Australia news LIVE Victoria eases some COVID restrictions Port Macquarie Muswellbrook Latrobe Valley lockdowns begin

Key postsHide key posts

Latest

1 of 1

NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean says the federal government has not been ambitious enough in setting emissions reductions targets, telling the Commonwealth to “get on with it”.

He has called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to attend major climate change talks in Glasgow later this year and commit to net zero emissions by 2050.

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean.Credit:Janie Barrett

The NSW government this morning announced it has will slash carbon emission by 50 per cent by 2030 in a move supported by the NSW Nationals.

Speaking on ABC TV this morning, Mr Kean said climate change and the subsequent shift to renewable energy was the biggest economic opportunity of a lifetime which the country needed to “grab with both hands”.

“My message to the Commonwealth is â€" get on with it, this is not only the right thing to do, it is also the economically rational thing to do, because it is in our nation’s economic interest,” he said.

“I think the Prime Minister should be going to Glasgow to persuade the rest of the world to take stronger action on climate change, because it is in our economic interest to do so.”

Appearing later on ABC radio, Mr Kean said Coalition senators Bridget McKenzie and Matt Canavan’s claims that a commitment to net zero would hurt regional jobs was a false argument.

“We owe it to our kids to not only take the biggest economic opportunity of our lifetime but also not leave our country with more bushfire, more drought, more heatwaves,” he said.

“Those coal jobs that Bridget McKenzie is talking about, they’re going to be determined by changes in international markets.

“We’re putting in policies that will not hurt the coal industry today but prepare to diversify our economy to thrive for tomorrow.

“It’s great that Matt Canavan is selling Kodak cameras but it doesn’t count for much when the iPhone is coming.”

The City of Latrobe is waking up to a seven-day lockdown after health authorities revealed four additional COVID-19 cases had been detected in the regional area.

Victoria’s acting Chief Health Officer said the same restrictions that apply in Melbourne, excluding the curfew, would take effect in the Gippsland local government area that takes in Moe, Morwell, and Traralgon from 11.59pm on Tuesday.

A Health Department spokesperson said case loads in the City of Latrobe rapidly increased in recent days, with 18 active cases in the area as of Tuesday. A further four cases were also confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, and will be reported in today’s numbers (due to land shortly).

Read more here.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was speaking on Seven’s breakfast show Sunrise a short while ago.

He confirmed that when Australia reaches its 70 per cent fully vaccinated target, the federal government’s emergency COVID-19 payments won’t be automatically renewed and people will have to re-apply each week.

It’s time for some tough love on living with COVID-19, says Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

When the country hits 80 per cent vaccination, the COVID disaster payment will be scrapped and people will have to rely on the ordinary welfare system.

Sunrise co-hosts Natalie Barr and David Koch asked the Treasurer if he was trying to corner some state premiers who aren’t keen as keen to reopen the economy.

Here’s his response:

The Doherty Institute modelling, which was the basis for the national plan that was agreed to in national cabinet, said at 80 per cent [vaccination] lockdowns were unlikely.

They may exist, but they will be temporary [and] targeted. In which case we have the welfare system provide that support.

The existing COVID disaster payment is an emergency payment. Right now the Commonwealth is providing more than $1 billion of taxpayer money each and every week.

That emergency payment needs to come to an end, which is why we have set up a transition plan of 70 to 80 per cent [vaccination].

I don’t think anyone has called $300 billion of economic support being stingy.

If you look around the world ... whether it is in the UK, US, Canada, Japan, people are starting to get about their normal lives. Learning to live with the virus in a COVID-safe way.

As our vaccination rates hit 70 and 80 per cent, we need to do that as well. So this announcement today backs our plan and allows Australians to get their lives back.

Victorians are once again able to play golf after a slight easing of restrictions overnight.

New rules also kicked in for Victorians in regional areas that aren’t in lockdown, including higher caps on the number of people allowed to be served at outdoor restaurants and cafes and a loosening of mask restrictions at hairdressers.

However, as Victorians look to the next double-dose vaccination target, questions remain about what exactly vaccinated and unvaccinated Victorians will be allowed to do in coming months.

We’ve attempted to answer a few of those questions here, but given the latest changes, we’re calling for any new questions you might have about the road ahead.

Northern NSW is on alert after two new COVID-19 cases were detected in the region just hours before Byron Bay left lockdown.

The Northern NSW Local Health District said one of the new cases was in the Byron Bay area while the second was in Kyogle, west of Byron.

Both people had been infectious in the community and investigations into the source of the infections are underway.

The cases were announced just hours before Byron Bay and Tweed Heads exited lockdown overnight.

Residents of Port Macquarie and Muswellbrook are this morning waking up to a week-long lockdown.

In case you missed it, health authorities identified a number of COVID-19 exposure sites last night, including multiple in the state’s regions.

An IGA supermarket at Ballan, about 80 kilometres north west of Melbourne, was declared a tier-2 or casual contact exposure site over three days, while Ballan Newsagency was declared tier 2 on Saturday, September 25 between 11am and 11.30am.

