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Coronavirus Australia live update: Melbourne's hard Covid lockdown prompts economic fears – latest news Coronavirus Australia live update: Melbourne's hard Covid lockdown prompts economic fears – latest news
(32 minutes later)
Economists say stage-four restrictions will take a heavy toll, while the Andrews government is under pressure over hotel quarantine failures. Follow liveEconomists say stage-four restrictions will take a heavy toll, while the Andrews government is under pressure over hotel quarantine failures. Follow live
It’s a tough time for a lot of community organisations - but NSW has offered some help to some of the more famous ones: I’ve been getting a few questions from NSW residents worried about flights coming from Victoria into NSW regional airports, such as Tamworth and Orange, given the new mandatory hotel quarantine rules.
There’s been no community car washes, biscuit bake sales or sausage sizzles to top up the coffers of Scouts, Girl Guides and Police and Community Youth Clubs during the coronavirus pandemic in NSW. My understanding is Sydney is the one port of entry for those flights once the new rules kick in, but we are double checking.
These are bread and butter fundraising activities run by the groups that offer more than 120,000 young people fun, friendship and adventure. You can fly from Sydney to a regional NSW airport - but Victorian flights should all be diverted to Sydney, where hotel quarantine will take place.
NSW Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey has announced a $3 million top-up to help them get through the crisis. We’ll get back to you.
Ms Pavey noted the disruptions to the groups haven’t been unable to meet face-to-face or do their normal fundraising activities. As this deleted tweet from Mathias Cormann shows, dumbing down discourse on complex matters can come back to bite.
“It has also had a major impact on PCYC which rely on income from its network of youth centres across the state to generate more than half of its annual revenue,” she said. (although given the purge on that account, it looks like it is part of the yearly delete feature - which is something many, many people do.)
The $3 million will be used for maintenance and improvements to Scout, Girl Guide and PCYC facilities on Crown land in NSW. Here is the official word on that Queensland case which is currently under investigation
The measure is also expected to benefit communities by generating work for local economies, Ms Pavey said on Thursday. Queensland’s stay-at-home compliance contrasts with Victoria, where 800 people were not at home during checks.
Which has led a reader to send me this link to a YouTube clip. People have A LOT of time on their hands, apparently - but I guess if you are at home fore 23 out of 24 hours, there is not a lot else to do, but re-imagine famous movie scenes as real life
Labor’s Julie Collins wants the government to release the names of the aged care homes which did not meet Covid standards:
Deputy police commissioner Steve Gollschewski says a new border pass declaration will be online soon, in line with Queensland barring visitors from NSW and the ACT.
You’ll need ID:
Queensland police did a compliance check of all 253 in-home quarantine yesterday – and 250 were at home.
The three who weren’t are under investigation.
But that is a pretty great strike-rate.
Training, skills and employment are the focus of today’s Senate committee hearing into how the government has handled the pandemic response.
Berry Street, an organisation which looks at the wellbeing of families and children, has released a new report showing more Victorian children were at risk of entering the out-of-home care system, as a result of the pandemic:
It’s a tough time for a lot of community organisations – but NSW has offered some help to some of the more famous ones:
There have been no community car washes, biscuit bake sales or sausage sizzles to top up the coffers of the Scouts, Girl Guides or Police and Community Youth Clubs during the coronavirus pandemic in NSW.
These are bread-and-butter fundraising activities run by the groups that offer more than 120,000 young people fun, friendship and adventure.
The NSW minister for water, property and housing, Melinda Pavey, has announced a $3m top-up to help them get through the crisis.
Pavey noted the disruptions to the groups that haven’t been unable to meet face-to-face or do their normal fundraising activities.
“It has also had a major impact on PCYC, which rely on income from its network of youth centres across the state to generate more than half of its annual revenue,” she said.
The $3m will be used for maintenance and improvements to Scout, Girl Guide and PCYC facilities on crown land in NSW.
The measure is also expected to benefit communities by generating work for local economies, Pavey said on Thursday.
(AAP)(AAP)
Labor’s Stephen Jones has asked the auditor-general to look into the Coalition’s early superannuation release scheme.Labor’s Stephen Jones has asked the auditor-general to look into the Coalition’s early superannuation release scheme.
The policy, which was designed to help people who are struggling financially during the Covid crisis, has seen $30bn taken out of superannuation - and left many under-35s with nothing in their account balances. The policy, which was designed to help people who are struggling financially during the Covid crisis, has seen $30bn taken out of superannuation – and left many under-35s with nothing in their account balances.
It was recently revealed the ATO did not check to see if those who removed the super had suffered financial difficulties.It was recently revealed the ATO did not check to see if those who removed the super had suffered financial difficulties.
Jones says the way the scheme was designed left people open to fines from the tax office.Jones says the way the scheme was designed left people open to fines from the tax office.
Labor’s Linda Burney and Jason Clare want more housing made available for victims of family and domestic violence:Labor’s Linda Burney and Jason Clare want more housing made available for victims of family and domestic violence:
A second test on the Ipswich woman who tested positive for Covid-19 has come back negative.
Which is good news, because authorities couldn’t trace how she could have contracted the virus.
There have been cases of false positives previously - which is part of the reason you hear of cases being ‘reclassified’.
IbisWorld is predicting the Victorian lockdowns will change how consumers shop - possibly forever:
People are still trying to get into South Australia:
(via AAP)
Two people, including a teenager, have been charged with breaching coronavirus restrictions in South Australia.
The boy, 17, was arrested at Adelaide Airport on Wednesday after getting off a flight from NSW, via Victoria.
SA Police became involved because although he had government approval to fly home from NSW, he did not have approval to travel from Victoria.
“While police were clarifying his status, he allegedly became abusive and refused to comply with the direction to wear a mask,” police said in a statement on Thursday.
The boy, from Christies Beach in Adelaide’s south, was charged with breaching COVID-19 directions and disorderly behaviour and sent to hotel quarantine for 14 days.
Elsewhere, police picked up a man in the Glenburnie Pine Forest about 2km inside the border with Victoria on Wednesday.
The man from Renmark is accused of breaching the border earlier in the day and was charged with breaching coronavirus directions.
Queensland has reported no new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.
Authorities are still trying to work out how a woman in West Moreton (Ipswich) contracted the virus. She was diagnosed yesterday.
Helen Sullivan has all your international coronavirus news here
Greg Hunt was also asked about the open/close situation with the nation’s internal borders. This time round, he is more conciliatory than what we have heard previously on the issue:
Greg Hunt was asked about the Australian story that the South Australian Liberals were planning an event with 700 people.
As David Penberthy reports:
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, Hunt says he can’t answer the question – because he doesn’t have any details:
Q: But things might be compliant, but it’s also about messages and perception, isn’t it? You’d be hoping surely that people were setting examples from your own party?
Hunt: Well, look, I won’t comment on something where I don’t have the details.
Included in that cybersecurity plan are increased powers for the Australian Signals Directorate. Which is what the News Corp political editor, Annika Smethurst, reported, and was dragged over the coals for. The government loudly proclaimed the story to be wrong. Smethurst endured an AFP investigation, complete with raids, before it was announced that no prosecution would move ahead.
And now here we are.
It’s a bit behind schedule but there have been a few things going on.
Australia has a new cybersecurity plan, as Katharine Murphy reports:
The concerns around food shortages centre around the changes to Victoria’s on-site work arrangements.
Food production, including meat, seafood, dairy, fruit and vegetable processing businesses can remain open under the restrictions which came into force at midnight – but they have to be at one-third capacity.
What that looks like we don’t entirely know as yet – it’s a work in progress and is different for each industry.