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Health Minister Greg Hunt providing update on vaccine rollout
By Broede Carmody
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is providing an update to Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
He is speaking at a press conference with Eric Young of the Vaccine Operations Centre in Somerville, Victoria. Watch live below.
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India repatriation flight passenger tests positive in NT
By Sarah McPhee
One of the passengers on the first repatriation flight from India to Australia since the federal government lifted its ban has tested positive for COVID-19 in the Northern Territory.
NT Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Charles Pain on Monday said over 70 passengers arrived on the flight into Darwin on Saturday morning.
Buses wait to transport passengers from flight QF112 to Howard Springs.Credit:Getty Images
“I have news this morning that probably only one, they’re still subject to further testing, but only one person has tested positive in that group,” he said.
“So the testing that was done in India has clearly been effective, and has had the effect that we intended which was that people wouldn’t come on the flights if they were positive.”
Overseas arrivals into the Northern Territory are placed into quarantine at the Howard Springs facility, outside the city.
The Qantas repatriation flight on Saturday had an estimated 150 scheduled passengers however more than 70 were barred from flying after either testing positive during their mandatory three-day hotel stay in New Delhi or being listed as close contacts of those cases
“There will be people who are disappointed,” Dr Pain said.
“Those people who have tested positive will be re-tested, it is expected that they will rejoin the queue to get on those flights as soon as possible.
“It’s expected that some of those people who tested positive will return negative tests. That’s the way it works, I’m afraid, and we’d welcome those people when they come on the future flights.”
The NT Department of Health is yet to issue a statement in regards to the latest development.
Secrecy challenge open to the public for three minutes
By Anthony Galloway
A two-day hearing into an appeal brought by Witness K’s former lawyer Bernard Collaery will be held behind closed doors in a Canberra court.
Mr Collaery is challenging a ruling to hold his trial largely in secret under the National Security Information Act. He is the former lawyer for an ex-spy known as Witness K, who allegedly revealed that Australia bugged East Timor’s cabinet during tense oil and gas negotiations.
Lawyer Bernard Collaery and Witness K allegedly revealed Australia bugged East Timor’s cabinet during tense oil and gas negotiations.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The hearing in the ACT Court of Appeal was open to the public for about three minutes until the court was closed on Monday morning.
ACT chief justice Helen Murrell said there was application by Mr Colleary’s legal team to lead further evidence and then asked if there was any challenge to the hearing being held in secret.
Barrister Bret Walker, acting for Mr Collaery, conceded it was regrettable that the court had to be closed but he was not challenging as it was required by the NSI Act.
“We do regret the appearance of that, but we can’t see any other way around it,” Mr Walker said.
Mr Collaery is challenging an order made by the ACT Supreme Court last year to accept former attorney-general Christian Porter’s application to invoke the NSI Act, which governs how courts should handle sensitive information.
The NSI Act requires the court to give “greatest weight” to the Attorney-General’s views about the national security implications of a case, which has resulted in large portions of the hearings being held in secret.
The decision means most or all of the two-day hearing will be held in secret. A ruling on the challenge could still be weeks away.
Here is more background on this story, which has implications for whistleblowers and national security.
What’s driving the flare-up in violence between Israel and Palestinians?
By Chris Zappone
In hindsight, the Israeli police raid on a mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, was one of several actions that led, less than a month later, to the sudden resumption of war between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, and the outbreak of civil unrest between Arabs and Jews across Israel itself.
Israeli border policemen swing their batons at Muslim worshippers outside the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday. Credit:AP
The crisis is the outgrowth of years of blockades and restrictions in Gaza, decades of occupation in the West Bank, and decades more of discrimination against Arabs within the state of Israel, said Avraham Burg, a former speaker of the Israeli parliament and former chair of the World Zionist Organisation.
“All the enriched uranium was already in place,” he said. “But you needed a trigger. And the trigger was the Aqsa Mosque.”
Here’s a deep dive into why violence has escalated.
Australia’s last two oil refineries to stay open after rescue package
By Nick Toscano and Broede Carmody
Australia’s two remaining oil refineries will continue operating for at least another six years, saving the jobs of hundreds of more than 1200 workers, after fuel suppliers Ampol and Viva Energy reached a deal with the federal government.
The companies had been assessing whether to shut down their refineries in Brisbane and Geelong, which process crude oil into refined fuel products, following the closure of ExxonMobil’s refinery in Melbourne’s Altona and BP’s refinery in Perth.
Australian refineries have been battered by a slump in demand and margins during the pandemic. Credit:
Earlier this morning, our national affairs editor Rob Harris revealed the federal government would unveil a $2.4 billion package that would, among other things, encourage refineries to produce better-quality fuels.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor said this morning the $2.4 billion package was “all about national security”.
“We’ve seen around the world, the uncertainty that is being created in fuel markets,” he told the ABC. “We saw a cyber attack on a pipeline in the US last week. We’re seeing what’s happening in the Middle East right now. It’s an important time to make sure we’ve got the fuel we really need in the worst possible circumstances.”
