, has apologised for comments he made singling out Melbourne’s Afghan community in relation to a Covid-19 outbreak in Casey.

Sutton made the apology as the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced 21 new coronavirus cases and seven more deaths in the state on Saturday. It was the lowest number of new Covid-19 cases in the state since 24 June.

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Covid Australia live update: Victoria records eight deaths and 42 new coronavirus cases, with 10 in NSW – latest news

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South Australia opens up to ACT and Brett Sutton gives evidence at Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry. Follow all today’s developments

The Australian National University has announced a restructure that will involve the loss of 465 positions.

Some 230 staff have already accepted voluntary separations, with a further 20 to come, but the ANU announced on Wednesday that there will need to be a further reduction of 215 positions.

All these cuts to Australia’s universities are going to have ongoing impacts for years

BREAKING: ANU has announced 230 staff have taken voluntary redundancies, another 20 are expected to follow in the coming weeks. ANU says Another 215 positions need to go as well. That is almost 500 jobs that will be lost at ANU due to #COVID19 #auspol @conorduffynews @abccanberra

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Victoria records eight deaths and 42 new coronavirus cases, with 10 in NSW – as it happened

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South Australia opens up to ACT and Brett Sutton gives evidence at Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry. Follow all today’s developments

That’s it for our live coverage of coronavirus news and other developments in Australia. Thanks to Amy Remeikis for the earlier coverage. She’ll be back in the morning.

You can follow our global coverage here and there is a lot to follow. Outside Australia, the second wave is well and truly surging.

Australia’s cricket coach Justin Langer says he could “see the blood draining out of their faces” when his players were told about the quarantine periods in store for them in the coming months.

AAP reports the team was given the rundown ahead of tonight’s ODI series decider against England in Manchester.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Daniel Andrews holds Covid press conference as Victoria reports 35 new cases and NSW four

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Victoria to turn roads and footpaths into dining spaces to help hospitality industry as Queensland border row deepens. Follow all today’s news

When will regional Victoria learn more about its restrictions being eased?

Daniel Andrews:

We will be here tomorrow and hopefully there will be no mystery cases in the data I report tomorrow and hopefully we can have more to say.

No doubt, there will be criticism that we haven’t been given any notice but this is nature of these things.

Professor Brett Sutton is then asked about some of the restrictions being eased today (very small easings).

They are baby steps. We all recognise that it is not an absolute sea change in terms of what is opening up.

That is what we’re trying to manage here. We are managing expectations and we’re being clear that outdoor activities are the low-risk activities.

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Queensland man’s daughter condemns Scott Morrison for turning funeral into ‘a circus’

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Alexandra Prendergast, whose father’s funeral became part of a federal-state brawl over borders, writes open letter to PM

The daughter of a Queensland man whose funeral was at the centre of a federal-state brawl over border closures has accused Scott Morrison of using the case to “advance his political agenda”.

Alexandra Prendergast said in an open letter to the prime minister his actions were “absolutely disrespectful” to families who had not been granted permission to attend relatives’ funerals.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Daniel Andrews holds press conference as Victoria reports 51 new cases and NSW records seven

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Greg Hunt says Melbourne curfew should be lifted if ‘there is no medical basis’ for it as two more Sydney healthcare workers test positive. Follow live

The woman who was at the centre of Scott Morrison’s plea today will be allowed to attend a private viewing of her father to say goodbye after her family has held their funeral.

She will be escorted to the funeral home, and then escorted back, a spokeswoman has confirmed.

John Barilaro, who is rumoured to have his eye set on Canberra and the federal Nationals leadership, has effectively removed the Nationals from the NSW coalition, plunged the Berejiklian government into minority after vowing to abstain from government votes (unless its to do with regional NSW), and removed itself from joint party room and leadership meetings – unless the koala protection legislation is scrapped.

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Gold Coast surfer killed by shark may have died before being helped to shore, witnesses say

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Tuesday’s fatal incident has reignited the debate about the efficacy of nets and drumlines in protecting beachgoers from shark attacks

Gold Coast surfer Nick Slater was paddling in barely waist-deep water when he was attacked by a shark and the 46-year-old may have died before he was helped to the shore, witnesses have said.

Tuesday’s incident was the first fatal shark attack at the tourist destination’s beaches since 1958 and it has reignited the debate about the efficacy of nets and drumlines.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria Covid cases drop below 50 for first time since June as NSW records four – as it happened

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Melbourne’s stage 4 lockdown extended by two weeks in ‘roadmap’ as Victoria pursues aggressive suppression strategy. This blog has ended

Thanks for following our live coverage of the coronavirus coverage in Australia. You can continue to follow our rolling global coverage here.

A quick recap on what happened today:

Asked if he would step down as premier if the hotel quarantine inquiry laid the blame for the outbreak on his office, Andrews said his responsibility was to keep going.

My position and the responsibility I have is to see our state through this. What is what I’m focused on.

Let me be as frank as I can be: Politics has never mattered less to me. Leadership is not able doing what’s popular, it is about doing what’s right.

The politics of this, that is of no value. The only thing that matters is we all stay the course. We all keep following the data, the science and the doctors and get this done. Then move to the biggest economic repair job that our state has ever seen.

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Victoria reports 76 coronavirus cases and 11 deaths as Daniel Andrews says roadmap not yet ‘finalised’

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New South Wales announces five more Covid-19 cases while Queensland and South Australia report one more each

Daniel Andrews says Victoria’s roadmap out of coronavirus lockdown has “not been finalised” as government and health experts meet before the unveiling of the plan on Sunday.

At his press conference on Saturday, the Victorian premier announced 76 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths, five of which were historical cases from recent days.

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Australia coronavirus live update: Victoria records 73 new cases and 41 deaths as NSW records 10 new cases

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Figure of 41 deaths in Victoria includes 33 people who died in aged care but not reported until yesterday; legislation to extend but reduce jobkeeper and jobseeker payments will be considered by the Senate today. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

This report from AAP earlier today:

NSW deputy premier, John Barilaro, is calling for a national code to allow agricultural workers to cross state borders without permits.

Twenty Victorian aged care providers have been found to be non-compliant with standards under the Aged Care Act since July.

My colleague Melissa Davey has this report:

Related: Twenty Victorian aged care homes ordered to improve 'inadequate' standards after Covid outbreaks

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria records 113 new Covid cases and 12 deaths as NSW reports 13 cases

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Queensland cancels schoolies events after three new coronavirus cases. Follow live

Coatsworth says he agrees with Scott Morrison’s comments that, even with a vaccine, there is not a “zero risk” of Covid-19.

“It is not simply me agreeing with the prime minister, every chief health officer agrees with that,” he says.

Coatsworth is asked about the Liberal MP Craig Kelly, who has been pushing the discredited drug hydroxychloroquine online as a treatment for Covid-19.

He is asked: “Are you concerned about him using his social media to promote those views against the scientific advice?”

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