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| Australia Covid live update: Two more Covid deaths; Sydney to open walk-in AstraZeneca clinics as NSW records 145 cases; Victoria records 11; Queensland and SA record one each | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Follow latest updates live | Follow latest updates live |
| More potential exposure sites have been listed in Sydney | |
| Two more people have died of Covid-19 in NSW today, NSW Health has just announced. | |
| A woman in her 80s has passed away at home this afternoon in Pendle Hill, and a man in his 80s has passed away this morning in Campbelltown Hospital. | |
| These are the 9th and 10th Covid-19 related deaths of the current outbreak, with 66 in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic. | |
| You may have seen a photo today of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez sunning themselves on a yacht. | |
| It may have reminded you of something that happened, hazily, in the bygone days of 2002. | |
| Helen Sullivan and Kate Lyons can explain why. | |
| The gang-gang cockatoo, the animal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory, could soon be listed as a threatened species after the 2019-20 bushfire disaster reduced already declining population numbers by as much as a fifth. | The gang-gang cockatoo, the animal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory, could soon be listed as a threatened species after the 2019-20 bushfire disaster reduced already declining population numbers by as much as a fifth. |
| Lisa Cox reports. | Lisa Cox reports. |
| And here’s my write-up of Dean Boxall’s “wild cavorting” as Ariarne Titmus won her gold medal this morning against Katie Ledecky. | And here’s my write-up of Dean Boxall’s “wild cavorting” as Ariarne Titmus won her gold medal this morning against Katie Ledecky. |
| Now Chalmers is asked about why Labor is dropping its negative gearing policy as well. Labor pushed to change the policy during the 2019 federal election. | Now Chalmers is asked about why Labor is dropping its negative gearing policy as well. Labor pushed to change the policy during the 2019 federal election. |
| Karvelas: | Karvelas: |
| Chalmers: | Chalmers: |
| Jim Chalmers is asked “Do you think the stage three tax cuts are good economic policy?” | Jim Chalmers is asked “Do you think the stage three tax cuts are good economic policy?” |
| Chalmers: | Chalmers: |
| He adds: “This is only one aspect. This is only one sliver of economic policy.” | He adds: “This is only one aspect. This is only one sliver of economic policy.” |
| Labor’s shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers has been asked why Labor decided to drop its opposition to the government’s stage three tax cuts. | Labor’s shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers has been asked why Labor decided to drop its opposition to the government’s stage three tax cuts. |
| The ABC’s Patricia Karvelas asks him how this reduces inequality, which Labor campaigned on at the start of the pandemic. | The ABC’s Patricia Karvelas asks him how this reduces inequality, which Labor campaigned on at the start of the pandemic. |
| “You said you wanted to look at everything and make it equitable,” she says. | “You said you wanted to look at everything and make it equitable,” she says. |
| “This is not the only opportunity to do that,” Chalmers says. | “This is not the only opportunity to do that,” Chalmers says. |
| “There is more than one way to make Australia more fair, more sustainable, whether it’s making sure that multinational corporations pay their share ... getting access and affordability in the childcare system ... making sure that we build more social housing.” | “There is more than one way to make Australia more fair, more sustainable, whether it’s making sure that multinational corporations pay their share ... getting access and affordability in the childcare system ... making sure that we build more social housing.” |
| He also earlier said the news today was to “provide certainty and clarity” ahead of any future election. | He also earlier said the news today was to “provide certainty and clarity” ahead of any future election. |
| “We have spent much of the last two years ... consulting and listening and said all along we would take our time to come to our view but we would announce a position in advance of the election. | “We have spent much of the last two years ... consulting and listening and said all along we would take our time to come to our view but we would announce a position in advance of the election. |
| “People can factor that in when they go to the polling booth, whether the end of the year of the beginning of next year.” | “People can factor that in when they go to the polling booth, whether the end of the year of the beginning of next year.” |
| Supermarket workers in LGAs of concern will soon have priority access to Pfizer vaccines. | Supermarket workers in LGAs of concern will soon have priority access to Pfizer vaccines. |
| Announced earlier today, Woolworths, Aldi, Metcash and Coles have all secured special access to the vaccine for their workers, specifically those in Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Blacktown. | Announced earlier today, Woolworths, Aldi, Metcash and Coles have all secured special access to the vaccine for their workers, specifically those in Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Blacktown. |
| The change means they will be able to access the Pfizer vaccine at the Sydney Olympic Park mass vaccination hub from Wednesday, where 500 appointments will be made available to them. | The change means they will be able to access the Pfizer vaccine at the Sydney Olympic Park mass vaccination hub from Wednesday, where 500 appointments will be made available to them. |
| In a statement sent to workers today, Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci said pop-up clinics would also be developed at the company’s distribution centres in Yennora, Minchinbury and Lidcombe. | In a statement sent to workers today, Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci said pop-up clinics would also be developed at the company’s distribution centres in Yennora, Minchinbury and Lidcombe. |
| Bernie Smith, the NSW secretary for the SDA, the union for retail, fast food and warehouse workers, welcomed the change, and said the union had been advocating for it for some time. | Bernie Smith, the NSW secretary for the SDA, the union for retail, fast food and warehouse workers, welcomed the change, and said the union had been advocating for it for some time. |
