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Coronavirus Australia live update: premier Daniel Andrews to hold press conference as Victoria records 28 new Covid cases
Coronavirus Australia live update: premier Daniel Andrews holds press conference as Victoria records 28 new Covid cases
(32 minutes later)
Covid-19 restrictions ease in regional Victoria today as economists and international students call for expansion of jobkeeper. Follow all today’s news
Covid-19 restrictions ease in regional Victoria today as economists and international students call for expansion of jobkeeper. Follow all today’s news
In two weeks time, the telehealth medicare rebates expire.
Q: What else can you tell us about clusters? How many links are aware of other than that they are all in Casey, and are we talking workplaces or family groups?
Allen Cheng: We are still looking into that, we do think that there are links and they are obviously all in that area. There’s a number of households they are, but I think, we are looking into that and trying to find out where everyone has been so we can make sure the transmission chains are controlled.
Q: Why is it taking so long to establish that?
Cheng: We have 10 new cases in Casey five days ago. We are talking to people all the time and we go back and talk to them again, make sure that it is nothing we have missed, so if you think of, where have you been in the last 14 days and who have you talked to, you know, did you meet this person on that day or the day after, how long did you talk to them, all these things often can take a while and certainly I am not doing contact tracing but when I have spoken to patients it isn’t always easy to get the story out the first time, they have to go back into their phonebook and work out where they have been and who they have been talking to.
Oh - there were more than 14,000 tests yesterday, which is a good number.
Deputy CHO Professor Allen Cheng is asked about today’s case numbers:
Q: How many of the 28 are linked to Casey?
Cheng: There were five cases in Casey yesterday.
Q: Are you approaching this using the new Suburban task force model?
Cheng: Not yet but I think it is a good model for it’s because we are essentially doing that, working with the local councils, Monash health is the local hospital there and talking to community leaders and that is really what we will do once we develop these Suburban centres.
James Merlino is asked about student’s mental health during the pandemic:
James Merlino:
Victorian education minister James Merlino has announced some new educational supports:
It’s a fairly short update from Daniel Andrews today. He reiterates the higher fines for those attempting to enter regional Victoria without a lawful reason (again, don’t let those sentences become normalised – it should still cause you to balk).
Andrews:
Daniel Andrews also acknowledges the tragedy of the eight people who died, and their families, as well as everyone who has lost loved ones during the pandemic.
Most of Victoria’s deaths have been from the aged care settings and the overwhelming majority have occurred since May.
Daniel Andrews opens on the news there has been just 28 new cases of Covid diagnosed.
In two weeks time, the telehealth Medicare rebates expire.
On that same day, private health insurance premiums are scheduled to increase (after being delayed because of the pandemic)
On that same day, private health insurance premiums are scheduled to increase (after being delayed because of the pandemic)
Chris Bowen wants the government to extend the rebate and stop the health insurance increase:
Chris Bowen wants the government to extend the rebate and stop the health insurance increase:
This report will be very, very interesting.
This report will be very, very interesting.
Dan Andrews is up at 10.30 this morning.
Tanya Plibersek was on ABC News Breakfast this morning.
She was talking about the job cuts to the university sector and what that would mean:
The Climate Council has also responded
Murph and Adam Morton have taken a look at the government’s new proposal:
The government’s official announcement on the Arena changes is in:
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the $1.9 billion investment package in future technologies to lower emissions would back jobs now and into the future, cut costs for households and improve the reliability of our energy supply.
The Prime Minister said the Government is supporting the next generation of energy technologies with an extra $1.62 billion for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to invest, as well as expanding the focus of ARENA and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to back new technologies that will cut emissions in agriculture, manufacturing, industry and transport.
“Our JobMaker plan is about protecting and creating the jobs of today and positioning Australia for the jobs of the future, which is why our investment in new technologies is so crucial,” the Prime Minister said.
“Australia is in the midst of a world-leading boom in renewable energy with over $30 billion invested since 2017. Solar panels and wind farms are now clearly commercially viable and have graduated from the need for government subsidies and the market has stepped up to invest.
“The Government will now focus its efforts on the next challenge: unlocking new technologies across the economy to help drive down costs, create jobs, improve reliability and reduce emissions. This will support our traditional industries – manufacturing, agriculture, transport – while positioning our economy for the future. “These investments create jobs and they bring new technologies into play. This will not only cut emissions, but deliver the reliable energy Australia needs while driving down prices for homes and businesses.”
The new package also invests in a range of promising low-emissions, reliable new technology advancements including:
· Supporting businesses in the agriculture, manufacturing, industrial and transport sectors to adopt technologies that increase productivity and reduce emissions through a new $95.4 million Technology Co-Investment Fund that was recommended by the King Review
· Piloting carbon capture projects that will dramatically help cut emissions with a $50 million investment in the Carbon Capture Use and Storage Development Fund
· Helping businesses and regional communities take advantage of opportunities offered by hydrogen, electric, and bio-fuelled vehicles with a new $74.5 million Future Fuels Fund
· Setting up a hydrogen export hub worth $70.2 million to scale-up demand and take advantage of the advancements in this low emissions, high powered source of energy
· Backing new microgrids in regional and remote communities to deliver affordable, reliable power with $67 million
· Contributing $52.2 million to increase the energy productivity of homes and businesses, including a sector specific grant program for hotels supporting equipment and facilities upgrades
· Slashing the time taken to develop new Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) methods from 24 months or more to less than 12 months, involving industry in a co-design process and implementing other recommendations from the King Review into the ERF, worth $24.6 million
· Boosting energy and emissions data and cyber-security reporting and supporting the delivery of future Low Emissions Technology Statements under the Technology Investment Roadmap process, as well as developing an offshore clean energy project development framework, together worth $40.2 million
The prime minister will be holding a press conference shortly - he is continuing the energy push.
The ACCC has released its first report into Australia’s domestic airlines.
You can find the whole report, here
The streets of Beechworth are still empty, nine hours after the relaxation is restrictions in regional Victoria took effect. It has never been a struggle to get a park here on a weekday, but when I met the federal MP for Indi, Helen Haines, at 8.30am, our matching Mazdas – her’s bright orange – were the only cars on the block.
“It’s too early for optimism at the moment, especially in Victoria,” Haines says.
“An easing of restrictions, while so welcome, is not going to be met by parties in the street.”
The historic town is three hour’s drive north of Melbourne. It lost January trade to the bushfires and had one busy weekend – the Opera in the Alps in March – before the pandemic hit and the state went into lockdown.
Business owners I have spoken have met the eased restrictions with cautious optimism.
The experience of having restrictions eased in May only to go back under in July has left them burned. It is good news, but for how long?
The Victorian opposition is moving a no-confidence motion against Daniel Andrews. It’s expected the motion will be tabled today, but it won’t actually get debated until the parliament’s next sitting, which will be next month.
It has as much chance of getting up as the NSW Labor’s no-confidence motion had in the NSW parliament. None.
But the Victorian LNP is getting more bolshie in its attacks against the Andrews government.
(Michelle Loielo is also a member of the Liberal party and has previously stated her intention to run for preselection for the Liberal party at the next election)
