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Treasurer hits back at suggestions federal support for Victorians treated like ‘foreign aid’
By Ashleigh McMillan
The Federal Treasurer has hit back against suggestions financial support for Victoria is being treated like “foreign aid”, blaming the state government for not including construction in their business support agreement.
Friction is building between the Victorian government and the Commonwealth, with Premier Daniel Andrews once again accusing his federal counterparts of giving preferential treatment to NSW when it comes to financial assistance.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has been accused of giving preferential treatment to NSW. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“Victorians are getting sick and tired of every time the Commonwealth government spends $1 in Victoria, it’s treated like it’s foreign aid, like we should bow our heads and be grateful,” Mr Andrews said on Thursday.
But Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he was “not going to take the bait” and give the Victorian government the “distraction” they were looking for.
He said the NSW government had provided additional financial support on top of what the Commonwealth had provided, and that was “an option that’s available now to the Victorian government”.
“In NSW, they chose to put construction in their business support payments that we went 50-50 with,” Mr Frydenberg told radio station 3AW.
“In Victoria, they took a decision not to put construction in [the plan we reached with them]. They included hospitality, they included gyms, they included hairdressers.
“The federal government is providing around twice what the state government is providing right now to Victorian households and businesses, and we’re doing that through the COVID disaster payment.”
He said fully vaccinated tradespeople who didn’t attend this week’s anti-lockdown protests in the Melbourne CBD would now be wondering why they had been shut down, which Mr Frydenberg called a “genuine question only the state government can answer”.
Fifty per cent of over 16s fully vaccinated
By Rachel Clun
We have some early vaccine data from the federal government, and it seems we’ve passed a couple of milestones.
More than 26 million doses have been administered across the country now, and more than half (50.15 per cent) of people aged 16 and up are fully vaccinated.
Georgia Meir, 14, receives her Moderna vaccine from a pharmacist. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Yesterday was the highest daily total of doses administered, with 347,000 doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer and also Moderna put into arms at mass hubs, GP clinics and pharmacists across the country.
It means we’ve also had a record seven-day period, with a bit over 2 million doses administered in the last week.
This week is the first week people have been able to get the Moderna mRNA vaccine – the first deliveries went to 1800 pharmacies around the country earlier this week.
Younger people have also started getting vaccinated in droves, with those aged 12 to 15 also now eligible for the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.
Those adolescents have only been eligible for less than a fortnight, but already 21 per cent of that age group has had at least one dose.
Queensland must learn to live with COVID-19: Treasurer
By Daniella White
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says it would be a bad decision for Queensland to keep its borders shut when the country reaches 80 per cent vaccination coverage, saying the state must learn to live with COVID-19.
It came after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday cast doubt on whether the state would allow interstate travel when the nationally agreed threshold was reached.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Frydenberg said such a decision would cost Queensland jobs and divide families.
“It’s inconsistent with the national plan agreed at national cabinet and it’s denying and delaying the inevitability, and that inevitability is living with the virus,” he told radio station 2GB.
“It can’t be any clearer – you turn on your TV and in the UK and US and in Canada there are thousands of cases every day but they are living with the virus, they’re getting on with their lives.
“My message to Annastacia Palaszczuk is you need to learn to live with the virus and that is really important for Australians to get their lives back in a COVID-safe way.”
Victoria records 733 new cases of COVID-19
By Broede Carmody
Victoria’s daily coronavirus numbers are in.
The state has recorded 733 new, locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and one death. That figure is down from yesterday’s tally of 766 cases.
The Department of Health has not said how many cases are linked to known outbreaks or how many people were already isolating when they received a positive test.
Zero cases were detected in hotel quarantine.
There are now 7160 active cases of coronavirus across the state.
Today’s numbers are off the back of yesterday’s 56,520 COVID tests.
MPs call for Sydneysiders to be banned from northern NSW
By Lucy Cormack, Lucy Carroll and Alexandra Smith
MPs are demanding Sydneysiders be banned from northern parts of NSW, including Byron Bay, once the state reopens, insisting non-essential regional travel should not be allowed until local vaccination rates catch up.
In a bipartisan letter to Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Thursday, Nationals, Labor and Greens MPs said all regional travel was “not good health policy” while jabs were lagging in some areas.
Byron Bay, where vaccinations are below the state average.Credit:
“Without policy changes our region will suddenly become deeply vulnerable to a major influx of newly freed Sydneysiders, while we are still short of the 70 per cent safety target,” they said.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard yesterday conceded regional vaccine supplies were “not as good as they could have been”.
Read the full story here.
Acting PM warns of ‘consequences’ of renewable energy transition
By Daniella White and Broede Carmody
Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Australia needs to be aware of the “consequences” of getting a transition to renewable energy wrong.
He was asked about Treasurer Josh Frydenberg supporting cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The National Party leader said he had no problem with a net zero plan if it did not hurt regional areas, pointing to the UK’s experience with renewable energy as a cautionary tale.
