What we learned today, Saturday 19 February
We’re going to wrap things up for the day. Here are today’s key events:
- NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania recorded a total of 45 Covid-related deaths.
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Western Australia recorded its highest number of daily Covid-19 cases for the pandemic, with 257 local infections.
- The former Australian of the year Grace Tame has written an open letter regarding the publication this week of an old photo of her near a bong. Tame wrote that publication of the photo let her down as an individual but even more so as an advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse.
- The NSW government announced a jobs package to support workers affected by the closure of coal-fired power stations in the state. The state’s treasurer, Matt Kean, says the investment in clean industries will create 3,700 jobs.
Thanks for joining us and we’ll see you again tomorrow.
Updated
Victorians aged 18 and over will be able to access the Covid-19 vaccine Novavax through selected state-run centres as well as GPs and pharmacies from Monday, the state’s health minister, Martin Foley, says.
The vaccine will be available through more than 400 general practices and community pharmacies across the state, as well as the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, Sandown racecourse in Springvale, Sunshine hospital in St Albans, the former Ford factory in Geelong and the McIntosh Centre in Shepparton.
Pop-up vaccination clinics will offer the vaccine over coming weeks in parts of Melbourne where there has been strong interest in Novavax.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommends the Novavax vaccine be given in two doses at least three weeks apart.
Novavax is not currently approved for use as a third dose or for children. It can be used with another approved Covid-19 vaccine as either a first or second dose.
Updated
An update on the byelection count in the former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s seat of Willoughby:
From count of 10,000 postals, Tim James will go on to win Willoughby for Liberal Party. First preference lead widens from 11.2% to 13.5%, too wide for Independent Larissa Penn to close on preferences.
— Antony Green - elections (@AntonyGreenElec) February 19, 2022
Updated
Firefighters are battling a scrub fire in suburban Hobart, AAP reports:
Tasmanian fire crews including aerial water bombers are fighting to contain a blaze in suburban Hobart.
A ‘watch and act’ warning was in place on Saturday afternoon for several streets in the suburb of Dynnyrne due to the vegetation fire which briefly reached the emergency warning level.
“The fire is expected to be difficult to control,” the Tasmania Fire Service said.
Several tankers, pumpers and multiple aircraft have been mobilised to fight the blaze.
“Take action now to protect yourself, your family, and your home,” the TFS advised.
“If you are not prepared for a bushfire, be ready to leave for a safer place.”
Updated
The West Australian premier, Mark McGowan, is set to cop a week in hotel quarantine to avoid perceptions he will personally benefit from the timing of Western Australia’s border reopening, AAP reports.
McGowan, who says the reopening date is locked in, is due to fly to Sydney next Thursday to prepare to give evidence in the federal court defamation action launched against him by Clive Palmer.
He is expected to appear in court between 26 and 28 February, meaning his quarantine period upon returning to WA will coincide with the border coming down.
Anyone isolating in WA under the current travel restrictions will be free to depart from 3 March regardless of whether they have served the full seven days.
But the premier says he will commit to a week in isolation regardless.
“It is a coincidence that when I return, the border will come down a couple of days later. It’s a coincidence I am unable to avoid,” he told reporters on Friday.
“But I’ll be doing seven days of quarantine. I’ll be working from a hotel room, doing the full seven days, just so there can be no argument that somehow this was put in place to benefit myself.”
Updated
Western Australia reports highest number of daily Covid cases
Western Australia has reported its highest number of daily Covid-19 infections.
The state recorded 257 local infections to 8pm on Friday and five travel-related infections.
The state’s health service says there are currently no Covid-related hospitalisations.
Updated
That’s it from me today, thanks for reading. Lisa Cox is back to take you through the afternoon.
I missed this late yesterday, just in case you were already wondering whether the Novak Djokovic saga would continue next Australian Open.
South Australia records two deaths, 1,336 new cases
AAP has also filed this update on the Covid situation in South Australia:
South Australia has reported another two Covid-19 related deaths along with 1,336 new cases.
