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| Coronavirus Australia live update: regional Victoria restrictions to ease as state records 42 Covid cases and NSW seven | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The state reports no deaths; SA may open border to NSW; and WA adds to pressure for federal quarantine. Follow all today’s news | The state reports no deaths; SA may open border to NSW; and WA adds to pressure for federal quarantine. Follow all today’s news |
| Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp made it clear in two meetings in late March that Victoria did not need the help of the Australian Defence Force in running hotel quarantine, the inquiry has heard. | |
| In audio recordings of state control centre meetings on 27 and 28 March played to the inquiry on Tuesday, Crisp said twice that there was no need for support from the ADF for hotel quarantine. | |
| “We can manage this…at this stage, we don’t need boots on the ground, so to speak,” he said on 27 March. | |
| Crisp said he saw the role of the ADF to fill any gaps in capacity or capability that he saw in the program and there was no requirement for that at the time. He said it is his belief that private security could do the job. | |
| In late June, Crisp did eventually request the support of 850 ADF personnel to replace private security in hotel quarantine, at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services, but one day late he rescinded this request at the behest of the Department of Justice. | |
| He said he was told Justice was looking into other options, including using police and corrections staff. | |
| It remains unclear who exactly made the decision to use private security firms in the ill-fated hotel quarantine program. | |
| The inquiry heard on Tuesday that Victoria Police made it clear in the 27 March meeting that the preference was that private security be used, and the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions was tasked to hire the firms, but Crisp said the decision had already been made prior to that meeting. | |
| Labor has called for an investigation into whether Australian privacy laws have been breached after reports the personal details of about 35,500 Australians were included on a database compiled by the Chinese tech company Zhenhua Data. | |
| The shadow assistant minister for cyber security, Tim Watts, wrote to the information commissioner today to request an investigation into “the extent to which the privacy of Australians may have been compromised and whether any Australian privacy laws have been broken”. | |
| In a media release issued a short time ago, the Labor party said the reports that personal information may have been scraped from social media accounts and other sources “for potential use by foreign intelligence services” were “deeply concerning” and that the investigation should look into whether or not a data collection centre was located in Australia. | |
| Zhenhua Data, based in Shenzhen, has denied any links to the Chinese government or military and insisted that it merely “integrated” public data found on the internet. There is no concrete evidence to suggest that a data collection centre has been set up in Australia. | |
| Watts said the data security of Australian citizens was “now a national security issue” and he argued that an effective data protection regime was “crucial to our efforts to fight foreign interference”. | |
| Labor senator Jenny McAllister, who chairs a Senate select committee into foreign interference through social media, said the reports about the database were “the latest in a long line of warnings that there are actors with the intent and ability to influence Australia’s democracy”. | |
| The opposition also called on the government to ensure the Information Commissioner and her officer were properly resourced to complete the task, saying the office’s investigation into Cambridge Analytica was launched in March 2020, two years after the event. | |
| The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said the protection of online privacy was more important than ever and a standalone privacy commissioner should be appointed. | |
| Meanwhile, not that it will help the Wallabies but: | |
| New South Wales is still a work in progress. | |
| But if you are from the ACT, you can go to South Australia – if you fly. | |
| Driving will still mean quarantining. | |
| The jobkeeper payment will be tapered from the end of this month. | |
| The NSW Liberals and Nationals have endured their first joint party room following the Nats threatening to sit on the cross benches over koala protections. | |
| As expected Nationals leader, John Barilaro has hung onto the leadership of the junior coalition party and remains deputy premier. | |
| Ever the diplomat, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the joint meeting was “extremely constructive” but she wouldn’t be talking about the details. | |
| The koala habitat state environmental planning policy will be discussed in cabinet in October. How flexible the Liberals will be with their National colleagues remains to be seen. | |
| New South Wales has reported seven new cases in the last 24 hours – testing rates have now dropped to about a third: | |
| There were 8,835 tests reported in the 24-hour reporting period, compared with 9,316 in the previous 24 hours. | |
| Testing numbers have dropped over the past two weeks, which is a concern particularly in areas like South Western, Western and South Eastern Sydney. | |
| Of the seven new cases to 8pm last night: | |
| Three are overseas travellers in hotel quarantine | |
| One is from Victoria in hotel quarantine | |
| Two are locally acquired and linked to a known case or cluster | |
| One is locally acquired with their source still under investigation | |