‘Just give us the vaccine’: People with disabilities
By Rachel Clun
People with disabilities, carers and advocates say they have struggled to find information about the vaccine rollout, including how they can get vaccinated, while worrying about their health as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
The disability royal commission’s one-day hearing into the vaccine rollout has heard from several witnesses, including Clifford Stephens who said there has been no information about how he can help his son Christian get a vaccine.
People with disabilities say they are struggling to find information about the vaccine rollout. Credit:Robert Peet
“Basically, we have been sort of left on our own,” Mr Stephens said. His son Christian lives in residential disability care, and is eligible for Pfizer as he is in phase 1a and under the age of 50.
Christian told the commission he wants the vaccine, but his father Mr Stephens said they’ve been left to fend for themselves.
“There’s been no information except for the 1a priority from the federal government, there’s been absolutely nothing from the state government, and there’s nothing from the service provider. So we have basically said we had better get on with it and do it ourselves,” he said.
Mr Uli Kaplan, a 25-year-old living in residential disability care, told the royal commission in a pre-recorded interview it has taken “way too long” to get the vaccine.
“I’m sitting here nervous not having it. I spent three and a half months locked in my unit for my own safety because I had four cases next door in my house,” he said.
“We have the right to have the vaccine, but you need to understand that when you are talking to us about this, this is stressful. It’s extraordinarily stressful. From people being scared with needles to people feeling overwhelmed with information, to people watching news outlets.
“Just give us the vaccine, Stop saying you are going to do it, and just work towards it and do it.”
Australian Open boss insists 2022 grand slam will remain in Melbourne
By Broede Carmody
In case you missed it, the ABC reported this morning that Dubai and Doha were being explored as potential host cities for the 2022 Australian Open.
The speculation comes after many players protested about being placed in quarantine soon after landing in Melbourne for this year’s grand slam. The federal budget, handed down last week, also indicated that international borders would stay closed until mid-2022.
Novak Djokovic will chase a 10th Australian Open crown at next year’s opening grand slam.Credit:Chris Hopkins
But the tournament’s director, Craig Tiley, has insists that next year’s Australia Open won’t be forced offshore.
My colleague Daniel Cherny has the full story.
Fewer than 900 people in disability residential care vaccinated
By Rachel Clun
At a time when more than 2.5 million people were vaccinated across the country, just 834 people in disability residential care had been vaccinated. Of those, 127 people had received two doses.
There are about 25,000 residents in more than 6000 disability homes across Australia.
Senior counsel assisting Kate Eastman.Credit:Janie Barrett
The disability royal commission is holding a special one-day hearing today to examine the federal government’s vaccine rollout for disability care residents and their carers, who were initially included in phase 1a of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
The hearing has only just begun but senior counsel assisting Kate Eastman has already painstakingly detailed just how the plan has fallen by the wayside.
Disability care residents and workers were initially included in phase 1a, but in a parliamentary committee hearing on April 20 Department of Health associate secretary Caroline Edwards conceded the disability-care rollout had been slower than planned.
“The initial slow start in aged care residents required us to pivot to make sure we focused on them,” she said at the time.
The pivot to using Pfizer for people aged under 50 also forced the government to come up with a plan C for the residential disability part of the rollout.
Ms Eastman said the federal Department of Health’s latest data on vaccinations for people with disabilities to May 6 did not include people who had made their own vaccination arrangements and that data was unavailable.
“Commissioners, based on the data alone it may be open to you to find that the Australian Government’s rollout of vaccines to people with disability in residential care – and these are people who represent some of our most vulnerable members of the population – has been an abject failure,” Ms Eastman said.
The royal commission will hear from witnesses and the Department of Health throughout the day. I’ll bring you more updates as they come.
Under 50s already getting the Pfizer jab: NSW Premier
By Kate Aubusson
People in their 40s are already getting their Pfizer vaccines at NSW’s mass vaccination hub in Homebush, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced at a press conference this morning.
In less than a week almost 110,000 people aged 40-49 years old have registered their interest with NSW Health to receive the vaccine after the Premier decided to open up the vaccination program to the younger age group.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says people in their 40s are already receiving the Pfizer vaccine at the state’s mass vaccination hub.Credit:James Alcock
“Last Thursday, 16,000 people were invited to get the jab and 9000 people were already booked in that 40 to 49 category alone. Some had already received their first dose this morning,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it was inevitable that the virus would find its way back into the Australian community.
“So my strong encouragement is: get out and get vaccinated,” Mr Hazzard said.
Ms Berejiklian said essential workers and the families of essential workers are the highest priority.
“But every week when we get doses – especially the Pfizer dose which requires refrigeration – we have to make sure we use those doses up.
“So if at any time ... if there [are] doses left over, we can draw on the list of 40 to 49 year-olds that have registered and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”
Australian arrested over child sexual abuse in the Philippines
By Simone Fox Koob
A Victorian man has been arrested and 14 children, including toddlers, have been rescued in the Philippines as part of a federal police operation into alleged child sex abuse.
Six girls and eight boys, aged between two and 17, were rescued on May 7 and placed in the care of a local social welfare office after intelligence was provided by Australian police to Philippine authorities.
Read the full story here.
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2021-05-17 03:08:37Z
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