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NSW Premier confident state will reach 90 per cent vaccination
By Sarah McPhee
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet believes the state will reach “well above 90 per cent” vaccination against COVID-19 before the end of the year.
“That’s an incredibly positive thing,” he told radio station 2GB earlier this morning.
First day on the job: NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Mr Perrottet was asked whether NSW’s vaccination rate had been impacted by the decision to announce restrictions would ease for people who are not fully vaccinated in December.
“The advice that we [crisis cabinet] received at that point in time from health was this was the pathway forward,” Mr Perrottet said.
“There’s been a slowdown, but there’s naturally going to be a slowdown if the vaccination rate gets to a high point.”
As Treasurer, Mr Perrottet had said unvaccinated people should enjoy the same freedoms as everybody else once 80 per cent of people aged 16 and over in the state are fully vaccinated, a target expected to be reached later this month.
As for whether there was a double standard for politicians regarding vaccinations not being made mandatory, the Premier said: “I wouldn’t say that.
“We mandated vaccinations in those areas that are deemed to be a high-risk environment, so whether that’s aged care facilities, schools, health care workers, say, paramedics and the like.
“That ensures that those people have close interaction with the public in vulnerable situations are protected and I think that’s the right decision.”
He said as state leaders, “all politicians should be vaccinated”.
“But the democratic principles that we live in and the right for representation for communities, there’s obviously particular challenges in relation to that.
“I know that the presiding officers in the NSW Parliament are currently working through that issue with Parliament set to return next week.”
Mask mandates for schoolchildren ‘makes sense’: Epidemiologist
By Broede Carmody
Nancy Baxter, the head of Melbourne University’s School of Population and Global Health, says it “totally makes sense” for authorities to introduce mask mandates for schoolchildren.
“When we start to ... open up and accept there will be some COVID circulating in our communities, you know, it will become a reality that children are going to become infected,” she told RN Breakfast.
“We know that children aren’t affected by COVID the same way that adults are. It’s been one of the bright lights of the pandemic. But we also know ... if a million kids get infected, there are going to be children who get severely ill and children who, sadly, even die from COVID.
“And if we can prevent it, it totally makes sense to do so.
“Masks, you know, we think of this as radical. But many jurisdictions are requiring masks in school.
“San Francisco has a highly vaccinated community but of course, kids aren’t vaccinated. They went back to school wearing masks and they didn’t have school outbreaks.
“And that is in real, real contrast to many, many other jurisdictions where outbreaks in schools have actually, you know, driven the epidemic in communities and also resulted in many children dying.”
NSW Premier to meet with health officials this morning
By Sarah McPhee
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says he had a “very constructive discussion” with the state’s Health Minister Brad Hazzard after his swearing-in ceremony yesterday afternoon and will meet with health officials this morning.
The newly elected Liberal leader told radio station 2GB there are a number of issues he wants to raise at the meeting about the state’s road map for easing COVID-19 restrictions, including people visiting sick and dying loved ones.
Dominic Perrottet speaking after being elected leader of the NSW Liberal Party and Premier.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Asked about compulsory mask-wearing in offices, lifted in phase three of the road map on December 1, Mr Perrottet said there was no doubt the requirement in an office environment was an “impediment” on people returning to the Sydney and Parramatta CBDs.
But he did not want to pre-empt any decisions ahead of the state’s crisis cabinet meeting later today.
“There’s a number of areas within the road map that can be looked at,” Mr Perrottet said, adding that he would like to see people back in CBDs this year as quickly as possible.
Pressed further by host Ben Fordham, the Premier said: “I might be the boss, Ben, but I’m not a dictator and I’m part of a team.
“There’s a number of issues that I want to raise with our health officials this morning. Whatever we do, we want to make sure it’s done in a way that keeps people safe.
“But, ultimately, it’s important to get people back into town because we want to breathe life into Sydney, we want to breathe life into Parramatta, and all those major city centres because when they do well, there’s so many small businesses that rely on that foot traffic.”
Mr Perrottet said he expects the state to bounce back quickly, given built-up demand heading into December and summer, and a “strong economy out the other side”.
An economic recovery plan will be announced in the next couple of weeks.
IBAC scrutiny on Andrews over firefighters’ union deal
By Nick McKenzie, Sumeyya Ilanbey and Paul Sakkal
Victoria’s anti-corruption body has been examining the conduct of Premier Daniel Andrews and a senior public servant over their role in controversial deals that benefited the firefighters’ union and its boss, Peter Marshall.
While it has been known since 2019 that the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) has been investigating dealings involving the United Firefighters Union (UFU), the fact that its investigators have been scrutinising the Premier’s conduct has not before been confirmed.
Premier Daniel Andrews and firefighters’ union boss Peter Marshall.Credit:
Sources with knowledge of the investigation who are not authorised to comment publicly have confirmed that one aspect of the IBAC investigation involved scrutiny of the Premier’s actions.
The commission refused to comment on its investigation and Mr Andrews on Tuesday repeatedly declined to comment on whether he was aware IBAC was investigating his dealings with the firefighters’ union.
Read the full story here.
Perrottet’s social views won’t dictate legislation: NSW Attorney-General
By Broede Carmody
NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman made an appearance on Seven’s Sunrise earlier this morning.
