The aged care minister Richard Colbeck has not been able to tell Senate estimates how many workers in the aged care sector have been vaccinated.
Minister Richard Colbeck comes under fire over aged care failures after outbreak in two Melbourne homes. Follow live updates
This has been an ongoing frustration for Mike Bowers and the visual reporters – some committees are throwing their weight around about where photographers and camera operators can stand to do their jobs – which means a lot of photos of the back of people’s heads.
The helpful people at the estimates Economic committee placed our photographic positions behind the heads of the Treasury Officials and Minister giving evidence, do I really have to explain again to members of the Aust senate why this will not work? #notTodayPlease @AmyRemeikis pic.twitter.com/ysRVbOttpy
Katy Gallagher asks Richard Colbeck who is responsible for vaccinating aged care staff.
Three minutes later, Colbeck says it is a “combined” program.
Continue reading...Almost two months after the dedicated Pfizer pop-ups were supposed to begin operating there are only three – all in Sydney
The federal government has established just three Pfizer pop-up Covid-19 vaccination hubs for younger aged care workers, all of which are in Sydney, almost two months after they were supposed to begin operating.
A major complaint about the vaccine rollout has been the slow and confused process for aged care workers, who were slated to be vaccinated as part of phase 1a, the highest priority stage of the rollout.
Continue reading...Coalition budget delivers $30bn in tax breaks and money for fossil fuel projects but no measures to help struggling universities or clean energy projects. Follow all the latest news and reaction to the 2021 federal budget as it happens
So not a lot new there. Which means question time is going to be a copy and paste affair.
The other question of note?
Why is the border closed for so long?
The key factor, the central factor, the only factor for us what keeps Australians safe. And it’s not simply the rollout of the vaccine, that is a factor for the Chief Medical Officer in making decisions around borders.
They also need to take into account, what is happening with the virus globally, its transmissibility, new variants of the virus, and what it would mean for Australians health and safety.
Continue reading...Ailing sectors targeted, as treasurer releases Australia’s 2021 budget. Follow all the latest. This blog is now closed
There is a lot more to get through with the budget - but you should sleep! - so we will wrap up the blog now and return tomorrow morning when we have all had a chance to let our subconscious mull it over.
There’s a lot more to say - the environment spending, Indigenous spending and university spending leaves a bit to be desired.
The Australian Conservation Foundation’s Matt Rose has also responded:
Environment and climate spending represents less than 1% (0.8%) of the federal budget.
To put it another way, out of every $100 in this budget, 80 cents went to climate, water and the environment.
Continue reading...José says he hasn’t been able to sleep since alleged assault, which was described as ‘cuddling’ in incident report
A man who walked in on his 70-year-old wife with dementia being allegedly sexually assaulted by a fellow resident at her Sydney aged care home has blamed under-staffing for failing to properly monitor residents.
The 75-year-old man, José, said he has not been able to sleep properly since the alleged 20 March assault on his wife, Shannon, and that he wants answers about why his wife was able to wander off alone down a corridor and into the man’s room.
Continue reading...Australian Labor party gathers online to endorse slimmed-down election platform and debate industrial relations, trade and foreign affairs. Follow all the latest updates, live
Delegate Nizza Siano has put forward this one:
Labor’s policy should be framed to provide a positive and compassionate approach by a Labor Government to the treatment of refugees, rather than a reaction to the punitive and cruel approach of the Coalition Government. Refugees and those seeking asylum in Australia are to be welcomed under a Labor Government as assets who enhance this nation and our economy and provide positive contribution to our strong multicultural society.
In this chapter, Michael Danby will move this motion:
Labor calls on China to abide by its own constitution and laws which expressly allows for the cultural autonomy of the Tibetan people within the People’s Republic.
Tibetans must be allowed, as they are under Chinese law, to freely practice their religion, to learn and speak their language and to have official documents in the language of the vast majority of people living in the Tibetan autonomous zone.
Continue reading...An increase from 10 to 12% could fund royal commission recommendations without an income tax levy, Jason Falinski and Katie Allen say
Liberal MPs have proposed setting aside the increase in the super guarantee from 10 to 12% to fund healthcare in later life and aged care, as a means to pay for royal commission recommendations without an income tax levy.
Jason Falinski and Katie Allen called for consideration of the idea in comments to Guardian Australia after Scott Morrison described the minimum estimated $10bn a year of funding required to improve aged care as a “challenge to all of us” the government hoped to solve in the budget.
Continue reading...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
Continue reading...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
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Health department had earlier requested list not be released, saying it could hamper care and put staff off going to work
The Australian government has begun releasing a weekly snapshot of Covid-19 deaths and infections in aged care homes, despite earlier attempting to keep secret the identity of providers with fewer than five cases.
The health department secretary, Brendan Murphy, had previously asked the Senate’s Covid-19 committee not to publish a full list of providers with outbreaks, claiming publication of the data could distract from care and discourage staff from attending work.
Continue reading...