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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria records eight deaths and 42 new Covid cases, with 10 in NSW – latest news Covid Australia live update: Victoria records eight deaths and 42 new coronavirus cases, with 10 in NSW – latest news
(32 minutes later)
South Australia opens up to ACT and Brett Sutton gives evidence at Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquirySouth Australia opens up to ACT and Brett Sutton gives evidence at Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry
South Australia’s premier Steven Marshall has announced his state will increase it’s international arrivals cap. Q: Just on that new form of leader, is Joe Biden that new form of political leader that will persuade voters to vote for him on November 3?
However he said it would increase from 500 to 800 per week, and rather than phrasing it as 800 international arrivals per week, he said there would be 800 hotel quarantine positions available.
Interestingly, Marshall also said that while SA currently had capacity for 500 new hotel quarantine spots per week, only 234 of these beds had been reserved for international arrivals, while the rest were for interstate arrivals.
He said under the new increases, 600 of the state’s 800 hotel quarantine spots each week would be set aside for international arrivals.
“We’ve got to play our part in the repatriation of Australian citizens who are stranded overseas,” Marshall said.
Michael McCormack earlier today called for the state to increase its international arrival intake by 360.
Meanwhile, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, responding to McCormack’s announcement, said she supports federal government aircraft being used to fly stranded Australians home.
She said she had previously “mentioned to the Deputy Prime Minister, that I would be more than happy to look at taking more Australians here where we have the capacity to do so”.
However a spokesman for Palaszczuk told the Guardian Queensland would need the federal government’s support to take more arrivals into its hotel quarantine.
Andrew Liveris:Andrew Liveris:
Where does Andrew Liveris believe Australia needs to diversify? Further to that first question Andrew Liveris was asked:
Andrew Liveris has moved onto China in his speech: Q: In your speech you spoke about the need for a new form of government, a new form of politician. In your mind, how do they differ compared to what we have now? How do they operate differently, and, given your work experience with Donald Trump, is he an example, a good example, of a new form of politician?
Among the successes the response centre is claiming: Andrew Liveris:
More than 170 ADF personnel have supported the work of the Response Centre. Q: The prime minister has thrown down essentially to the private sector. He has given them seven months to announce new investment in energy to cover the closure of the Liddell plant. What chance do you give the private sector to give them – to announce this new investment in seven months after the least of being shy of new investment not the least because the policy settings around energy have been so unstable?
A 100-strong ADF deployment has visited 452 facilities to deliver prevention training. Andrew Liveris:
40 ADF clinicians are providing on-the-ground medical support. Q: You’ve advised President Obama. You’ve advised Donald Trump. You advise Scott Morrison. Three leaders. But you also have a position in Saudi Arabia to Mohammed bin Salman, not a democratically-elected leader, in fact an abuser of rights, and involved in authorisation the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. How do you align yourself with those?
A tri-service support system of 34 Army, Navy and Air Force officers are also embedded within the Response Centre, fulfilling a range of cross-functional Planning, Operations and Intelligence duties. Andrew Liveris:
The Commission for Aged Care Quality and Safety has worked closely with the Response Centre and has completed 169 spot-checks on facilities around Victoria. Q: You’ve said China will said its muscles, there’ll be more Hong Kongs. Taiwan, do you think that will be next?
Western Health has also assisted with prevention measures at 37 facilities. Andrew Liveris:
Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMAT) have completed 174 visits to 80 facilities, with 40 personnel from across the country. Q: Can I ask you about your comments on China and us being a one-trick pony, and so forth, and the need to separate the mercantile aspect of the relationship with the diplomatic aspect of the relationship. Was I wrong to interpret this, are you saying the government needs to temper its public comments towards Beijing and China and keep them private in the interests of the economic relationship?
Daily Zoom meetings and webinars are ongoing with facilities to assist with best practice in the prevention space and supporting return to work arrangements for furloughed staff. 14 meetings have been held to date with around 500 participants. Andrew Liveris:
In partnership with peak industry bodies, the Response Centre is co-hosting a ‘Lunch & Learn’ webinar series on a range of aged care topics, including preparation and prevention, PPE and enhancing communications with families. 500 participants have registered for the five-part series. Andrew Liveris has moved to the Q and A section of the press club address:
Peak bodies for the aged care sector have also come together in a weekly stakeholder meeting co-chaired by the Federal Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, the Hon. Richard Colbeck, and State Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, the Hon. Luke Donnellan. Q: You’ve outlined the transition that the country needs to make but the reality is the transition you’ve outlined is a very costly one. If taxpayers are to bear the costs of that transition through subsidies or for advanced manufacturing, don’t we need to be very explicit about who is bearing the costs of that transition? Also if I may, how does the re-industrialisation of Australia and increasing the supply of gas which you admit is a fossil fuel get us to net zero to 2050?
