Key posts
Businesses will collapse if Sydney construction ban extended: Union
By Daniella White
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime and Energy Union has warned businesses will collapse if Sydney’s ban on construction is extended beyond next Friday.
CFMEU secretary Darren Greenfield said the union was “bloody angry” when the new rules were announced on Saturday.
CFMEU NSW secretary Darren Greenfield (centre) says the construction pause shouldn’t extend beyond Friday. Credit:Louise Kennerley
“To come out and flick a switch was atrocious,” he told radio station 2GB earlier this morning.
“We should have been spoken to. Late Friday were were still told the industry would keep going.
“We’re still angry but we need to start telling this government – everyone in the industry does – that we need to get back up and running.”
Mr Greenfield said Premier Gladys Berejiklian needed to give the industry certainty about its reopening.
“If this goes past Friday week, the date we’ve got set now, businesses will start to collapse,” he said.
“Subcontractors cannot sustain a third or fourth week of this, our industry will be a basket case.”
Construction sites closed on Monday after the government ordered a stop to all non-essential work until July 30 to stem the number of people commuting and potentially spreading COVID-19.
China needs to ‘act responsibly’, Home Affairs Minister says
By Broede Carmody
Cabinet Minister Karen Andrews says she is aware China may punish Australia after it joined other nations in naming and shaming Beijing for co-ordinating a global cyber attack back in January.
However, the Minister for Home Affairs insists the federal government will always point the finger at those responsible for “malicious” cyber attacks when it threatens national and international sovereignty and is in Australia’s interest to do so.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“This exploitation targeted thousands of computers and networks worldwide, including in Australia,” she said.
“It opened the door for cyber criminals to exploit the private sector for illicit gain. All countries, including China, should act responsibly in cyberspace.
“We can’t allow this criminal activity to be a significant handbrake ... on our digital security. There is significant reputational damage to China. They have been called out.”
Asked why Australia has named and shamed China over this particular hack and not in the past, Ms Andrews said this was a co-ordinated effort between allied nations to stand-up to illegal behaviour.
“Our level of confidence is very high [that China is to blame],” she said.
“What you’ll see is this is a global response. This is Australia working with many nations including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States and Japan.”
The attacks on Microsoft Exchange software in January compromised thousands of computer systems around the world, including in Australia.
Ms Andrews said it was a timely reminder for Australian companies to update their cyber security protocols and software.
The Chinese government is expected to respond later today and we’ll be sure to bring you further details as they come to hand.
Watch: Home Affairs Minister’s press conference
By Broede Carmody
Thousands of dollars of fines issues at NSW-Qld border
By Broede Carmody
As we reported yesterday, Queensland Police are keeping a close eye on the border with NSW.
While travellers from Greater Sydney are barred from entering the Sunshine State, the border is not yet closed to regional NSW.
Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski.
Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski was speaking on the Today show earlier this morning. He said it only takes one positive case to enter his state from NSW for Queensland to “have a problem”.
To date, more than 80 vehicles have been caught trying to enter Queensland without the correct paperwork. Almost 30 have been from red zones (i.e. coronavirus hotspots).
Mr Gollschewski stressed that while truck drivers have a travel exemption from Queensland’s chief health officer, they still need to fill out the correct paperwork.
“We had 46 out of 163 [freight workers] that didn’t have the correct passes [yesterday],” he said. “That is still way to high. We have seen an improvement but it’s still not enough. As we know, the passes aren’t just about having the right paperwork.
“It’s actually so we can trace people if something goes wrong, knowing who has been in the really high-risk areas. It’s really important. We need [the industry] to work with us on this one.”
Mr Gollschewski said police handed out four infringement notices yesterday relating to improper travel. Each fine is worth just over $4000.
“We have seen a number [of those people] issued with traffic infringement notices as well,” he added.
Victoria’s lockdown could be extended into next week but no zero cases target to lift restrictions
By Paul Sakkal and Aisha Dow
The state government is preparing to extend Victoria’s lockdown by at least three days and is unlikely to ease restrictions until most emerging cases have been in isolation for their entire infectious periods.
Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the state’s stay-at-home orders, which had been due to end at 11.59pm on Tuesday, would be extended, but said the length of the extension was still being considered.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.Credit:Chris Hopkins
A government source speaking on the condition of anonymity said to expect an extension of at least three days but that the lockdown could also be extended into next week.
Read the full story here.
Electronics store, spare car parts retailer among Sydney’s latest exposure sites
By Broede Carmody
More than 20 new exposure sites were listed by NSW Health overnight.
Among them are an electronics store, spare car parts retailer and a telecommunications provider. The exposure windows are from last week – before the NSW government cracked-down on non-essential retail.
Anyone who visited the following places at the relevant times is considered a casual contact of a positive coronavirus case. You must immediately get tested for COVID-19 and isolate until a negative result is received:
- The JB HiFi store on Polding Street in Wetherill Park, in Sydney’s west, on Thursday, July 15 between 2.45pm and 3.10pm;
- The Vodafone retailer at Wetherill Park Shopping Centre on Thursday, July 15 between 2.40pm and 3pm; and
- All Parts Auto on Little Street in Smithfield on Wednesday, July 14 between 8.15am and 9.15am.
For a full list of exposure sites, visit the NSW government’s website. You can also use our interactive map.
COVID disaster payments a ‘mess of a system’: welfare group
By Daniella White
Welfare advocates say the government’s disaster COVID payments scheme has created a two-class system, leaving those who receive social security payments behind.
The Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie says the program needs to be extended to people who have lost casual or part time work and use social security payments to subsidise their wages.
Australian Council of Social Services CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The emergency payments offer $600 a week to people who have lost at least 20 hours or $325 a week. However anyone who receives JobSeeker, Austudy or YouthAllowance is not eligible for the higher disaster payment.
“You can earn up to $600 a week and still earn a few dollars in social security,” Dr Goldie told the ABC’s RN Breakfast.
“It just highlights the ... two classes that have been introduced with this mess of a system, frankly. We need to make sure that everyone has enough income support if they’re hit by loss of jobs to keep their heads above water.”
No room for error in tracing Delta outbreak, says leading epidemiologist
By David Estcourt
Contract tracers need to track down each and every case of the Delta strain of COVID-19 because the transmission rate is so high, says a leading epidemiologist.
Deakin University chair of epidemiology Catherine Bennett says the combination of the higher incidence of transient exposure, plus the small incubation period, has in some cases made combating this strain more challenging.
Epidemiologist Catherine Bennett.Credit:Jason South
“Even when you discover an outbreak so quickly, which we did in both states, it’s still that chance of one case being missed, that’s the real concern because it will take off quickly.” she told RN.
“It doesn’t mean all cases do that, it just means that enough do that to mean that every time you find that next chain of transmission it’s already ... on its way.
“As you’ve seen, you know 30 hours between someone being exposed and that person being infectious ... it does make it a challenge.”
Dr Bennet said the “transient exposure” is occurring in the population with greater ease because people need a smaller dose of the infection to catch the coronavirus and the incubation period is shorter.
“We know this particular variant, it’s just easy to establish infection, so you need a smaller dose [of the infection],” she said.
“What we saw before was on average they would say 10 to 20 per cent of people would take the virus on, and then the majority wouldn’t pass it on, or [they would pass it on to] just one other person.
“But this higher infectious load means ... more people who have been exposed become infected.”
Sydney ‘pretty far’ from exiting current lockdown
By Broede Carmody
Canadian surgeon and researcher Nancy Baxter, who is the head of Melbourne University’s School of Population and Global Health, was speaking on the Today show earlier this morning.
Here’s what she had to say when she was asked how long Sydney’s lockdown will drag on for:
“Sadly, I don’t think they’re going to get to the really numbers that they need. It’s like a bushfire, right? If you leave some embers, they’re going to start [turning] into flames. That’s what happens if you don’t kind of really drive the numbers down before you open up.”
Empty streets in Sydney’s west yesterday. Credit:Nick Moir
Professor Baxter said Sydney was on track to extend its lockdown by a couple of weeks given the current number of infections.
“Overall, the numbers don’t need to be zero ... but it is that number of people who were out in the community when they’re infectious, that’s the number that needs to get to zero,” she said.
“They [NSW] are pretty far from that. So how long is a lockdown going to last? I don’t know. But I would say we’re looking more like a month than a week.”
Gyms, cafes among Victoria’s latest exposure sites
By David Estcourt
Victorian health authorities have added more than 10 new exposure sites overnight, including several inner-city cafes and gyms.
But in good news, the majority of the additions have been labelled tier 2 venues and not tier 1.
The tier-1 sites include Upton Girl cafe in Windsor and Goodlife Health Club in Prahran on July 14 and 3 Point Training in Port Melbourne on July 15 (all in Melbourne’s inner-south). Yesterday, the number of exposure sites in Victoria topped 300 for the first time since the state’s last lockdown.
Other additions (all tier 2) include:
- Cafe Marion in Fitzroy on July 16 from 12.50pm to 1.30pm;
- Ringwood Mazda, Ringwood, on July 14 from 4.20pm to 5.05pm;
- Upton Girl cafe, Windsor, on July 15 between 8.30am and 8.45am;
- Cafe Banff in St Kilda on July 15 from 1.45pm to 3.00pm;
- Daniel’s Donuts in the Melbourne CBD on July 15 from 3.00pm to 3.30pm;
- The Queen Victoria Market Visitors Hub in the Melbourne CBD on July 15 from 12.15pm to 1pm; and
- Tropicana Juice Bar, also in the Melbourne CBD, on July 15 from 12.45pm to 1.15pm.
Most Viewed in National
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMilQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zbWguY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL2F1c3RyYWxpYS1uZXdzLWxpdmUtbnN3LWFuZC12aWN0b3JpYS1jb3ZpZC0xOS1jYXNlcy1jb250aW51ZS10by1ncm93LXZpY3Rvcmlhbi1sb2NrZG93bi1leHRlbmRlZC0yMDIxMDcxOS1wNThiMW4uaHRtbNIBlQFodHRwczovL2FtcC5zbWguY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL2F1c3RyYWxpYS1uZXdzLWxpdmUtbnN3LWFuZC12aWN0b3JpYS1jb3ZpZC0xOS1jYXNlcy1jb250aW51ZS10by1ncm93LXZpY3Rvcmlhbi1sb2NrZG93bi1leHRlbmRlZC0yMDIxMDcxOS1wNThiMW4uaHRtbA?oc=5
2021-07-19 22:54:41Z
52781740280594
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Australia news LIVE: NSW and Victoria COVID-19 cases continue to grow; Victorian lockdown extended - The Sydney Morning Herald"
Post a Comment