| One new case is a household contact of a previous case linked to Concord Hospital. | |
| One new case is a healthcare worker at Liverpool Hospital. Source investigations are still ongoing and contact tracing is underway. | |
| One new case is a returned NSW resident from Victoria. All passengers on the same flight from Victoria into Sydney are in hotel quarantine. | |
| NSW Health can also advise a new additional case has now been confirmed in a student of Blue Mountains Grammar school. The school is now closed while further tracing and cleaning is undertaken. This case will be included in tomorrow’s official numbers. | |
| While the number of locally acquired cases recorded in the past 24 hours is low, the virus is likely circulating among people in the community with mild symptoms. As such, the risk of outbreaks and a resurgence of cases remains. | |
| It’s vital that everyone who does have the virus is tested and diagnosed, in order to stop further spread to others. | |
| NSW Health is again urging anyone feeling unwell – even with the mildest of symptoms such as a runny nose or scratchy throat – to come forward and get tested, so cases in the community are identified as quickly as possible. | |
| This is even more important with the upcoming school holidays, when people will travel across the state. | |
| Locations linked to known cases, advice on testing and isolation, and areas identified for increased testing can be found here: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/latest-news-and-updates. | |
| NSW Health is treating 86 Covid-19 cases, including six in intensive care, three of whom are being ventilated. Eighty-six per cent of cases being treated by NSW Health are in non-acute, out-of-hospital care. | |
| Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp was unable to recall key details about meetings deciding the hotel quarantine program. | Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp was unable to recall key details about meetings deciding the hotel quarantine program. |
| Crisp was asked about notes he made in a meeting with officials, including police minister Lisa Neville and then police commissioner Graham Ashton on 27 March, referencing security guards and ADF officers. Crisp said he did not recall the notes. | Crisp was asked about notes he made in a meeting with officials, including police minister Lisa Neville and then police commissioner Graham Ashton on 27 March, referencing security guards and ADF officers. Crisp said he did not recall the notes. |
| In a submission provided to the inquiry, read out in the hearing, Ashton has said he asked Crisp about Victoria Police’s role in the program, and he recalled Crisp saying private security guards were going to be used. He also said emergency management Victoria was assisting with the coordination of the program but the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions would be running it. Crisp did not recall this conversation. | In a submission provided to the inquiry, read out in the hearing, Ashton has said he asked Crisp about Victoria Police’s role in the program, and he recalled Crisp saying private security guards were going to be used. He also said emergency management Victoria was assisting with the coordination of the program but the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions would be running it. Crisp did not recall this conversation. |
| Crisp’s predecessor, Craig Lapsley, also told the inquiry in a written submission that it would have been “prudent” for the state controller – to oversee the program – be someone like the chief health officer or someone with a medical background.It was envisioned that chief health officer Prof Brett Sutton could have filled the role, but the deputy secretary of DHHS, Melissa Skilbeck, told Crisp it would be difficult for Sutton to take the role with his other obligations. | Crisp’s predecessor, Craig Lapsley, also told the inquiry in a written submission that it would have been “prudent” for the state controller – to oversee the program – be someone like the chief health officer or someone with a medical background.It was envisioned that chief health officer Prof Brett Sutton could have filled the role, but the deputy secretary of DHHS, Melissa Skilbeck, told Crisp it would be difficult for Sutton to take the role with his other obligations. |
| Skilbeck appointed Andrea Spiteri and Jason Helps from Emergency Management Victoria to the role. Skilbeck told the inquiry last week Sutton was against that decision. | Skilbeck appointed Andrea Spiteri and Jason Helps from Emergency Management Victoria to the role. Skilbeck told the inquiry last week Sutton was against that decision. |
| Gladys Berejiklian is holding her press conference. | Gladys Berejiklian is holding her press conference. |
| Remember how all those economists signed that letter in April, saying how they supported the lockdown, because it was better for the economy in the long run? | Remember how all those economists signed that letter in April, saying how they supported the lockdown, because it was better for the economy in the long run? |
| Well, they still support the lockdowns. | Well, they still support the lockdowns. |
| Does Victoria want the government to keep jobkeeper and jobseeker where it is? | Does Victoria want the government to keep jobkeeper and jobseeker where it is? |
| Daniel Andrews: | Daniel Andrews: |
| Q: The prime minister has told the hotels inquiry that he wrote to you three times offering ADF support. Why did you tell the Victorian parliament that there was never ADF support for the hotel quarantine on offer. | Q: The prime minister has told the hotels inquiry that he wrote to you three times offering ADF support. Why did you tell the Victorian parliament that there was never ADF support for the hotel quarantine on offer. |
| Daniel Andrews: | Daniel Andrews: |