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Andrews government 'falling apart', says opposition
By Sumeyya Ilanbey
Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien says the Andrews government “is falling apart at the seams”, as he urged Labor MPs to cross the floor and vote in support of their ‘no confidence’ motion.
But Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll and the Green’s Melbourne MP Ellen Sandell labelled it a “stunt” and declared they would not be supporting the Opposition’s motion.
Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien.Credit:Darrian Traynor
“Victorians deserve better than a government that is so focused on themselves, so focused on covering up a mutual protection racket that they’ve actually forgotten to their day jobs,” Mr O’Brien said at Parliament House on Tuesday morning.
“The government has actually forgotten why it was elected - it was elected to look after the people in this state. We need a plan out of lockdown, we need a plan to get back to work with a plan to get our lives back.”
The Opposition’s move is set to fail in the lower house where Labor commands a majority 55 seats out of 88. But Mr O’Brien urged Labor MPs who are disgruntled with the leadership of Premier Daniel Andrews to cross the floor and make a “very simple decision”.
“Are they going to vote to protect Daniel Andrews’ job, or are they going to vote to protect Victorians’ jobs, because that’s what today’s choice is all about … you can’t do both.”
The Opposition can only move a ‘no confidence’ motion once each parliamentary term. If it had succeeded, the Legislative Assembly would have had eight days to pass the motion before the house was dissolved, triggering an election.
Ms Sandell said while she understood Victorians were “frustrated” with the current coronavirus situation, and that the Andrews government had made “many mistakes” during the pandemic, she said the Greens would not be voting with the Opposition on their “political game”.
“The Liberals are using this no confidence motion as a stunt to play political games with the pandemic, they want Andrews’ scalp,” Ms Sandell said.
“And right now, we think Victorians want politicians more to focus on how we actually get through this pandemic and out of restrictions.”
Mr Carroll said: “Today is obviously a political stunt, we know it will fail.”
Tasmania to open border to all states and territories except Vic, NSW
Tasmania will open its border to all Australian states and territories, except Victoria and NSW, on October 26.
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said on Tuesday they will continue to monitor the case numbers in NSW over the next week and make another announcement on October 19.
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein.Credit:Getty Images
"I'm certainly not ruling out easing restrictions with NSW at this stage, as I've said it's important, as we have done right through this, to sensibly, responsibly, cautiously consider the best pathway forward," he said.
"We won't put Tasmanians at risk. We have made that commitment right through this, the health, safety and wellbeing of Tasmanians is the first and foremost thought in our mind."
He said that Victoria will remain closed to Tasmania but they will continue to monitor the situation.
The Tasmanian public health team will provide advice in relation to Victoria and other hotspots by December 1.
Those travelling into Tasmania will be required to download a new app and enter their travel and contact details.
There will also be health screening for all arrivals, including temperature checks and a questionnaire about symptoms.
Authorities investigating whether RMH patients are contracting COVID-19
By Paul Sakkal
Victoria’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Andrew Wilson says the Victorian Health Department’s public health unit is examining the possibility that patients at the Royal Melbourne Hospital have been picking up the virus at the hospital.
He said it was not yet clear whether this had been occurring but authorities were working to determine reports it had received.
The Royal Melbourne Hospital.Credit:Pat Scala
Meanwhile, Professor Wilson told ABC radio there was no evidence poor personal protective equipment protocols played a role in the outbreak at Box Hill hospital which grew to 11 cases on Monday.
He said fit-testing - where high-grade masks are appropriately fitted to each healthcare worker’s face - had not yet been rolled out at all Victorian hospitals.
“What’s supposed to be in place by the end of the month is the development of the program,” he said, adding that fit-testing had been undertaken at some hospitals in the northern and western suburbs.
“It’s a complex program to set up, to do it all very quickly and across the whole of our huge health system but it’s definitely underway and moving ahead.
“The number of workers infected, even though we’ve had patients in the hospital, has been coming down because of a range of things people have been doing.”
Analysis: Time to open up more, but we need to prioritise what we value most
It has been a disconcerting two weeks, writes University of Melbourne epidemiologist Tony Blakely.
Five-day COVID-19 daily numbers have stubbornly refused to go below 10 cases per day and have even started increasing again.
Melbourne's deserted CBD.Credit:Quinn Rooney
It is now mathematically impossible that we are going to achieve the target set out in the road map of an average of five new cases per day to release to step three on October 19.
The second target, less than five mystery cases in the past 14 days, looks unlikely.