SA Health says a woman in her 70s and a man in his 60s have died with the virus.
Their deaths take the toll since the start of the pandemic to 166.
There are 13,585 active cases in SA with 182 people in hospital, including 12 people in intensive care.
Four people are on ventilators.
Saturday’s figures continue SA’s run of consistent case numbers.
New infections have remained between 1,000 and 2,000 each day for more than three weeks, after dipping below 2,000 on January 27.
The daily case tally during the current outbreak peaked at 5,679 on January 14.
Some 8,867 people received a PCR test in SA during the latest testing period, a 1.7 per cent decrease on the previous 24 hours.
Of the results returned, 1,004 PCR tests were positive, while 332 positive rapid antigen test results were reported.
Updated
We have mentioned a few times today that it is the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin, but I have neglected (until now) to direct you to this wonderful photo gallery:
The former Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, has published an open letter regarding the publication earlier this week of a photo of her near a bong.
I will only post the start, as it’s reasonably lengthy (I am referring to the letter but this also applies to the bong):
AN OPEN LETTER
— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) February 19, 2022
To every media outlet who sought to discredit me by publishing THAT photo,
Although my humour and strength remain intact, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t let me down.
Not just as an individual, but more so as an advocate of the survivor community…
The effectiveness of the Covid vaccine remains high in the first two months after receiving a booster, and then begins to wane, a report published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found, providing insight into how immunity against the virus fares after a third shot.
The CDC report says that during the Omicron-predominant period, vaccine effectiveness against emergency department visits and hospitalisation was 87% and 91%, respectively, in the two months after a third dose.
By the fourth month after a booster dose, this decreased to 66% and 78% respectively, which is still strong protection. By comparison, Australian data suggests influenza vaccination is associated with a 31% reduction in influenza-related deaths, though this changes depending on influenza strain and vaccine.
More on that story here:
Updated
First official day of the SA election campaign, and we already have a funding announcement, via AAP:
A $160 million deep maintenance and modification facility for high-tech military aircraft will be constructed in South Australia.
The state’s Liberal government on Saturday announced it would fund the purpose-built Boeing 737 facility, to be constructed next to the Edinburgh RAAF base about 30 kilometres north of Adelaide.
It is expected to be fully operational in 2025, with construction to begin in mid-2023.
Simon Birmingham, the federal finance minister and South Australian senator, said it will allow deep maintenance of 14 P-8A Poseidon aircraft to occur in Australia rather than the United States.
The facility will also service six RAAF E-7A Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft, which will be relocated from Queensland.
Mr Birmingham said 200 jobs will be created during construction and more than 120 long-term skilled employees will be needed to provide ongoing maintenance work.
Air Commodore Ken Millar said Boeing 737 aircraft would be inducted for maintenance in the middle of the year, with work to be undertaken in a 1970s hangar.
“Unfortunately, the aircraft doesn’t fit in those hangars, and the tail is going to hang out the back and we have to enclose that,” he told reporters.
“There’s also not enough of them, so we do need state-of-the art facilities long term.”
Mr Birmingham said the facility was another vote of confidence in South Australia’s booming defence industry.
Updated
Another “Voices of” candidate has entered the fray: the former chief executive of Sustainability Victoria, Claire Ferres Miles, will contest the seat of Casey in Melbourne’s outer-east.
The current member, Liberal MP and former speaker Tony Smith, is retiring. Aaron Violi, a former adviser to Senator James Paterson, has been preselected by the Liberal party.
More on that story in The Age here.
Updated
AAP has filed this piece on the ceremony marking 80 years since the bombing of Darwin:
The bombing of Darwin serves as a painful reminder of the cost of war as Australia ‘watches with alarm’ at events in Ukraine, the Northern Territory’s chief minister says.
Just before 10am on February 19, 1942, a formation of 188 Japanese aircraft descended on the Top End in the first of two raids that day.
The bombing would go down in history as the largest single attack ever mounted on Australia, with more than 230 people killed and hundreds wounded.
Veterans, descendants, army personnel and members of the public have gathered on a hot and humid Saturday to mark eight decades since the World War II bombing, in a ceremony at Darwin’s Cenotaph.
Governor-General David Hurley, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner and the Japanese Ambassador to Australia were among the dignitaries and politicians to attend.
At 9.58am local time, sirens blared to mark the exact time air raid sirens began 80 years ago, with a re-enactment playing out and cannons shooting clouds of red smoke as military aircraft flew by.
Speeches followed, with Mr Morrison remembering the day when more bombs dropped on ‘this small city of Darwin’ than had hit Pearl Harbour 10 weeks prior.
‘So here, in Australia’s only north-facing city, the city that engages with our neighbours and trades with the world, we remember what was, but we give thanks for the peace gifted to us,’ he said.
Mr Gunner said the 80th anniversary served as a reminder of the ‘painful cost of war, wherever it plays out’ as he pointed to the unfolding conflict in Ukraine.
‘Whether hot or cold, war has been a constant part of every generation’s life for the last 80 years. Moments of enduring peace have been precious few,’ he said.
‘And the way things are around the world at the moment, that doesn’t look like changing.
‘We watch with alarm the events in Ukraine and, as ever, tensions in our own region.’
Both Mr Gunner and Darwin Mayor Kon Vatskalis called for February 19 to be made a national public holiday.
‘With great pride we celebrate Gallipoli, something that happened on the other side of the world. I think it is about time we celebrate something that happened in Australia,’ Mr Vatskalis said
Prior to the memorial, one of the last surviving veterans, Brian Winspear, vividly recalled when the first bombs fell from the Darwin sky “just like confetti”.
The 101-year-old, who attended the memorial, says he received shell splinters in his hand and eye during the raid as ‘bombs landed all around us’.
Descendants of Darwin’s Larrakia people also took part and acknowledged how Indigenous and non-Indigenous worked side-by-side to contribute to the war effort.
Elder Christine Fejo-King, whose her grandfather was in active service at Darwin Harbour, said the bombing traumatised the Indigenous community,
A remembrance and reconciliation event was being held on the esplanade as part of Saturday’s commemoration, with the descendants of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal service personnel sharing stories.
A message of apology from a Japanese man from Himeji to a Larrakia Traditional Owner was also being read.
Updated
And here is that story I promised you earlier about the NSW government’s announcement of how it plans to support workers affected by coal-fired power station closures:
On the situation in Ukraine, Albanese has called for Russia to “back off”.
He says there is “no place for the intimidation that we have seen from Russia”.
“We know that the ravages of war have real consequences, and the ravages of a war in the Ukraine, if Russia carries out a military intervention, will be devastating for the people of Ukraine.”
“So I would say to Russia, it needs to respect Ukrainian sovereignty and it is to back off now.”
Updated
Anthony Albanese has been speaking in the Northern Territory after a ceremony marking 80 years since the bombing of Darwin.
He said comments by the government this week that have been called out by the Asio chief, Mike Burgess, were acts of desperation.
“Scott Morrison is prepared to undermine the national interest to prop up a prime ministership that has never been about much more than extending beyond his own self-interest.”
“Australia is united in terms of our national interest, both Labor and the Coalition have exactly the same policy when it comes to China, and if there is no national interest in the prime minister seeking to undermine that.”
Updated
Good afternoon everyone. The NSW government has announced a promised jobs package for workers affected by coal-fired power station closures, following the announcement this week that closure of the Eraring power station in the Lake Macquarie region will be brought forward to 2025.
The treasurer, Matt Kean, says it will create 3,700 jobs in clean industries, including 2,700 associated with construction of new transmission infrastructure and 1,000 through programs designed to support a local green manufacturing industry.
We’ll have a longer story on that for you shortly but Kean says he wants to see a “manufacturing renaissance” to support the state’s transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Updated
My colleague Lisa Cox is going to take the reins for a while, see you again later this afternoon.
National Covid Update
Here are the Covid numbers reported so far around Australia today:
ACT
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 355
- In hospital: 40
Northern Territory
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 835
- In hospital: 127
NSW
- Deaths: 12
- Cases: : 7,615
- In hospital: 1,297
Queensland
- Deaths: 10
- Cases: : 4,919
- In hospital: 414
South Australia
- Deaths: 2
- Cases: 1,336
- In hospital: 182
Tasmania
- Deaths: 1
- Cases: 585
- In hospital: 12
Victoria
- Deaths: 20
- Cases: : 6,280
- In hospital: 365
Updated
AAP has filed this story after the prime minister, Scott Morrison, spoke in Darwin:
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated Australia won’t send troops to Ukraine in the event of an invasion by Russia but will provide practical assistance to allies.
US President Joe Biden believes Russia’s Vladimir Putin has made a decision to invade Ukraine and will do so within weeks or days.
Mr Morrison said an invasion is “regrettably inevitable”, with intelligence showing Russian troops have not been withdrawn from the border.
“The pretence has been sought for an invasion,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Darwin on Saturday. “There is no pretence for an invasion into Ukraine. There is no justification for it. There is no provocation of it.”
Mr Morrison said Australia would stand by its like-minded allies and would provide “support that is necessary”.
“Australia has not been asked or nor would we be providing support through troops or anything of that nature,” he said. “We work with our allies and partners in many other ways, and we will seek to do that with the practical things that we can do to assist those efforts.
“We have had such discussions with the UK prime minister and others about how we proceed along that basis.”
Russia has released footage it claims shows a withdrawal of its troops from the border but the US believes there has been a ramp-up to between 169,000 and 190,000 troops, from 100,000 at the end of January.
Late on Friday, Ukraine’s military intelligence said Russian special forces had planted explosives at social infrastructure facilities in Donetsk, and urged residents to stay at home.
Mr Morrison described Russia’s threats against Ukraine as uninvited, unprovoked and unacceptable.
“They cannot use the threat of war and invasion as a way of trying to leverage and negotiate other changes that they may be seeking,” he said.
“This is not how free nations, democratic nations, nations in favour of peace, should behave. We have seen this before and we cannot allow it to stand.
“[We] will always be proud to stand with others like the United States and Japan and so many others around the world, the friends in Europe and United Kingdom who have been prepared to call this out.”
Trade Minister Dan Tehan earlier this week said Australia would enact strong economic sanctions against Russia should it invade.
Last weekend, the federal government temporarily suspended its operations at the Australian Embassy in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and evacuated diplomatic staff.
Updated
AAP is updating us on plans for a hot vax summer autumn:
Residents of NSW, Victoria and the ACT have enjoyed their first night back on the dance floor as the summer Covid-19 outbreak appears to subside.
Health officials in the jurisdictions say cases have plateaued, with some also scrapping most QR check-in requirements and density limits.
Indoor dancefloors reopened as part of a mass easing of restrictions on Friday, with the changes coming as calls grow for consistency in Covid restrictions across Australia.
AI Group chief executive Innes Willox says bringing the myriad of rules together Australia-wide should be a top priority for the next national cabinet meeting, due to be held in the second week of March.
Victoria recorded 20 new virus deaths on Saturday, as well as 6,820 fresh infections, while New South Wales reported 12 deaths and 7,615 new virus cases.
Tasmania recorded one additional fatality, a man in his 60s who was being treated for pneumonia and tested positive to Covid-19 the day before he died, and 585 new cases.
Health minister Greg Hunt on Friday said Australia had passed 53 million Covid-19 vaccines administered and more than 60 per cent of eligible people had received a booster.
But health experts are warning some restrictions may need to be reintroduced in the lead-up to winter.
University of Melbourne epidemiologist Tony Blakely welcomes the eased restrictions but warns new variants of the virus could emerge in the next few months.
“It’s like a tabletop mountain. We’ve gone up the curve, we’re coming down, and as we come down, that’s the time you release these restrictions,” he told the Seven Network on Friday.
“There will be some little bumps on the way into winter with extra infection happening amongst those people who weren’t infected in the first wave, and also some of us whose vaccine immunity wanes.”
Thirty-six deaths were reported nationally on Friday including 15 in NSW, 14 in Victoria, six in Queensland and one in the Northern Territory, as well as 24,910 new cases nationwide.
Western Australia has announced it will reopen its borders from March 3, bringing to an end almost 700 days of seclusion.
Interstate travellers who are fully-vaccinated - including a third dose if eligible - will be able to travel without quarantining, although unvaccinated interstate travellers will remain locked out.
Updated
Wonder whether anyone is going to bring up national security?
Anthony Albanese, Michael Gunner and Scott Morrison sit side by side for the 80th Anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin on this very steamy wet season day. pic.twitter.com/nOiYHju6hd
— Sarah Matthews (@MsSarahMatthews) February 19, 2022
ACT records 355 Covid cases
The ACT has recorded 355 new Covid-19 cases, with 40 people in hospital including two in intensive care.
Updated
Tasmania records 24th Covid death of pandemic
Tasmania has recorded its 24th Covid death of the pandemic, with the ABC reporting that a man in his 60s who was being treated for pneumonia tested positive to Covid the day before he died.
Updated
Queensland records 10 Covid deaths and 4,919 new cases
There are 414 people in hospital, the state’s chief health officer, Dr John Gerrard, says.
He says those who died were aged between their 50s and their 90s, and that four of the deaths were among aged care residents.
There are 1,507 cases among school-aged children, Gerrard says.
Please note an earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the total daily case number.
Updated
Hard to quell the excitement of knowing someone, somewhere, is about to get on a flight (or could already be on one!) that will eventually lead them to being the lucky first person staying inside this brand new quarantine facility (estimated to have cost about $200m).
Victoria’s Quarantine Hub at Mickleham is due to accept its first residents from Monday. #springst @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/K3dwbqh9TN
— Mitch Clarke (@96mitchclarke) February 19, 2022
Updated
NSW Health has released an update on the Covid situation. It says that of the 12 deaths recorded today:
One person was aged in their 50s, one person was in their 60s, two people were in their 70s, four people were in their 80s and four people were in their 90s. Older age is a significant risk factor for serious illness and death for Covid-19, particularly when combined with significant underlying health conditions.
Two of these people were aged under 65. One person had received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine and the other person was not vaccinated. They both had significant underlying health conditions.
Of those aged 65 and over, one person had received three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, eight people had received two doses and one person was not vaccinated.
Two people were from western NSW, one person was from south-western Sydney, one person was from western Sydney, one person was from Sydney’s inner west, one person was from southern Sydney, one person was from south-eastern Sydney, one person was from the Central Coast, one person was from the south coast, one person was from the Wollongong area, one person was from the Port Macquarie area, and one person was from the Riverina.
NSW Health expresses its sincere condolences to their loved ones. This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,813.
The update also included a breakdown by local health district of the 7,615 new cases reported on Saturday. Most of the cases reported today were in Hunter New England (1,092 cases), Western Sydney (903), and South Western Sydney (876) health districts.
Updated
Funding has been announced for parts of South Australia damaged in recent floods, AAP reports:
Three South Australian council areas will receive a further $19m in disaster recovery to help repair and reconstruct infrastructure damaged during recent severe weather.
The Eyre Peninsula jurisdictions of Kimba, Franklin Harbour and Cleve will share the money after requesting further extraordinary assistance, particularly for road repair.
Some places received more than 200mm of rain within 24 hours in January, with downpours and flooding widespread. Meteorologists described the deluge as a one-in-200-year weather event.
The state government says it will also increase its level of assistance to individuals from an original 75% of the total cost under guidelines, to 90%.
Meanwhile, repairs have been completed across 300km of rail line between Adelaide and Tarcoola, restoring freight routes through SA into both Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation says the repairs involved 100 staff working separate shifts around the clock for 24 days to restore 18 separate breaks.
Updated
An interesting comment piece on the decision to appoint Alexander Downer to review the UK’s border force:
A reminder that all our news about the unfolding situation in Ukraine can be found on this blog over here:
Loved this read from Peter Hannam about driving from Sydney to Melbourne in an electric vehicle (especially when he overheard one frustrated EV owner at a charging station exclaim “let’s go back and get the fossil car”).
Want to catch up on Covid news in NSW? AAP have you:
NSW has posted a further 12 Covid-related fatalities and 7,615 new infections.
Health authorities say 1,297 virus patients remain in hospitals across the state, with 81 of them currently requiring intensive care.
Of the positive tests returned in the 24 hours to Saturday evening, 4,768 were collected using rapid antigen kits and 2,847 processed in labs.
Meanwhile, NSW pubs and nightclubs have put a “terrible” few months in the rear-view mirror with patrons enjoying their first Friday since 2021 without Covid-19 restrictions.
Mitchell Crum, the owner of inner-Sydney hotel the Lord Gladstone, says things went viral when he posted a Facebook event on Friday to celebrate restrictions easing.
Graham Cordery says the “return to normal” at his Surry Hills live music venue the Soda Factory is also cause to rejoice.
“I feel that there’s a real air of positivity,” he said.
“Let’s just say it’s definitely about time they put [live music venues] on an equal footing with many, many other industries that are returning to normal.”
Premier Dominic Perrottet announced of a number of Covid-19 restrictions would be rolled back on Friday, including QR code check-ins and the ban on singing and dancing in hospitality venues.
Mr Perrottet said it had been a “very difficult two years”.
“Many people have made enormous sacrifices but the efforts that have been made ... ensured we’ve seen downward pressure on our hospital system,” he said.
Singing and dancing are allowed to resume in most settings, the two-metre density limit for indoor venues has been scrapped, and QR check-ins are only required for nightclubs and music festivals with more than 1000 patrons.
The requirement to wear face masks will also cease in most settings next Friday.
Research released on Friday showed NSW has been able to safely return children to classrooms.
The National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance has been tracking coronavirus transmission in schools in conjunction with Sydney University, NSW Health and the education department.
The study was led by paediatric infectious disease specialist Archana Koirala, who says there was not a dramatic increase in transmission in school settings despite high numbers of exposures in the final term of 2021.
Updated
Here is a little wrap on the Covid situation in Victoria from AAP:
Victoria has reported another 6,280 Covid-19 infections and a further 20 people have died with the virus, as the state welcomes new freedoms.
The new cases include 4214 from rapid antigen tests and 2066 from PCRs, the health department confirmed on Saturday, bringing active cases to 48,420.
There are 365 patients in hospital with Covid-19, 14 fewer than on Friday. Of these, 55 are being treated in intensive care and 13 are on ventilators.
More than 54% of Victorian adults have received three doses of a vaccine.
The latest figures come after Victorians spent the night dancing at nightclubs and other venues, following the easing of restrictions.
Indoor dance floors reopened at 6pm on Friday, while density limits at hospitality and entertainment venues were scrapped.
QR code check-in requirements are no longer in place at retail venues or schools, but will remain in hospitality and entertainment settings.
Premier Daniel Andrews flagged more changes, with the health minister to consider easing rules around masks and working from home.
Mr Andrews said that update could come as early as next week.
“We always said these measures wouldn’t be in place for a minute longer than they are needed,” he said.
“With hospitalisation numbers decreasing and less pressure on our health system, now is a sensible time to make changes.”
Updated
AAP reports that the body of a man who was swept out to sea while trying to rescue a fisherman has been found on a Gold Coast beach.
Luqman Jubair, 35, went missing after he tried to help the fisherman who was knocked over by a wave on a beach in Miami about 6pm on Thursday.
He was swept out past the breakers when he and two other men came to the aid of the man in trouble.
The fisherman was safely brought back to shore, but Dr Jubair had not been seen since the rescue despite an extensive land, air and water search.
On Saturday morning, Queensland Police said members of the public had found the 35-year-old man’s body in waters off Mermaid Beach overnight.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman on Friday said police have been in contact with Dr Jubair’s family in Queensland and interstate.
He said the two other men involved in the rescue and the fisherman are still coming to terms with the situation.
“At the time they were focused very much on recovering the initial male, who was in some difficulty,” he said.
“Whilst that person was recovered, obviously as the situation unfolded, the full realisation is now coming to light.
“Obviously our thoughts are with them as well.”
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, the assistant minister for defence, claims Labor is worried about political attacks regarding national security because they know Anthony Albanese is the party’s most leftwing leader since Gough Whitlam.
In his weekly email sent to his WA electorate late yesterday, Hastie, a former member of the elite SAS, referred to the increasing threat posed by China and Russia, and said:
Australia is one of the oldest living experiments in ordered liberty. It has endured, despite many challenges over the past century.
But only because the generations who went before us defended our way of life and preserved the institutions that make us a free people.
Now it’s up to us ... This past week has seen a vigorous public debate on China policy. There have been a lot of words thrown around but what really matters in public life is what we do.
The Morrison government has a strong record of defending our sovereignty and protecting Australia ... Labor can’t be trusted. They are weak on national security.
Albo was part of the cabinet that cut Defence spending to its lowest level since 1938. I remember this clearly while I was serving with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and SASR.
That’s why they cry foul when we debate issues like our approach to China: they have a record that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
They know Anthony Albanese is their most left-wing Labor leader since Gough Whitlam.
We can’t risk his weak instincts and leadership with so many looming challenges to our liberty.
As we have pointed out in a number of pieces in the past week or so, Labor has largely been aligned with the Coalition on issues regarding national security during this term of government, and experts believe attempts to divide the country along these lines could cause more harm than good.
Updated
In this, the year of elections (federal, South Australia, Victoria), the Greens have made a somewhat interesting announcement regarding the state seat of Richmond, an inner city electorate the party thinks it can win.
Richmond has been held since 1999 by Labor’s Richard Wynne, but he is retiring.
The Greens have announced Gabrielle de Vietri, a former local mayor and current councillor, as their candidate:
#BreakingNews
— Victorian Greens (@VictorianGreens) February 18, 2022
The next Greens candidate for the state seat of Richmond will be former Yarra mayor and current councillor @GabrielledeVie #SpringSt https://t.co/Y3vFnGTYYQ
Updated
The NSW treasurer and energy minister, Matt Kean, is expected to make an announcement in about 40 minutes regarding “clean energy jobs and investment in response to Origin Energy’s announcement of the closure of Eraring Power Station”, according to his media alert.
We have covered the closure extensively, including in this weekend feature I pointed you to earlier, but here’s one of our most recent pieces:
In Victoria over the past week, this is how Covid hospitalisation and ICU numbers have tracked, starting with today’s figures and working backwards: 365 (55 in ICU); 451 (64), 401 (78), 397 (68), 441 (67), 465 (66), 465 (62).
So in NSW over the past seven days, this is how hospitalisation and ICU numbers have tracked, starting with today’s figures and working backwards: 1297 (81 in ICU); 1381 (92); 1447 (92); 1478 (92); 1583 (96); 1649 (100) and 1614 (93).
So basically there’s more than 300 fewer people in hospital and almost 20 fewer in ICU than at the worse time over the past week.
Updated
NSW records 12 Covid-related deaths and 7,615 new cases
The state now has more than 94% of people aged over 16 double-dosed.
COVID-19 update – Saturday 19 February 2022
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) February 18, 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
- 95.7% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 94.2% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/DIVge5GX65
Updated
Twenty Covid-related deaths and 6,280 cases in Victoria
Victorian health authorities have reported 20 new deaths and 6,280 new Covid cases today.
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) February 18, 2022
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/eUcG50Y3T0 #COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/gwigxlr9RP
Updated
Researchers at DNA Zoo Australia have mapped the genome of the numbat for the first time. The milestone is notable in its own right, motivated by a desire to improve conservation efforts for the endangered termite-eating marsupial, which is now found only in small pockets of Western Australia.
But in announcing the development last week, scientists also had a more extraordinary suggestion: that the numbat’s DNA could be used as a blueprint to bring its extinct cousin, the thylacine, back from the dead.
The last known Tasmanian tiger died in 1936, but the apex predator – which once also roamed the Australian mainland and Kangaroo Island – continues to beguile and obsess even in extinction.
You can read more on that story here:
If you want to be primed for the impending South Australian election then feast upon this short preview from AAP:
South Australia’s election campaign is about to officially get underway with the issuing of the writs for the March 19 poll.
Premier Steven Marshall is expected to visit Government House on Saturday to kick off the election countdown which also puts his administration into caretaker mode. Candidate nominations will then open on Monday, while the last day for voters to ensure they’re on the electoral roll is February 25. Early voting will start on March 7.
The South Australian Electoral Commission is expecting a significant rise in postal and pre-poll votes this year, partly due to issues surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. But it has also assured voters that going to a polling booth will be safe with masks mandatory, along with social distancing and other hygiene measures.
The commission recently released plans for those people who contract the virus or are forced into isolation immediately before polling day. They will be directed to collect a voting pack from designated virus testing sites or a site where rapid antigen tests are distributed. Those packs can then be returned by post.
People forced into isolation between March 7 and March 17, will be able to apply for a postal vote in the usual way.
Mr Marshall’s Liberal government is seeking to win a second term in office after a first term dominated by the pandemic. It currently holds 22 seats in the 47-seat House of Assembly to Labor’s 19. The remaining six are held by independents, although three of those were originally voted in as Liberals before leaving the party.
How those independents fare and who they potentially support to form a government could be crucial to the result.
The outcome of this year’s election is also clouded by a recent redistribution that has prompted a number of sitting MPs to switch seats after a significant change in boundaries.
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I have been following the murder trial of NT police officer Zachary Rolfe for the past two weeks and pulled this together about the key elements so far:
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This is a great feature from Lisa Cox about how the closure of coal-fired power stations impacts workers and the towns they live in.
Here’s a few bits and pieces on politics around the site that are worth your attention.
There’s Katharine Murphy’s weekend column; this piece from Christopher Knaus on the UAP candidate pictured in military uniform; Josh Butler detailing the Facebook spend from the Liberals on ads attacking Labor on national security; and Michael McGowan digging into the Liberals’ preselection spat.
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Good morning.
Happy weekend! I’m Nino Bucci and it’s 19 February 2022.
It has been a week for announcements about easing Covid restrictions, with the Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, saying late on Friday that the state’s hard border will come down on 3 March, allowing the long-awaited resumption of quarantine-free travel.
McGowan, who is due to fly to Sydney next Thursday to prepare to give evidence in the federal court defamation action launched against him by Clive Palmer, said he will spend a week in hotel quarantine upon returning to WA to avoid perceptions he will personally benefit from the timing of the border reopening.
He is expected to appear in court between 26-28 February, meaning his quarantine period upon returning to WA will coincide with the border coming down.
“It is a coincidence that, when I return, the border will come down a couple of days later. It’s a coincidence I am unable to avoid,” he told reporters. “But I’ll be doing seven days of quarantine. I’ll be working from a hotel room, doing the full seven days, just so there can be no argument that somehow this was put in place to benefit myself.”
The ACT is also stepping back its Covid measures from last night and a return to offices is possible within weeks in New South Wales and Victoria.
South Australia’s election campaign is about to officially get underway with the issuing of the writs for the 19 March poll. The premier, Steven Marshall, is expected to visit Government House today to kick off the election countdown which also puts his administration into caretaker mode.
Candidate nominations will then open on Monday, while the last day for voters to ensure they are on the electoral roll is 25 February.
All eyes will be on Ukraine, with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison saying on Friday he feared “the worst” after Russian artillery strikes were reported in a clear escalation in the conflict.
And, after a fairly unedifying start to the year in Canberra, what developments can we expect in federal politics over the weekend?
Let’s see if we can find some news shall we?
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