This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2022/mar/23/australia-news-live-updates-covid-booster-morrison-albanese-election-nsw-victoria-queensland-flood-weather

The article has changed 23 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Australia news live updates: five Covid deaths recorded; isolation rule changes and fourth booster shots under review Australia news live updates: independent Zoe Daniel wins supreme court challenge over campaign signs; 16 Covid deaths
(32 minutes later)
Follow all the day’s news liveFollow all the day’s news live
Speaking of Sirius road, a 23-year-old has been arrested as the protest continues. Significant traffic delays are expected in the area. He brought the weather with him!
Blockade Australia has shut down the Port of Botany for the second day in a row in protest of climate inaction. Victoria’s opposition are urging premier Daniel Andrews to retract his claim that the state’s ambulance call centre met all its monthly benchmarks between 2016 until before the pandemic.
Arno, a 21-year-old, has been suspended on a steel bipod structure hanging over a bridge on Sirius road. The structure is tied off to the other side of the bridge, blocking traffic. On Tuesday Andrews came under fire, with the state opposition accusing him of misleading Victorians about ambulance wait times. The state’s triple zero emergency service failed to reach its code one ambulance dispatch benchmarks between 2016 and 2020.
“Port Botany is a crucial piece of infrastructure for the Australian project,” they said. Opposition government scrutiny spokesperson Louise Staley on Wednesday said Andrews should “come into parliament today and say he got it wrong”:
“Australia is built to exploit and that’s never going to change unless we get in the way.” New Zealand has done away with vaccine passes and vaccine mandates for some of the workforce in a major loosening of its Covid-19 restrictions.
Below Arno’s structure hangs a banner which reads, “No Borders, No Nations, Stop Australia’s Operation”. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced the changes on Wednesday morning, citing high vaccination rates and better data to be able to identify which environments are high risk.
The changes also include the removal of all gathering limits in outdoor settings and scrapping the requirements for people to scan in using the Covid-19 contact tracing app. Hospitality and other venues can increase their indoor gathering limit from 100 to 200 from Friday.
From 4 April – when the Omicron outbreak is expected to peak – vaccine passes will no longer need to be used to get into shops and venues, and vaccine mandates will be dropped for workers in education, police and the defence force.
Those working in health, corrections, aged care and at the border will still need to be vaccinated to work.
The Covid protection framework, known as the traffic-light system, will stay in place and will remain flexible to change, including if new variants of the virus emerge. Mask-use will also remain to keep vulnerable communities safe:
Ardern:
She thanked New Zealanders for the sacrifices they made to keep the country safe:
Independent candidate for Goldstein Zoe Daniel has won her supreme court challenge against a Victorian council ruling that her signs couldn’t be erected before the federal election was called.
The signs are free to go up henceforth.
Victoria has just released today’s Covid numbers and a further 10,471 new Covid cases have been detected. Sadly, 11 more lives have been lost overnight.
There are 243 people being treated in hospital with the virus, including 23 requiring intensive care and four on ventilators.
International travellers could soon have their pre-departure testing requirements removed after the prime minister flagged a further easing of restrictions, AAP reports.
Travellers need to show a negative Covid-19 test result in order to board a flight to Australia, even if they’re fully vaccinated.
Scott Morrison says the removal of pre-departure testing is an important milestone for Australia and has told Cairns reporters health minister Greg Hunt will be making an announcement on the matter soon:
The current biosecurity declaration is due to lapse on 17 April, aligning with international cruise ships returning to Australian waters for the first time since March 2020.
Speaking of Sirius Road, a 23-year-old has been arrested as the protest continues. Significant traffic delays are expected in the area.
Blockade Australia has shut down the Port of Botany for the second day in a row in protest against climate inaction.
Arno, a 21-year-old, has been suspended on a steel bipod structure hanging over a bridge on Sirius Road. The structure is tied off to the other side of the bridge, blocking traffic:
Below Arno’s structure hangs a banner which reads: “No Borders, No Nations, Stop Australia’s Operation.”
Would Scott Morrison welcome his daughters entering politics?Would Scott Morrison welcome his daughters entering politics?
Scott Morrison is asked whether it is a “tit for tat” as to whether Labor or the federal government has the worst workplace. The PM says these issues were solved by the commonwealth a year ago:Scott Morrison is asked whether it is a “tit for tat” as to whether Labor or the federal government has the worst workplace. The PM says these issues were solved by the commonwealth a year ago:
New South Wales has again seen a rise in Covid cases, with 24,115 positive tests recorded overnight – the majority from rapid antigen tests.
Sadly, five lives have been lost.
There are 1,162 people being treated in hospital, including 44 people requiring intensive care.
For context to the prime minister Scott Morrison’s assurance he is “not woke”, he was just asked on Sunrise whether he was in hiding in Lismore, as Anthony Albanese claimed. His media visit was largely camera-free:
If you missed the front page of the Daily Telegraph today, it was splashed with an image of Anthony Albanese headlined: “I AM NOT WOKE.”
Today’s episode of Full Story is a highly moving account of the first national map of Australia’s frontier massacres with Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam.
Based on its findings, Aboriginal deaths are estimated to be 27 to 33 times higher than colonisers’ deaths.
Last question for Anthony Albanese’s media round. Labor is yet to pre-select a candidate for Parramatta, a multicultural seat, with sitting member Julie Owens to retire:
Guardian Australia has reported that Owens has expressed disappointment at her party’s plans to parachute the candidate into her western Sydney seat, saying local branch preselections are “the way it should be”.
Albanese says he’s had discussions with the local member and has been “talking to others as well”:
Here’s a fun little bit of news for residents of Melbourne’s east:
Union Station has been chosen as the name for the new modern station servicing Surrey Hills and Mont Albert commuters. The name reflects the “coming together of two existing stations to form one premium station with modern, state-of-the-art facilities for locals”.
The combination will allow for more train services and will reduce the amount of excavation and tree removals required. Some 52,000 trees, plants and shrubs will be planted in the project area, and new paths and cycling links through Lorne Parade Reserve will be installed.
Anthony Albanese is asked to respond from comments made by Penny Wong that if Kimberley Kitching had kids she’d understand the climate emergency. Albanese says Wong has his complete confidence:
Albanese is again asked why he won’t set up an independent investigation to investigate claims of bullying in the party. He says Labor already has its processesin place:
Anthony Albanese was just up on ABC News Breakfast, starting with the budget, with speculation the federal government will introduce a temporary reduction in fuel excise in response to steepened gas prices. “If it does that, is it something Labor will support?” he is asked.
Labor will “wait and see what they do”, he says, but the “real problem” is the cost of living is steepening while wages are stagnating:
Returning to the Beetaloo Basin, resources water minister Keith Pitt appeared on RN this morning discussing a “gas-led recovery” as global prices surge amid supply uncertainty.
UN secretary general António Guterres this week said Australia’s investment in coal was “stupid” and the country was a minority “holdout” on strong 2030 emissions targets.