The Response Centre continues to work with aged care facilities to support their communications with families and the primary contacts of residents. The Response Centre has provided direct communications support to eight facilities during acute outbreaks, facilitating a total of 956 outbound calls and 740 inbound calls. Liveris: The two parts to your question, in none of the recommendations made yesterday or the announcements did I see the word “subsidy”. It is a redirection of funds. That’s a key part of the plan. It’s left the private sector to negotiate the contracts, because private sector has not done a good job. International companies can sit on basins in this contrary and sit on them at prices.
It has been seven weeks since the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre was set up: In fact, if you give the private sector a trajectory like a hub and like access to demand - i.e, the demand you can put in place - and you say that demand can underpin a power station or two, why you wouldn’t you do? No new taxes. Secondly, gas is roughly 60% of the emissions of coal. Switching to gas will automatically bring down the percentage of coal we burn.
Andrew Liveris, the former Dow Chemical chief who sits on the board of a Saudi oil and gas company and is advising the government on kickstarting manufacturing in this country (spoiler – it involves gas) is the National Press Club guest today. We sell gas to Tokyo, or to Beijing, or to any other part of Asia and we import products back that you’re paying a premium for because we’re not making them locally.
Western Australia’s premier, Mark McGowan, has criticised the deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, for publicly demanding states increase their international arrival caps, calling the move “very directly outside the spirit of the national cabinet”. Q: What I don’t understand is how increasing the supply of a fossil fuel, even one that has less emissions than coal, lines us with Australia’s obligations under international climate agreements to reduce emissions?
McGowan didn’t rule out increasing Perth’s intake to 1,025 arrivals per week – an increase of 500 requested by McCormack – but instead called on the federal government to open commonwealth quarantine facilities as a way of increasing the arrival caps. Liveris: Go study the US numbers, go study the UK numbers and the numbers in Europe - they’ve all decreased because of the introduction of gas to fuel. The very short answer to a very long question.
McGowan said he was surprised by McCormack’s announcement he had sent letters to state and territory leaders demanding the increases: New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian has said Sydney airport will take an extra 500 arrivals per week, up to 2950, on the condition that other states double their caps.
McGowan said increasing WA’s caps wasn’t as simple as allowing more returned Australians to quarantine in empty hotel rooms in Perth, as there were “management and quality” issues. She said she had reached an agreement with prime minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday, however both Queensland and Western Australia will need to double their intakes for NSW to increase theirs.
OK, there has been a lot of questions about why the Queensland chief health officer is the one making the decisions in Queensland, in terms of exemptions, directions and the rest. “I was given an assurance [by Morrison] other states would also take that load and on that basis I was very pleased to do our bit,” Berejiklian said.
Well, it’s because that is the law in Queensland. However it appears unclear if Berejiklian’s conditions will be met, as Western Australia’s premier Mark McGowan responded to Michael McCormack’s demand for states to increase their arrival caps, by instead calling for the Commonwealth to use its own quarantine facilities.
Under the Public Health Act, the power to give directions sits with the CHO: And spokesman for Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told Guardian Australia Queensland would need the federal government’s support to take more arrivals into its hotel quarantine.
Power to give directions The education minister, Dan Tehan, has been speaking at a Committee for the Economic Development of Australia event - and he boldly predicted growth in the international student market.
(1) This section applies if the chief health officer reasonably believes it is necessary to give a direction under this section (a public health direction) to assist in containing, or to respond to, the spread of COVID-19 within the community. He said:
(2) The chief health officer may, by notice published on the department’s website or in the gazette, give any of the following public health directions— ( “One of the things we have been able to do is manage the pandemic. From everything I’m hearing and seeing from international students, the demand is still there ... We will see new growth purely from the way we’ve been able to handle the pandemic.
a) a direction restricting the movement of persons; Our quality of education hasn’t diminished, I would argue it’s got better through our ability to deliver online and options such as short courses and micro credentials, enhances our education offering...
(b) a direction requiring persons to stay at or in a stated place; Australia stands in very good stead. Students are going to want to continue to come here. I’m seeing from online offerings that demand is there and visa applications that demand is there. Once we hit the virus on the head … we’re in an even stronger position to compete for international students.”
(c)a direction requiring persons not to enter or stay at or in a stated place;
(d)a direction restricting contact between persons;
(e) any other direction the chief health officer considers necessary to protect public health.
That is different to other states, but it is the law in Queensland - the CHO makes the rules.
So that is a no from Victoria and a no, for now, from the ACT in response to Michael McCormack’s request to take on more returned travellers: