Watch live: Daniel Andrews is addressing the media
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will be joined by Treasurer Tim Pallas today at Queen's Hall in Parliament House a day before the delayed state budget is finally handed down.
You can watch their press conference live right here:
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Families reunited at Melbourne Airport as flights from Sydney resume
By Carolyn Webb
A Point Lonsdale couple who hadn’t seen their grandchildren in 18 months were among hundreds of people flying in to Melbourne Airport this morning – the first day of arrivals from Sydney after the opening of the Victoria-NSW border.
Thirty-eight Sydney to Melbourne flights, many well under half-full, were scheduled to arrive at Melbourne Airport today, with a long way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels of more than 150 flights between Melbourne and Sydney per day.
Alison Songsaeng, 43, arrived at 7.25am on the first Qantas flight, QF401, with her children Ailani, 6, and Patrick, 4.
Alison Songsaeng and her children Ailani and Patrick were greeted by Alison's parents, Brenda and Paul Heseltine at Melbourne Airport this morning.Credit:Simon Schluter
At the gate lounge, they walked into the arms of Alison’s parents Brenda and Paul Heseltine, 69 and 71, who they hadn’t seen in 18 months.
The Heseltines rose in the early hours and drove in heavy rain for two hours from Point Lonsdale to green their daughter and grandchildren at the airport.
Ms Songsaeng said it cost her $15,000 to come home for good from Koh Samui, Thailand, where she was working as a teacher.
They had to quarantine for two weeks in a Sydney hotel, which had been difficult, with the kids being bored and not able to run around.
Mrs Heseltine said she had phoned or video called her grandchildren every day when they were in Thailand, but nothing beat hugging them in real life.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lyell Strambi said it was a great day for the airport, with many employees reporting for work for the first time in months.
He was confident the airport will return to full capacity of 100,000 passengers per day as travel restrictions ease; the number fell to a low of less than 1000 during the pandemic.
John Phelan, 57, and wife Deborah, 58, of Birrong in Sydney’s west flew from Sydney on QF 415 to see their eight week old grandson Albin – their first grandchild – for the first time.
They have not seem their son Connor, 28, who lives in Altona, in Melbourne’s west, and his wife Emanuelle since Christmas.
"I’m excited. I can hardly wait," Mrs Phelan said. The first thing both Mr and Mrs Phelan said they wanted to do was "to hold the baby".
'We just wait for a miracle': Bali faces its biggest crisis as COVID-19 leaves hundreds starving
The coronavirus pandemic has left Bali reeling. People in Australia's favourite holiday island are starving, unable to pay the bills, and afford essentials like baby formula, nappies, and medicines, writes Marta Pascual Juanola.
In Bali, people are starving.
At this time of the year, Jimbaran local Yeny Fita Wulandari would usually be run off her feet, juggling jobs in a busy spa and thriving tour business in Poppies Lane, one of Kuta’s many buzzing laneways.
Kaki Nyoman had been eating plain rice and sambal for weeks by the time charity workers found him near Amed.
But this year, the mother-of-three can barely put food on the table.
International border closures in April delivered a terminal blow to Bali’s economy, obliterating the tourism industry and leaving a hole worth billions of dollars.
Government data places unemployment rates at 7.5 per cent, but not-for-profit organisations estimate the reality to be much higher – closer to 80 per cent, with official statistics unreliable due to the amount of people not registered as either employed or unemployed.
The situation has become so dire some are struggling to feed their families, pay bills, or afford essentials like baby formula, nappies, and medicine. Others are selling their cars, scooters, businesses and personal belongings in a desperate bid to make ends meet.
Australian charity worker Amanda Rialdi said she had come across elderly people so malnourished they could barely get out of bed; others had been abandoned by their family after becoming a financial burden.
In the eastern town of Amed, charity worker Michele Yoga said a 90-year-old blind man had been living off sambal and plain rice for weeks.
Confronting footage captured by workers at Sheppys Bar and Restaurant in Legian shows dozens of Balinese, including children, scrambling to get hold of free food packs from the restaurant as staff urges them to remain calm.
Victorian, NSW premiers to front media shortly
There are two state press conferences lined up for this morning so far: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Treasurer Tim Pallas will be seeking shelter from the rain inside Parliament House today, addressing the media at 10.30am AEDT in Queen's Hall between the two chambers.
And NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard, Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello and NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant will provide a COVID-19 update at Martin Place at 11am AEDT.
We'll do our best to bring you livestreams and headlines from the two press conferences as they happen.
Australia 'abandoned everyone on visas' during pandemic: ACTU chief Sally McManus
By Rachael Dexter
South Australia’s coronavirus outbreak – which briefly sent the state into the harshest lockdown ever seen in Australia – could have been avoided had working conditions for quarantine hotel staff been better, says head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Sally McManus.
The virus first leaked out of one of Adelaide’s "medi-hotels" via a security guard who also worked part-time at a pizza bar. A kitchen hand from another medi-hotel also caught the virus, but told contact tracers he had simply bought a pizza from the same store.
South Australian officials sent the state into a hard lockdown over fears of a "super strain" of the virus, before the kitchen hand revealed he had actually worked at the pizza store where he caught the virus from his colleague. South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has launched a criminal investigation into the second man.
Police outside the Woodville Pizza Bar after it was announced a worker from the shop lied to authorities during a COVID-19 investigation, causing SA to go into a hard lockdown.Credit:Getty
The worker who lied to contact tracers was a Spanish man on a temporary graduate visa, and although the reason for his lie is still unclear, Ms McManus said she would not be surprised if he was being paid cash in hand out of necessity.
"We as a country completely abandoned everyone on visas in our country when the coronavirus hit. They can’t get JobSeeker, they can’t get Job Keeper, so of course they’re forced to work otherwise they will starve," she said on Radio National’s Breakfast program.
Ms McManus said the actions of the SA Premier to publicly lambast the worker did not speak to the reasons he might have lied.
"I can imagine there would be some reasons why he was afraid to tell the truth so I think blaming the individual when they could have put in place a gold standard there so that person was not working a second job in the first place is just deflection," she said.
"I’m certain there’s far more to this story than we know."
The ACTU secretary said the SA episode was a call to action to improve working conditions for quarantine staff to incentivise them not to work secondary jobs in high-risk environments.
"I think we need to stop mucking around about this, the coronavirus is the biggest threat to our health and our economy so that means that the people we have working at places like that need to be properly paid – so really well paid, not just the minimum wage – because they’re not doing a minimum wage, normal job,” she said.
"They’re doing one that covers a lot of responsibility and as we know a lot of consequences if something goes wrong."
South Australia’s Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has repeatedly rejected the suggestion that authorities could dictate to workers that they could only have one job, and said there was a similar level of risk from workers going to the gym or seeing family which also could not be policed.
Ms McManus said workers could be required to live by more restrictions to lower their level of COVID-19 risk, and be compensated for it as part of their wage.
"It’s such a tiny amount to pay to make these places safe," she said.
Victoria unmasked: 'Common sense' replaces outdoors edict
Mandatory mask-wearing in first Melbourne and then across the state was indeed controversial, particularly in the great outdoors. There were plenty of grumbles but advocates said it was worthwhile. Now Victorians can take as many gulps of fresh air as they like, so long as there are no crowds. Here is The Age chief reporter Chip Le Grand's analysis:
Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that masks are no longer mandatory outdoors.Credit:Chris Hopkins
Victoria can again breathe easy. After four months of having to cover our faces whenever we stepped out our front doors, we can let our masks slip.
We will still need to wear them in public buildings and outdoors when caught in a crowd but, for the first time since the second-wave epidemic crested, we will be guided by common sense instead of a hardline, public health edict.
The changed mask rule does three things.
It removes from our streets and parks the most visible symbol of our COVID winter, signalling that although the pandemic still rages in Europe and America and future outbreaks are likely, we are where we want to be at the end of this wretched year.
It puts an end to the silliest of culture skirmishes – thankfully it never quite reached the stage of warfare here – about whether mandating masks outside was a reasonable public health precaution or an elastic-strapped conspiracy against freedom.
It scraps the COVID restriction of weakest efficacy and refocuses the public health response where we know the risk of viral spread is greatest: in hospitals and nursing homes, at family gatherings and in confined, indoor public spaces.
New rules for Victorians on masks, home visits and workplaces
On this rainy day, Victorians have woken to new rules on masks, home visits and in workplaces.
As Rachael Dexter reports, Victorians will be able to host 30 people for Christmas and will no longer have to wear masks when they leave home, as authorities declared the state was rid of community transmission of COVID-19.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton made the call on Sunday as part of major changes to coronavirus restrictions that will end mandatory mask-wearing outdoors.
"[Virus] elimination may or may not be the right word, I think we're talking about no community transmission [and] I'm confident we are there now," Professor Sutton said.
"We have not got into the epidemiological threshold of 28 days yet, but I'm confident we will get to that."
Babies under 12 months old are not counted among the 30 people allowed into homes for holiday celebrations. The change to the cap on private gatherings comes into effect on December 13 to accommodate for the Jewish holidays of Hanukkah.
As of 11.59pm last night, Victorians can now welcome 15 people into their homes, up from a cap of two. Outdoor gatherings at parks and beaches will increase to 50 people.
On the same day that Victoria recorded 23 consecutive days of no new coronavirus cases or deaths, Premier Daniel Andrews also said city workers could begin to return to offices from the end of the month - with strict density requirements and cleaning protocols in place.
"We will begin a slow, steady and safe return to work for those who have been working from home. That is to say 25 per cent of staff will be able to be in the office, and it is mainly offices, 75 per cent will still need to work from home and we will make further announcements over the course of the coming weeks and months," he said.
Eased Victorian restrictions:
- Universities and TAFE students will return to classes on site for some studies;
- Gyms will open up to a maximum of 150 people in groups of 20, with one person per four square metres;
- Indoor physical recreation and sport can commence with 150 people in 150 people, in groups of 20, one per four square metres;
- Outdoor sport can commence with 500 people, with groups of 50 following the one per four square metres as well;
- Indoor pools can host 150 people and outdoor pools will now host 300 people;
- Skate parks and indoor trampolining centres will increase to 150 people;
- Religious ceremonies can take place indoors with 150 people and outdoors with 300 people;
- Weddings and funerals, both indoors and outdoors, can be 150 people, with density requirements. Weddings at home will need to follow the normal home visitors rule of 15 people maximum;
- Larger facilities such as the galleries, cinemas and museums can open for 25 per cent of their capacity;
- Drive in cinemas have no caps on patrons;
- Casinos and gaming machine venues will be able to go to 150 people but every second electronic gaming machine will be turned off, so as to keep a distance between patrons; and
- Large sporting venues will be able to increase patronage to 25 per cent of their capacity.
- Accommodation providers will be able to cater to groups of one household plus up to 15 people, with density requirements in communal areas;
- Karaoke venues, arcades, escape rooms and bingo centres will be able to accommodate 150 people at a time with density limits;
- There are no longer any restrictions on visitors within hospitals;
- For real estate inspections and auctions, 20 people are now allowed inside and 50 outdoors.
- Strip clubs can now operate with up to 150 people for seated service only and group limits of 20 with social distancing requirements; and
- 50 people can now attend brothels.
Afraid of needles? Vaccines could come without a jab
By Mary Ward
While the thought of a coronavirus vaccine, and the freedoms it could bring, is exciting for many, the thought of actually receiving the shot can conjure a less pleasant emotion.
"Fear of the needle is part of the reluctance for a full uptake of adult vaccines," said Professor Rachel Skinner from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health, noting vaccination rates decrease from early childhood for a variety of reasons – including an aversion to the jab.
"It is often related to looking at the needle coming in," she said, although pain – or anticipation of pain – is also a factor.
Professor Skinner is leading a team of researchers investigating a possible alternative to needle vaccine delivery, called a microarray patch, which they hope will eventually be used to administer vaccines for influenza and – when they arrive – coronavirus.
The patch is a square centimetre of biocompatible polymer, covered in more than 3000 "micro projections" coated in a dry vaccine formula. When applied to the skin using a disposable applicator, it penetrates the outer layer and delivers the vaccine dose to the cell layers immediately underneath.
It is also known as a microneedle patch. Although there is "a sensation" when applied, Professor Skinner insists it does not hurt.
The patches, which are being trialled and have not yet been approved for use anywhere, require only one-fifth of the dose of a syringe vaccination.
'Massive demand' for Sydney-Melbourne flights, says Qantas boss
By Rachael Dexter
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce believes his airline will return to 60 per cent of pre-COVID domestic flight numbers before Christmas, as the world’s second busiest flight path between Sydney and Melbourne officially reopened today.
"It’s gone from one flight a day in the ... last few months, then to seven a day and it’s a step up today and we’re seeing massive demand already occurring,” he told ABC Radio National’s Breakfast program.
"When the news of the borders opening up happened, both Qantas and Jetstar sold 25,000 seats on Melbourne-Sydney alone in the space of 24 hours."
Mr Joyce said Jetstar had also clocked its biggest day of sale activity ever since the announcement, with 120,000 seats again in a 24-hour period.
Qantas and Jetstar would likely resume 60 per cent of pre-COVID domestic flight levels before Christmas, depending on whether Queensland reopened its borders, Mr Joyce said.
"Then in the new year, we start getting towards 100 per cent," he said.
Mr Joyce claimed airline fares would be reasonable, despite the company's financial woes due to air travel virtually stopping during the pandemic.
"We’ve had this philosophy that it’s better to earn a dollar in the air than on the ground so we’re just trying to cover cash costs at the moment, which means we’re not trying to make money on covering the ownership costs of the aircraft which are down [grounded] anyway," he said.
"I’d rather have our people back working rather than us make money out of these domestic operations. We just have to cover our overheads."
Six thousand Qantas staff have been made redundant since the beginning of the pandemic, with another redundancy round underway which could see that number increase to 8500, Mr Joyce said.
But the chief executive said some Qantas staff stood down on Jobkeeper were today working their first shifts since March as a result of the border reopening.
"If we can get back to 60 per cent of our pre-COVID schedule by Christmas, that’s a lot more people back in the air, a lot more people working again."
Two dozen days of perfect zeros
By Hanna Mills Turbet
And that's two dozen days of perfect zeros. What an achievement, Victoria!
For the 24th consecutive day, there have been no new cases of COVID-19 and no deaths across the state.
Health Minister Martin Foley said on the weekend that the sole remaining active case was an immuno-compromised person who remains in hospital with a long-term case of COVID-19.
Yesterday, there were 7261 test results received, which is on the low side but not too bad for a Sunday.
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2020-11-22 23:43:00Z
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