I can run arguments both ways – to release to step three on October 19, and to not release to step three.
Read the rest of Mr Blakely's analysis here.
Victoria records 12 new cases and one death
Victoria has recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus and one death in the past day.
The state’s 14-day rolling average is now 10.4, up from 10.3 on Monday.
Tuesday’s figures come after 14, 12 and 15 cases in the last three days.
Trump tests negative for COVID-19: White House physician
US President Donald Trump's White House doctor says Trump has tested negative for COVID-19 on consecutive days using a newer rapid test from Abbott laboratories.
The assessment from Navy Commander Sean Conley comes as Trump is travelling to Sanford, Florida, to headline his first campaign rally on Monday since becoming infected with the coronavirus.
Conley had said in a written memo released over the weekend that Trump is no longer at risk of spreading the virus to others.
Conley said in a fresh update released on Monday that Trump tested negative for COVID-19 on consecutive days using a newer 15-minute test. He did not say when Trump was tested.
Trump announced October 2 that he had tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus. He was admitted to Walter Reed military hospital that night and released on October 5.
Over the weekend, Trump addressed scores of supporters who crowded onto the White House lawn from a balcony.
AP
More than 19,000 COVID-19 fines in Victoria issued but only 845 paid
By Erin Pearson
The state has issued more than $27.8 million in coronavirus-related fines since the start of the pandemic, but only 845 of the more than 19,000 penalty notices have been paid.
New data from Fines Victoria shows 1424 of the 19,324 COVID-19 fines issued up until August 24 have been withdrawn or cancelled.
Coronavirus breaches were the 20th most common crime in the year to June, out of 114 distinct offence categories that police track.Credit:Justin McManus
The data also shows 18 per cent of fines issued have reached a "notice of final demand" stage. A further 3455 have been registered with Fines Victoria for enforcement.
Of those fined, 1638 people have signed up for payment plans to help them manage the impost.
Read more about the most recent fines data here.
$7m push for Australians to 'Holiday Here This Year'
By Paul Sakkal
The federal government is urging Australians to book road trips and interstate travel as part of a $7 million tourism campaign to “Holiday Here This Year”.
The advertising campaign, fronted by comedian Hamish Blake and his author partner Zoë Foster Blake, will launch across the country today.
Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster Blake are the new faces of Tourism Australia's Holiday Here campaign.
Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the campaign will be targeted to areas of the country that are able to travel without restrictions.
“This campaign is targeted in terms of spending to reflect the reality that not all parts of Australia can travel at present,” he said on ABC’s Radio National.
“But across the rest of the country there are borders open to different jurisdictions and so we do want people to start planning, booking and undertaking holidays because one in 13 Australian jobs depend on our tourism industry.
“We will step into the Victorian market when they are ready and able to do so, and we hope that is as soon as possible.”
Mr Birmingham said the tourism industry, a key employer, would be crucial to the country’s economic recovery.
“Australians have shown enormous enthusiasm already to leave big cities, hop in their cars and undertake road trips within just a few hours of those homes,” he said.
“What we now want them to think about during the summer holiday and beyond is booking a real holiday where they take a week or two, hop on a plane, support the jobs of people in airlines, hotels, hire car operators and our tour operators.”
Today's main stories
Here is a wrap of the stories making headlines today.
Andrews to face fresh scrutiny as Parliament resumes
By Sumeyya Ilanbey
The Andrews government will face fresh scrutiny over the bungling of the hotel quarantine program and its two major scalps - Health Minister Jenny Mikakos and the head of the public service Chris Eccles - when Parliament resumes today.
The Opposition will this week move a motion of "no confidence" in Premier Daniel Andrews, but it is unlikely to garner any support in the Legislative Assembly where Labor has a 55-38 majority.
The Andrews government has been plunged into crisis following the explosive testimonies of senior cabinet ministers and top public servants at the hotel quarantine inquiry, that has so far been unable to establish who made the fateful decision to hire private security to guard returned travellers.
The bungling of the hotel scheme has led to a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, infecting almost 20,000 people and killing more than 750.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos last month resigned after the Premier gave evidence he held her “accountable” for the hotel quarantine program, directly contradicting her statement that the scheme was “shared accountability”.
Department of Premier and Cabinet Secretary Chris Eccles resigned on Monday following his access to phone records that revealed he called then-Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton in a key six-minute window that could hold the answer to who made the decision to use private security.
Mr Eccles maintains neither he nor his department made the decision hire guards for the hotels scheme.
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2020-10-12 22:34:00Z
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