Category Archives: Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

Australia secures Pfizer doses from Poland as Victoria chases mystery cases – as it happened

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12 Sydney LGAs to get half of the one million extra Pfizer doses secured from Poland; rapid antigen testing to be trialled in some Sydney aged care homes. This blog is now closed

We’ll leave it there for now. Here are today’s main developments:

Police are cracking down on large gatherings in breach of Victoria’s lockdown restrictions, reports AAP.

In the inner city, dozens congregated for a takeaway drink pub crawl event on the streets of Richmond on Saturday, while in Northcote about 200 people gathered for a street party.

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ACT to enter lockdown after Canberra records first locally acquired Covid case in more than a year

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Health authorities yet to identify the source of the new case, who spent several days in the community while infectious

The Australian Capital Territory will go into lockdown after recording a locally acquired Covid-19 case for the first time in more than a year.

The chief minister, Andrew Barr, announced a seven-day lockdown from 5pm Thursday after a man in his 20s tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning.

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‘Stealthing is rape’: the Australian push to criminalise the removal of a condom during sex without consent

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ACT Liberal leader Elizabeth Lee is trying to change legislation to explicitly criminalise the act amid a rise in disturbing rhetoric

One in three women and one in five men globally have been the victim of “stealthing”, the non-consensual act of removing a condom during sex, yet the term has only recently entered public awareness – and courtrooms.

“Anecdotally, stealthing was something that felt yuck, confusing, violating and wrong,” the Australian Capital Territory’s Liberal opposition leader, Elizabeth Lee, says. “But victims of it didn’t even know it had a name, let alone that it negated their consent.”

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Australia politics live: organisers of March4Justice rally reject PM’s offer of closed door meeting

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More than 100,000 women are expected to march in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to demand action in response to allegations of workplace abuse. Follow latest updates

Michael McCormack Michael McCormacked his way through an interaction with Janine Hendry this morning, when she asked him for action - and for change.

He ‘can’t give that assurance’.

#March4Justiceau organiser @janine_hendry bumped into Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack in the Parliament corridors ... here's how it ended. @10NewsFirst #auspol pic.twitter.com/fnkr3nam0h

Janine Hendry, a founder and organiser of the March4Justice, explained to the ABC this morning about why organisers turned down Scott Morrison’s offer of a private meeting with a small number of march delegates:

I think it is really quite disrespectful to the women whose voices need to be heard to have a meeting with our prime minister behind closed doors.

I have invited the prime minister, as I have all other sitting members of parliament, to come and march with us, to come and listen to our voices. I don’t think it is really a big ask – we have come to Canberra.

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Australia news live: NSW reaches 50 days without a local Covid-19 case; virus detected in Adelaide wastewater

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SA Health says positive Covid-19 wastewater results may be linked to hotel quarantine, but further investigations are under way. Follow the latest updates

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended the pace of the vaccine rollout saying it can only be rolled out as fast as it’s being supplied by the federal government, reports AAP.

Queensland gave 6,300 people their first doses of the Pfizer jab last week, against a target of 3,000, but there’s been media criticism of the state’s slow rollout compared with other states.

All of this is being done in consultation with the Commonwealth, so please don’t disrespect the process...

We want to get it right, we want it to be rolled out smoothly, and of course we are making sure that the people have the adequate training to do this.

We are adapting very quickly to the numbers that we’re getting, but the Commonwealth are adjusting these numbers on a regular basis how much we’ll get.

And in some cases, as in the figures I was given like last week, we’re getting triple what we expected and they have to last us for a few weeks because they can’t necessarily guarantee (how much) we’re going to get each week.

Wentworth Liberal MP Dave Sharma’s idea for International Women’s Day seems to have backfired this morning after he handed out what I believe are pink carnations to women.

Sharma tweeted this out this morning:

Happy International Women’s Day.

Let’s make it a day when we strive to improve the respect, dignity and equality for every woman, everywhere.#internationalwomensday2021 #IWD2021 pic.twitter.com/pbpqfGdzp7

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Australia news live: Scott Morrison speaking after national cabinet meeting

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Sex discrimination commissioner to lead review of parliament culture; Italy blocks 250,000 doses of Covid vaccine under the EU’s export authorisation scheme. Follow latest updates

Morrison has moved on from Covid-19, and is being asked about other matters, including Linda Reynolds’ comments about Brittany Higgins.

Minister Reynolds has offered an apology, as she should. And as I said yesterday. And I didn’t find that acceptable, the comments that were made within her office at that time. They weren’t public statements, of course. These were comments made not in a public space... That doesn’t excuse them. And it was relating... she was not talking about the allegations of sexual assault.

Linda Reynolds is returning. She’s currently on leave and will return to her duties when her leave is finished. She maintains my confidence.

Morrison is also asked about the education sector, and whether that was a consideration when discussing international arrival caps and quarantine facilities. In short, no change, but if universities want to reach agreements with government, they’re willing to chat.

