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| Australia coronavirus live update: Victoria reports 149 new Covid cases and 24 deaths as NSW records six cases | Australia coronavirus live update: Victoria reports 149 new Covid cases and 24 deaths as NSW records six cases |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Premier Daniel Andrews urges more Victorians to come forward for testing and Queensland reports one new case. Follow all the latest news and updates, live | Premier Daniel Andrews urges more Victorians to come forward for testing and Queensland reports one new case. Follow all the latest news and updates, live |
| This is quite something. | |
| Wang Xining: | |
| The ABS construction data is out. | |
| Value of work done, chain volume measuresTotal construction | |
| The seasonally adjusted estimate for total construction work done fell 0.7% to $50,128.8m in the June quarter. | |
| Building work done | |
| The seasonally adjusted estimate of total building work done fell 3.9% to $28,416.7m in the June quarter. | |
| Engineering work done | |
| The seasonally adjusted estimate for engineering work done rose 3.8% to $21,712.1m in the June quarter. | |
| Labor’s Jason Clare has responded (complete with receipts) | |
| There is a lot of ground being covered here. | |
| The answer to this question about the CCP’s views on democracy is essentially, what has democracy done for you lately. | |
| Wang Xining: | |
| Soft diplomacy. | |
| (This would have been a whole episode of the West Wing, by the way, which is why the West Wing is also the worst.) | |
| Q: | |
| Just to clarify something you said earlier. Did the coronavirus, which is currently affecting the world, did it come from China, if it did, you talked about two or three other places, where could it have come from if not China? | |
| You talked about the feelings of the Chinese people, given their health has been affected and the economy trashed, do you understand that Australia’s feelings might be heard, and the rest of the world, and they have the right to know where it comes from. | |
| Wang Xining: | |
| Q: To be clear, you are saying that it didn’t originate in Wuhan? | |
| Wang: We should leave the work to scientists. | |
| On the CCP’s rejection of Australia’s original calls for an independent review into the origins of the pandemic, and the first response, Wang Xining says: | |
| Wang Xining: | Wang Xining: |
| He continues: | He continues: |
| Again, this does not seem to be a message to anyone in the room. | Again, this does not seem to be a message to anyone in the room. |
| Rather, it’s a message to those in this building watching this on screens. In the ministerial wing, would be my guess. But I’m no expert on these things. | Rather, it’s a message to those in this building watching this on screens. In the ministerial wing, would be my guess. But I’m no expert on these things. |
| Wang Xining: | Wang Xining: |
| Wang Xining mentions the elephant in the room – the rift: | Wang Xining mentions the elephant in the room – the rift: |
| ABC Q&A host Hamish Macdonald gets a shout out at the beginning of Wang Xining’s speech – for encouraging him to appear on Australian TV more, following an appearance on Q&A: | ABC Q&A host Hamish Macdonald gets a shout out at the beginning of Wang Xining’s speech – for encouraging him to appear on Australian TV more, following an appearance on Q&A: |
| This press club address may be the closest Australian ministers have been to hearing from the CCP since none of them seem to be able to get their counterpart ministers on the phone. | This press club address may be the closest Australian ministers have been to hearing from the CCP since none of them seem to be able to get their counterpart ministers on the phone. |
| The national press club address with the deputy head of mission at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Australia is about to begin. | The national press club address with the deputy head of mission at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Australia is about to begin. |
| As you can see, diplomacy is very, very subtle. | As you can see, diplomacy is very, very subtle. |
| The Covid response is normalising all sorts of things. | The Covid response is normalising all sorts of things. |
| And just repeating – there has been six new cases of Covid recorded in the last 24 hours in NSW – and authorities don’t have a source point as yet, for five of them. | And just repeating – there has been six new cases of Covid recorded in the last 24 hours in NSW – and authorities don’t have a source point as yet, for five of them. |
| There are 15 hotels in Sydney being used for hotel quarantine, with more than 4,000 returned travellers being held inside. | There are 15 hotels in Sydney being used for hotel quarantine, with more than 4,000 returned travellers being held inside. |
| As Naaman just reported, the Travelodge Wentworth hotel is no longer one of them. | As Naaman just reported, the Travelodge Wentworth hotel is no longer one of them. |
| Mick Fuller: | Mick Fuller: |
| The New South Wales police commissioner, Mick Fuller, has said police themselves requested private security guards should be used as “second-tier” security in hotel quarantine. | The New South Wales police commissioner, Mick Fuller, has said police themselves requested private security guards should be used as “second-tier” security in hotel quarantine. |
| Fuller defended the practice on Wednesday, after nearly 400 people were moved from the Travelodge Wentworth hotel on Tuesday night after police determined the hotel failed to meet the quarantine program’s standards. | Fuller defended the practice on Wednesday, after nearly 400 people were moved from the Travelodge Wentworth hotel on Tuesday night after police determined the hotel failed to meet the quarantine program’s standards. |
| Two security guards at the Sydney Harbour Marriott have so far tested positive for Covid-19, with genomic testing showing it was initially contracted from a returned traveller from the US. | Two security guards at the Sydney Harbour Marriott have so far tested positive for Covid-19, with genomic testing showing it was initially contracted from a returned traveller from the US. |
| Fuller said he still had confidence in the hotel quarantine system and would “audit and find security guards who aren’t up to scratch”. | Fuller said he still had confidence in the hotel quarantine system and would “audit and find security guards who aren’t up to scratch”. |
| Fuller also told reporters that “Every hotel has had a complaint at some stage”, and the volume of complaints rose last week. | Fuller also told reporters that “Every hotel has had a complaint at some stage”, and the volume of complaints rose last week. |