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Victoria reports 64 new locally acquired cases
By Ashleigh McMillan
Victoria has recorded 64 local cases of COVID-19, with the state government in talks with the Commonwealth to increase vaccine supply to inoculate 120,000 more Victorians per week.
Twenty-eight of the new cases were out in the community while infectious, while 49 of the 64 locally acquired cases recorded on Saturday have been connected to the current outbreak.
More than 55,300 test results were returned on Friday, with 35,753 vaccination doses completed. No cases were detected in hotel quarantine.
The health department has listed 868 exposure sites across Victoria as of Saturday morning, with no new exposures added overnight.
The latest tier-2 exposure sites were listed in the suburbs of North Melbourne, Hoppers Crossing, Croydon, Croydon North, Broadmeadows, Wheelers Hill, Lilydale, Mooroolbark and the CBD.
Read the full story here
‘Brutal reminder’: Veterans’ Affairs Minister says former soldiers proud of Australian mission in Afghanistan
By Angus Thompson
Federal Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel Andrew Gee has said this morning the attack on Kabul’s international airport is a “brutal reminder” of why Australia joined the war in Afghanistan in the first place.
“That’s what Afghanistan was, before we went in there, it was a hotbed of terrorism and terrorism training,” Mr Gee told 2GB radio just before 10am.
Veterans’ Affairs Minister Andrew Gee.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Gee, who agreed the withdrawal from Afghanistan was a sensitive time for those Australians who had served there, said younger veterans he had spoken to wanted others to know of the righteousness of the Australian mission over the past 20 years.
“The message that they wanted to get out, is that they are very proud of everything that they achieved in Afghanistan,” Mr Gee said.
Watch live: Queensland COVID-19 update
Queensland’s 10am press conference is about to begin. You can watch the live stream here.
‘States not governments’: Questions over Australia’s recognition of the Taliban going forward
Federal cabinet minister Bridget McKenzie says the Australian government has a history of recognising “states, not governments” in response to questioning over how it will deal with the Taliban going forward.
The Nationals senator agreed with Labor senator Tim Ayres’ assessment of the country’s prior diplomatic practice while speaking to ABC 24 this morning, who said he was sure Australian government officials would be working towards the best approach.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzieCredit:Alex Ellinghausen
“Tim is absolutely right. Irrespective of who holds government at any given time in this country, we recognise states, not governments,” Senator McKenzie told the ABC.
“As I said earlier, our focus will be on the logistics over the next couple of months of getting those humanitarian refugees settled back here in Australia and continuing those efforts.”
“I think what we’re also incredibly focused on in ensuring that Afghanistan does not once again become a safe haven for terrorism.”
White House braces for more terror in Kabul as death toll climbs
By Matthew Knott
The Biden administration is bracing for more terror attacks in Kabul after the US President’s top national security advisers told him to expect more bloodshed before the withdrawal of all US troops next week.
The Pentagon revealed there had only been one suicide bombing outside the airport in Kabul on Friday (AEST) rather than two as it had originally stated.
US President Joe Biden’s national security advisers told him another terrorist attack in Kabul is likely in coming days. Credit:AP
The Afghan death toll from the attack rose to 169, the Associated Press reported, on top of the deaths of 13 US troops in what was the deadliest day for the US military in Afghanistan since 2011.
A summary of Joe Biden’s meeting with his national security team on Saturday (AEST) said they “advised the President and Vice-President that another terror attack in Kabul is likely, but that they are taking maximum force protection measures at the Kabul airport”.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters there were “ongoing” and “active” threats to US service members in Afghanistan from the radical terrorist group ISIS-K.
“This is the most dangerous part of the mission,” Psaki said.
Read the full story here
Victoria reports 64 new locally acquired cases
By Ashleigh McMillan
Victoria has recorded 64 local cases of COVID-19, with the state government in talks with the Commonwealth to increase vaccine supply to inoculate 120,000 more Victorians per week.
Twenty-eight of the new cases were out in the community while infectious, while 49 of the 64 locally acquired cases recorded on Saturday have been connected to the current outbreak.
More than 55,300 test results were returned on Friday, with 35,753 vaccination doses completed. No cases were detected in hotel quarantine.
The health department has listed 868 exposure sites across Victoria as of Saturday morning, with no new exposures added overnight.
The latest tier-2 exposure sites were listed in the suburbs of North Melbourne, Hoppers Crossing, Croydon, Croydon North, Broadmeadows, Wheelers Hill, Lilydale, Mooroolbark and the CBD.