No, there’s no change on that front. It would be good if we could get to that point, but at this stage we’re not at that point. The opening of the international borders, we don’t think is wise at this time, and for the period that we’ve suggested, and that’s totally consistent with the medical advice. And we’ve always been happy to work with the international education sector if they want to put in place supplementary self-funded quarantine arrangements and flight arrangements. That has always been there for the international education industry, the large universities and others to go down that path. They haven’t chosen to go down that path. Our focus has remained on the responsibilities we have as a commonwealth.

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Australia politics live: Perth and WA’s south-west enter Covid lockdown as MPs quarantined in Canberra

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Much of Western Australia shut down, with politicians returning to the ACT for parliament forced to isolate. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

And you may be surprised to learn that Gladys Berejiklian has no advice for Mark McGowan over what he should do.

Surprised, because the NSW premier had a LOT of advice for her Queensland counterpart ahead of Queensland’s election. Which Annastacia Palaszczuk won, with an increased majority.

I would not presume to have any advice for any of our colleagues apart from saying that please judge New South Wales on our record of how we manage things here, it is not for me to suggest what other premiers should do, that is a matter for them. All of us have to be considerate of what is happening inWA at the moment. Our thoughts are with everyone in WA at the moment.

NSW premier Gladys Bereiklian says there will be extra screening for WA travellers - but the states borders will remain open:

I have confidence that they would do all the due diligence as we have done in the past, when New Zealand or Brisbane went through this, we make sure we had those procedures in place, the key is to make sure we act quickly and to provide as much information as possible, but also to make a proportional response. We don’t know of any community transmission within WA apart from the security guard, so we are acting according to that risk.

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Australia news live: Emirates to resume flights; tennis player tests positive to Covid-19

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Airline will fly to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from Monday; Spanish star Paula Badosa has coronavirus. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

  • NSW hotspots; Queensland hotspots
  • State-by-state restrictions and lockdown rules explained
  • Follow the global coronavirus liveblog

    • Daniel Andrews frustrated by the decision to award an Australia Day honour to Margaret Court:

    Do we really have to do this every single summer? But apparently we do. I thought we might not have had to have this debate this summer.

    But anyway, others have saw fit to honour her in that way. They’re not decisions that I make; you’ve asked me if I support it, I’ve indicated no, and I’ve also given a sense of why.

    More from Andrews on Margaret Court receiving an Australia Day honour. He invokes the recent debate in Victorian parliament about outlawing gay conversion therapy in the state:

    I think calling out bigotry is always important. We have just had a debate in the parliament of Victoria to outlaw the bigoted quackery that costs lives.

    My position on this has been consistent. I don’t seek to quarrel with people but I’ve been asked a question and I’ve answered it.

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    Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria, NSW and Queensland record no local Covid cases as three new cases linked to Australian Open

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    Two tennis players have tested positive, but hard lockdown of those who shared flights remains. Follow latest updates

  • NSW hotspots; Queensland hotspots
  • State-by-state restrictions and lockdown rules explained
  • Follow the global coronavirus liveblog

    • As our West Australian readers start to log-on, I bring to you news of possible secession. I have not clicked through to see what other images/tweets etc come up under #WAXIT but please feel free to do so:

    A group of business leaders in Western Australia want the state to break away from Australia… calling the campaign #WAXIT.

    Should WA be allowed to break away and form an independent nation? #9News pic.twitter.com/mtStO3Ayzh

    A $7bn funding injection into social housing would address surging homelessness caused by the pandemic, advocates say.

    This just in from AAP:

    Social housing advocates fear a surge in homelessness stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, and are urging swift action from the federal government to ensure Australians have a roof over their heads.

    A national campaign to end homelessness, Everybody’s Home, estimates a $7bn injection into social housing would make a serious dent in homelessness, while creating 18,000 jobs a year over the next four years.

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    Morrison will decide ‘over the course of the year’ whether to allow international travel – as it happened

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    Meanwhile, three of four Covid cases found in Victoria hotel quarantine linked to Australian Open. This blog is now closed

    That’s where I’m going to leave you for today. Thanks as always for reading along.

    Here’s what we learned today:

    Fragments of Covid-19 have been detected in sewage at three sites in Queensland, the state’s health department has said.

    Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said in a statement released just now that viral fragments of the virus had been detected at wastewater treatment plants after samples were collected last week. The positive results were detected at three locations:

    While this does not mean we have new cases of Covid-19 in these communities, we are treating these detections seriously.

    A positive sewage result means that someone who has been infected was shedding the virus. Infected people can shed viral fragments and that shedding can happen for several weeks after the person is no longer infectious.

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    Coronavirus Australia live: Australian Open tennis quarantine disarray; Victoria opens border to most of Sydney as NSW records no local cases

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    Victoria premier Daniel Andrews says people in most of Sydney can apply for a permit to travel to the state while 10 LGAs still remain in red zones. Follow latest updates live

    The ABC has spoken to one of the tennis players who is isolating as part of strict restrictions applied to those who travelled for the Australian Open.

    #AusOpen player Artem Sitak happy to be in Melbourne for the tournament. A lot of the players have now realised it's an unfortunate situation. News of the long Victorian lockdown & of Australians unable to return home is making them feel very lucky to be in Melbourne. #Springst pic.twitter.com/EgQ9CEix9P

    Of course I’m happy. As I said, I was prepared for the worst and unfortunately it happened to me, but I’m – I’m definitely happy. I’m here, I love Australian Open. I think it’s going to be any sixth or seventh Australian Open and I love playing here. There’s always a really – a really vocal huge crowd. Hopefully this time it will be – I don’t know the percentage of spectators that are allowed but there will still be a lot of people. We haven’t played in front of spectators since back in August. And this is going to be a lot of fun.

    The Victorian police union is less welcoming of news that Covid-19 fines in Victoria will be waived. Here’s what Victorian Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said on radio station 3AW earlier today, according to AAP:

    It’s a wee bit frustrating.

    None of this was fun for our members. It was bit of a thankless job.

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    NSW reports no new local Covid cases, as Queensland denies hotel quarantine breach – as it happened

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    Madison Keys drops out of Australian Open and Andy Murray in doubt after testing positive for Covid

    With that, we’ll be closing the blog for today. Here’s a recap of the day’s headlines:

    Emergency warnings have been issued for separate bushfires threatening lives in Perth’s eastern foothills and the Wheatbelt region, AAP reports.

    Firefighters are battling to contain an out-of-control blaze in High Wycombe, near the Perth Hills.

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    Australia’s state by state Covid restrictions and coronavirus lockdown rules explained

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    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

    Australian states and territories have different levels of restrictions to contain Covid-19.

    Here we answer some common questions about restrictions in each state, based on the information available as of 8 January.

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    Coronavirus Australia live news: NSW reports eight new Covid cases while Victoria records three

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    Many customers of Sydney bottle shop are considered to be close contacts and must isolate for 14 days. Follow latest updates

    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.

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    NSW makes face masks mandatory as state records seven new Covid cases

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    Gladys Berejiklian announces new measures for 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.

    Meanwhile Victoria’s hard border blocking travel from NSW took effect, with the Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, saying he would not apologise for taking tough measures to prevent virus spread. The ACT health department also announced non-ACT residents travelling from affected areas of NSW would now need an exemption.

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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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    Father and daughter drown in Murrumbidgee River south of Canberra

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    Police say another daughter called for help after seeing her father and sister in trouble

    A man and his daughter have drowned in the Murrumbidgee River in the ACT.

    Police were called to a swimming hole south of Canberra, the Tharwa Sandwash, about 2.20pm on Saturday after receiving reports that people were in difficulty.

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    British journalist uncovered Australian woman’s alleged plan to kill parents on dark web, police say

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    Parents in Canberra were unaware daughter had allegedly paid substantial sum to purported hitman

    A tip-off from a British journalist working for the BBC led to the arrest of an Australian woman who allegedly used the dark web to hire a contract killer to murder her parents, police say.

    The 26-year-old Canberra woman is accused of agreeing to pay $20,000 to kill her parents, who are reportedly prominent businesspeople in the Australian Capital Territory.

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    Victoria’s hotel quarantine program revealed to cost $195m – as it happened

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    Four new coronavirus cases recorded in NSW southern highlands as Victoria quarantine inquiry delivers interim report. This blog is now closed

    That’s it for tonight, thanks for reading. To recap today’s developments:

    The chief of the defence force, Angus Campbell, has released a statement about the inquiry into alleged war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.

    Campbell said he received the Afghanistan inquiry report today, which examined the conduct of elite Australian forces in more than 55 incidents of alleged unlawful killings between 2005 and 2016.

    Today I have received the Afghanistan Inquiry report from the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF).

    The independent inquiry was commissioned by Defence in 2016 after rumours and allegations emerged relating to possible breaches of the Law of Armed Conflict by members of the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan over the period 2005 to 2016.

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    Coronavirus Australia live updates: 800 people forced to self-isolate after outbreak at Melbourne college

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    Today’s meeting between federal, state and territory leaders will focus on removing social and border restrictions to jumpstart the economy. Follow live

    On the bonuses that aren’t blingy watches.

    In just the year to June, Australia Post paid $1.95 million in bonuses to 35 of its executives earning over $520,000 a year. That’s 648 Cartier watches - or 162 times the total Cartier watch spend. (Or about 27,850 Casio watches...) https://t.co/S8mmcqJmhh

    We will probably be in a bit of a news lull while national cabinet is meeting and the US presidential election debate is on in about 25 minutes.

    You can follow the debate in our other live blog here.

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