“We’ve got to make sure in every decision we make that we don’t replicate the mistakes of the United Kingdom, suffer the consequences of what’s happening in Europe, or the consequences will be ours,” Mr Joyce said on ABC radio.
“What happened in the UK was that renewables were not able to fill the void and ... they’re having to fill the void by opening closed coal-fired power stations.”
Speaking on the Today show this morning, Mr Frydenberg said he and Mr Joyce had a “good conversation last night”.
“Whether it was the Industrial Revolution, whether it was the digital age, financial markets have reacted to these structural shifts,” the Treasurer said.
“Climate change is no different. It impacts on Australia because we are so heavily reliant on foreign investment. We have about $4 trillion in foreign investment and half of our bonds are bought by foreign investors and bank lending is supported by offshore borrowing.
“Whether it is a household mortgage or a business loan, it is important that we continue to be an attractive place in Australia and we don’t get penalised. That is why I am making it very clear that we have the right regulatory framework in Australia and we stick to our reduction plans and targets.”
Victorian government wanted to keep building amid construction shutdown
By Noel Towell and Paul Sakkal
The Victorian government wanted to keep some of its “big build” construction projects working as it imposed a two-week shutdown on the rest of the industry, but trade union objections put a stop to the plan.
Treasurer Tim Pallas and Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan told a meeting of unions and industry groups on Monday evening that the government planned to keep working on 11 projects, including the flagship Metro Rail tunnel, amid the two-week shutdown imposed on the rest of the industry due to mounting COVID-19 transmission fears.
Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel site under construction. Credit:Joe Armao
But according to four separate sources present at the meeting who were not authorised to speak publicly, there was significant opposition to the government’s plan among key building unions the CFMEU, Electrical Trades Union, the Australian Workers’ Union and the Plumbers’ Union.
The unions were worried the building sites, which also included level crossing removal work and school and hospital projects, would become fresh flashpoints for the trouble that broke out at the CFMEU’s Carlton headquarters on Monday and told the ministers that workers would boycott the government’s construction jobs.
Read the full story here.
‘A big life’: PM remembers former Carlton president
By Rob Harris
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has released a statement on the passing of former Carlton president John Elliott.
He described the former Liberal party heavyweight, and father of 3AW broadcaster Tom Elliott, as a “forthright man who said what he meant and meant what he said”.
“He lived a big life. It was an authentic Australian life,” the PM’s office said in a statement.
“John Elliott seemed to embody much of the ambitious outward looking 1980s. He was a proud Victorian, he took Fosters to the world, led his football club with a passion that won’t ever be forgotten, and loyally supported the Liberal Party through what were lean times.
“Big lives always have their critics, make their fair share of mistakes, but mostly, there is something about them that capture their times. Such people are leaders. John Elliott was such a leader.
“On behalf of the Liberal Party, I extend my condolences to John’s family in their time of grief.”
Sydney schools and regional venues among NSW’s latest exposure sites
By Daniella White
Three Sydney schools have been forced to shut after confirmed cases of COVID-19.
A NSW Education spokesperson said Busby West, Lidcombe and Villawood East public schools, all located in Sydney’s south west, would all be closed on Friday for contact tracing and cleaning.
All staff and students are asked to self-isolate and follow NSW Health directions after COVID-19 cases were reported in the school communities.
“NSW Education will continue to work closely with NSW Health to ensure the health and safety of all students and staff is maintained,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a number of venues in regional NSW have been added to the state’s exposure list.
Sites in 25 regional locations – including Dubbo, Cowra, Shellharbour and Broken Hill – were named as casual contact venues, meaning people who visited must get tested and isolate until receiving a negative result.
The full list of venues can be viewed here.
Primary school, childcare centre among Melbourne’s latest exposure sites
By Ashleigh McMillan
A primary school in Melbourne’s western suburbs and a childcare centre in Melbourne’s north are the latest tier-1 coronavirus exposure sites listed across Victoria.
Sunshine North Primary School was listed as a tier-1 exposure site on September 15, meaning that any students, staff or parents who attended the school will need to isolate for 14 days and get tested immediately.
Joybelle Childcare Cente Fawkner, in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, has been listed as a tier-1 exposure site on September 17.
Other tier-1 exposure sites listed last night include Prestige Tyre and Auto Service in Roxburgh Park, which was visited by COVID-positive person September 16 and 17.
FoodWorks Roxburgh Park has been listed as a tier-2 exposure site on September 16 and 17, but some patrons and staff of the supermarket will be considered tier-1 contacts and need to isolate for 14 days.
North Coburg’s Australian International Academy of Education has also been listed as a tier-2 between 8.30am and 4.30pm on September 14, 15 and 16, with the Department of Health to contact some visitors directly and require them to isolate for two weeks.
The Victorian Department of Health currently has 617 exposure sites listed on its website.
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2021-09-23 23:44:58Z
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