A Coles supermarket and bottle shop at Daylesford, north west of Melbourne, were also declared tier-2 exposure sites. As was a Repco at Traralgon, in the Latrobe Valley east of Melbourne, and the Fruit Shack Wendouree near the regional city of Ballarat.

Tier-2 exposure sites have also been identified at Bundoora in Melbourne’s north east, Epping in the city’s north and Werribee in the south west.

Earlier on Tuesday evening, Sunshine North Primary School in Melbourne’s west was declared a tier-1 or close contact exposure site.

A full list of Victorian exposure sites can be found here.

Victoria has surpassed NSW for new COVID-19 cases for the first time since the most recent outbreaks of the Delta strain began.

Yesterday, Victoria recorded 867 new coronavirus cases â€" its highest number since the pandemic began last year. That beat the 863 cases announced by NSW, although revised figures from both state governments reveal the outbreaks actually crossed paths on Monday, when NSW had 806 cases compared with Victoria’s 845.

One epidemiologist in Victoria warned the state needed to drive up vaccination rates in the city’s most vulnerable areas, even as the state reached its 80 per cent first-dose vaccination mark.

From today, having hit that target, Melburnians can once again go boating, play tennis or golf, travel 15 kilometres from home and masks can be removed at playgrounds to eat and drink.

Read the full story here.

Thousands of NSW healthcare workers will be placed on unpaid leave if they do not meet tomorrow’s mandatory vaccination deadline, as health officials consider moving doctors and nurses around the state to plug staff shortages.

With 94 per cent of NSW Health’s 140,000 staff having received at least one shot, Health Minister Brad Hazzard says he has no intention to exempt any local health district or hospital from the rules.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard addressing the media at Tuesday’s coronavirus update. Credit:Kate Geraghty

According to a “frequently asked questions” document distributed to hospital staff, workers who do not provide evidence of having one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Thursday will be placed on unpaid leave until they produce evidence of vaccination or a medical exemption certificate.

Staff may be able to apply to access accrued leave entitlements for a short time to enable them to get vaccinated, the document read.

Read more about the policy here.

Brisbane employers began sending workers home yesterday afternoon amid fears the CBD could again become a ghost town following the emergence of two new COVID clusters.

The next 48 hours will be critical as authorities decide whether to plunge the city back into lockdown after Queensland recorded four new local cases of coronavirus on Tuesday.

Brisbane could again become deserted as mask rules tighten amid concerns about two emerging COVID clusters.Credit:Tertius Pickard

One case was a truck driver who had been infectious in the community for eight days from September 19.

In a second cluster, a vaccinated Eatons Hill man in his 30s who works at an aviation training facility tested positive after being infectious in the community for three days, with his wife also contracting the virus.

A fourth person tested positive five days after completing 14 days in hotel quarantine.

More on this developing story here.

Good morning and thanks for your company.

It’s Wednesday, September 29. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Victoria has reached its 80 per cent first dose vaccination target. Some outdoor recreational activities (like fishing, boating and golf) are allowed to resume. Five adults from a maximum of two households are now allowed to gather outdoors if they’re fully vaccinated and the 10km travel radius has been extended to 15km. Personal training is also back for small groups if everyone has both jabs. Victoria recorded a record 867 cases yesterday, more than NSW. And a snap lockdown has been implemented for Gippsland’s Latrobe Valley, in the state’s east.

Thousands of NSW healthcare workers will be placed on unpaid leave if they do not meet tomorrow’s mandatory vaccination deadline. Around 94 per cent of NSW Health’s 140,000 staff have received at least one jab. Residents in the regional areas of Port Macquarie, on the mid north coast, and Muswellbrook, in the upper Hunter, entered a week-long lockdown from 6pm last night. Yesterday, NSW recorded 863 new cases of COVID-19 â€" the second day in a row that its daily tally was less than Victoria’s.

Queensland health authorities say the next 48 hours will be critical in containing the state’s latest coronavirus outbreak. Four cases were reported yesterday, including an aviation worker and his wife, a truck driver and a woman who recently left hotel quarantine. Dozens of Brisbane exposure sites, including a Woolworths and McDonald’s, have been added and mask-wearing rules have returned. This weekend’s NRL grand final will shift to Townsville if Brisbane is sent into lockdown.

The ACT recorded 13 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. There are now 243 active cases across Canberra and eight people are in hospital. The ACT is due to emerge from lockdown mid-next month.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is set to unveil his government’s plan to wind-back COVID support payments this morning as vaccination rates across the nation continue to grow. The Morrison government continues to debate net zero carbon emissions but, in NSW, the state Nationals have supported a plan to halve local emissions by 2030.

And in overseas news, French President Emmanuel Macron says European nations must be “respected” and boost their defence plans in his first public comments since the unveiling of Australia’s submarine deal with the US and UK.

Latest

1 of 1

Share this post