Read the full story here
Hundreds of Sydney schools could remain closed despite back to school plan
By Jordan Baker and Natassia Chrysanthos
Hundreds of Sydney schools will remain closed for the rest of the year unless transmission rates fall in hotspots under strict safety conditions underpinning the government’s pledge to reopen classrooms from October 25.
Almost 200,000 school employees across the state will also need to be vaccinated from November 8 to keep their jobs, a policy that has come under fire from Christian schools which warn that up to 10 per cent of teachers will not obey the mandate.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Education Minister Sarah Mitchell announcing the back to school plan on Friday.Credit:James Brickwood
The Higher School Certificate will be delayed for a second time until November 9, but exam authorities are still working out how many exams might need to be cut from the timetable. Students say the wait is increasing their stress and frustration.
Kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 will be the first to return to schools in areas deemed safe on October 25, with other year groups to follow over the next two weeks. High school students must wear a mask, and primary students will be encouraged to do so.
Read the full story here
NSW Deputy Premier opposed shifting QLD border checkpoint south
By Angus Thompson
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has said his government “vehemently” opposes moving the Queensland-NSW border checkpoint south to the Tweed River and that a consistent border bubble should be established so that workers and those accessing healthcare can cross.
Currently, NSW border residents can only cross for an essential purpose, including medical reasons.
Mr Barilaro accused the Queensland government of not treating the situation seriously. “NSW correspondence goes unanswered, even my own letter to the Queensland Health Minister has gone unanswered,” Mr Barilaro said in a statement this morning.
“There are workable solutions and I am keen to put politics aside to not only keep the people of NSW and Queensland safe, but to ensure our border communities, like Mungindi, can access work and vital healthcare.”
The statement sets out a number of reasons the government opposes shifting the border checkpoint south, including the fact that there is no neat geographical feature which can be used to support enforcement and compliance operations.
US expecting more Kabul terror attacks, death toll climbs
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said the US government is monitoring further threats, “virtually in real-time” following explosions that killed at 169 Afghan civilians and 13 US soldiers outside the international airport in Kabul on Friday morning, Australia time.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington.Credit:AP
“We still believe there are credible threats … in fact, I say specific credible threats,” Mr Kirby has told press.
“We certainly are prepared and would expect future attempts.”
US President Joe Biden has vowed to hunt down and punish the terrorist leaders behind the attack, which became the deadliest day for the US in Afghanistan in a decade.
The suicide bombings, which terrorist group ISIS-K claimed responsibility for, came just days before the scheduled withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan next Tuesday.
According to AP, the death toll from attack has reached 169, not including the 13 US soldiers killed in the attack.
Plan to force university staff to reveal foreign political history
By Lisa Visentin
A confidential plan to force tens of thousands of university staff to reveal a decade of foreign political and financial interests has met with such fierce backlash that the federal government is now reviewing the proposal.
New draft foreign interference guidelines for universities are proposing to demand academics disclose their membership of overseas political parties and any financial support they have received from foreign entities for their research over the past 10 years.
Universities are pushing back against demands to force staff to reveal a decade’s worth of foreign political links.Credit:Steven Siewert
Multiple university sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was widespread concern about the requirements, with one university executive describing it as “a sledgehammer, blanket approach” to the issue.
The proposed guidelines, which have been drafted by the University Foreign Interference Taskforce (UFIT), represent a major ramping up of scrutiny of academics’ backgrounds in response to concerns within the federal government about research theft by the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign actors.
Read the full story here
NSW vaccination deadline for authorised workers pushed back but testing alternative removed
By Daniella White
Frontline workers in Sydney’s COVID-19 hotspots will no longer have the option to undergo rapid antigen testing instead of getting vaccinated after the NSW government made a late change to rules that were due to come into effect on Monday.
But the fast approaching deadline for authorised workers in the 12 local government areas (LGA) of concern to get the jab has been pushed back from August 30 to September 6 after unions and peak bodies pleaded with the government to ease the timeframe.
A police officer check’s a driver’s identification at a roadblock in Sydney.Credit:Brook Mitchell
It was also announced that care workers aged 16 years and over who live in one of the hotspot LGAs must also have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend work, including those who work in early education or who provide disability support services.
The late-night change in rules came after pressure from industry and unions who said some workers had struggled to book in for their jabs within the timeframe.
Read the full story here
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2021-08-28 00:00:31Z
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