| Human rights groups say Australia’s difficulty securing enough Covid vaccines from global pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer is a reason why the Morrison government should support a push to waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines. | Human rights groups say Australia’s difficulty securing enough Covid vaccines from global pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer is a reason why the Morrison government should support a push to waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines. |
| The proposal to waive the standard 20-year medical patents for Covid vaccines so developing countries can make and sell cheap copies of patented vaccines was initially raised by South Africa and India at the World Trade Organization in October. | The proposal to waive the standard 20-year medical patents for Covid vaccines so developing countries can make and sell cheap copies of patented vaccines was initially raised by South Africa and India at the World Trade Organization in October. |
| It has since gained the backing of more than 100 lower and middle-income nations, and in recent months, wealthier countries including the United States have reversed their opposition to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) waiver. | It has since gained the backing of more than 100 lower and middle-income nations, and in recent months, wealthier countries including the United States have reversed their opposition to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) waiver. |
| However Australia remains one of the few holds outs, along with the United Kingdom and the European Union. Australia has faced mounting pressure over its position on the waiver, which has even triggered protests at the Australian consulate in San Francisco. | However Australia remains one of the few holds outs, along with the United Kingdom and the European Union. Australia has faced mounting pressure over its position on the waiver, which has even triggered protests at the Australian consulate in San Francisco. |
| Human Rights Watch is renewing calls for the Australian government to support the push, with researcher Sophie McNeill saying Australia’s silence on supporting the waiver “raises concerns about whether pharmaceutical companies are putting pressure on Canberra”. | Human Rights Watch is renewing calls for the Australian government to support the push, with researcher Sophie McNeill saying Australia’s silence on supporting the waiver “raises concerns about whether pharmaceutical companies are putting pressure on Canberra”. |
| McNeill said: | McNeill said: |
| A recent poll found a majority of Australians across the political divide supported the waiver. Human Rights Watch’s calls echo comments made by the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network’s convenor Dr Patricia Ranald, who last week wrote in Guardian Australia about how “pharmaceutical company patent monopolies are the elephant in the room in the debate about Covid-19 vaccine shortages in Australia”. You can read Ranald’s piece here: | A recent poll found a majority of Australians across the political divide supported the waiver. Human Rights Watch’s calls echo comments made by the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network’s convenor Dr Patricia Ranald, who last week wrote in Guardian Australia about how “pharmaceutical company patent monopolies are the elephant in the room in the debate about Covid-19 vaccine shortages in Australia”. You can read Ranald’s piece here: |
| Brittany Higgins has welcomed the government’s decision to accept all 10 recommendations of the Foster review into how federal parliament responds to serious incidents. | Brittany Higgins has welcomed the government’s decision to accept all 10 recommendations of the Foster review into how federal parliament responds to serious incidents. |
| The government put out a press release announcing this earlier today. | The government put out a press release announcing this earlier today. |
| Higgins, who was instrumental in bringing the review about, said she was “pleased” to see this and said the reforms would make Parliament House a “safer workplace for all future employees”. | Higgins, who was instrumental in bringing the review about, said she was “pleased” to see this and said the reforms would make Parliament House a “safer workplace for all future employees”. |
| Political editor Katharine Murphy reports that Labor has agreed to keep the Coalition’s stage-three tax cuts and dump its own negative gearing changes (which it took to the 2019 election). | Political editor Katharine Murphy reports that Labor has agreed to keep the Coalition’s stage-three tax cuts and dump its own negative gearing changes (which it took to the 2019 election). |
| Hi all, Naaman Zhou back here with you. | Hi all, Naaman Zhou back here with you. |
| Here is Elias Visontay’s full write-up of the Covid vaccine leave news we broke on the blog a few hours ago. | Here is Elias Visontay’s full write-up of the Covid vaccine leave news we broke on the blog a few hours ago. |
| And with that, my time on the blog has come to an end, and I will hand it back to Naaman Zhou for the rest of the afternoon. Thanks for reading. | And with that, my time on the blog has come to an end, and I will hand it back to Naaman Zhou for the rest of the afternoon. Thanks for reading. |
| So, a break from Covid news for a quick tip – you can check out all the events Australians will be competing in today at this very handy link: | So, a break from Covid news for a quick tip – you can check out all the events Australians will be competing in today at this very handy link: |
| Well, that was a sudden end. The ABC cut away from Greg Hunt before he was able to discuss why we haven’t received any data on the vaccination rates in the three key LGAs in south-west Sydney (Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool and Fairfield). It would have been good to hear his take, considering the concern shown by state authorities about those areas. | Well, that was a sudden end. The ABC cut away from Greg Hunt before he was able to discuss why we haven’t received any data on the vaccination rates in the three key LGAs in south-west Sydney (Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool and Fairfield). It would have been good to hear his take, considering the concern shown by state authorities about those areas. |
| An interesting question here, as a reporter has asked Greg Hunt if the government’s “mixed messaging” on the AstraZeneca vaccine has contributed to the spread of misinformation. | An interesting question here, as a reporter has asked Greg Hunt if the government’s “mixed messaging” on the AstraZeneca vaccine has contributed to the spread of misinformation. |
| Here’s what the health minister had to say: | Here’s what the health minister had to say: |