As you might already know, the new NSW Premier’s social views have been in the spotlight in recent days. Dominic Perrottet is a religious conservative who has voted against legalising abortion and previously voiced his opposition to same-sex marriage.
NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman. Credit:James Brickwood
It’s raised some eyebrows because NSW politicians are expected to debate voluntary assisted dying laws in the not-so-distant future.
But Mr Speakman says the Premier’s personal views won’t dictate future legislation.
Abortion ... in NSW, people can agree or disagree with the outcome, but it has been resolved.
Same-sex marriage has been resolved [federally] by plebiscite.
We have a voluntary assisted dying private member’s bill coming up in NSW. The Liberal Party tradition is to have a conscience vote on those. That’s what [Liberals like] John Howard have done and what we did a few years ago when it came to the Legislative Council.
And on climate change, the proof is in the pudding. Dom is part of a government with an ambitious reductions program committed to reducing emissions by 2030 and committed to zero net emissions by 2050.
We have the most ambitious emissions reduction program in Australia, so the proof is in the pudding.
Childcare centres, library among Victoria’s latest exposure sites
By Cassandra Morgan
In case you missed it, Victorian health authorities identified a number of new COVID-19 exposure sites last night, including childcare centres and a library.
Only About Children at Camberwell, in Melbourne’s east, had been declared a tier-1 or close contact exposure site for Wednesday, September 22 between 7.45am and 5.45pm and again on Monday, September 27 between 8am and 6pm.
Swan Childcare centre at Derrimut, in Melbourne’s west, is tier-1 for Thursday, September 30 between 9am and 5.45pm and also Friday, October 1 between 9am and 5.45pm.
Meanwhile, Nathalia Library in northern Victoria was declared tier-1 for Thursday, September 30 between 9.30am and 5.30pm and again on Friday, October 1 between 9.30am and 1pm.
Anyone who attended the above venues during those timeframes has to immediately get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days from the date of potential exposure, regardless of the test result.
More Victorian exposure sites can be found on the state government’s website here.
Dominic Perrottet targets western Sydney for 2023 election battleground
By Alexandra Smith, Lucy Cormack and Tom Rabe
New NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet plans to divert tens of millions of dollars from a CBD stimulus fund to the city’s west, cementing his government’s focus on western Sydney as the key battleground for the 2023 election.
The 39-year-old Mr Perrottet, sworn in on Tuesday as the youngest Premier in the state’s history after winning a secret Liberal party room ballot against Planning Minister Rob Stokes 39-5, vowed to shift the Coalition’s focus from the pandemic to families and cost of living pressures.
Dominic Perrottet at his first press conference as NSW Liberal leader.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Penrith MP and Jobs Minister Stuart Ayres was appointed Mr Perrottet’s deputy leader, a deal struck to send a message to western Sydney that the Coalition was committed to the city’s fast-growing region.
Mr Perrottet said his first priority as Premier would be to guide NSW through the pandemic recovery, and he would not make wholesale changes to his frontbench until the state is out of lockdown.
Read the full story here.
‘Harder and harder’ to find hospital beds as Victoria’s COVID surge bites
By Aisha Dow, Melissa Cunningham and Annika Smethurst
Doctors say it is becoming harder to find beds for critically ill Victorians and patients who have undergone life-saving surgery amid rising COVID-related hospitalisations, and predict the pressure will worsen before it eases.
As Victoria reported a national daily record of 1763 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths on Tuesday, Australian Medical Association Victoria vice-president Sarah Whitelaw said the hospital system faced mounting challenges in caring for COVID and non-COVID patients.
A COVID-19 isolation ward at the Austin Hospital.Credit:Eddie Jim
A key aim of repeated lockdowns was to stop the hospital system being overwhelmed, but Dr Whitelaw said it was increasingly likely Victoria would face that scenario in coming months.
“I think it would be fair to say everybody is saying this is escalating more quickly than we had hoped,” she said.
Qld borders will ‘not necessarily’ open at 80 per cent: Premier
By Felicity Caldwell
After weeks of evading questions about whether Queensland’s borders would reopen when the state’s vaccination rate hit 80 per cent, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has given her clearest indication yet.
“Not necessarily.”
The Queensland Premier has repeatedly cast doubt over whether the state’s borders will reopen once the vaccination target is hit – expected to be early December – while more than 11,000 Queenslanders remain stranded in NSW or Victoria, some living in tents.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the state’s borders will “not necessarily” reopen when 80 per cent of people aged over 16 have been double vaccinated.Credit:Matt Dennien
The national reopening plan, agreed to by state and territory leaders in July, states that at 80 per cent, there should only be highly targeted lockdowns, and vaccinated residents should be exempt from all domestic restrictions.
But when asked directly on Tuesday, “will the borders open at that 80 per cent?” Ms Palaszczuk simply replied: “Not necessarily.”
“It depends on the situation of the day; it depends on what’s happening in NSW and Victoria.”
Read the full story here.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
By Broede Carmody
Good morning and thanks for your company.
It’s Wednesday, October 6. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.
Here’s everything you need to know before we get started.
- NSW’s Dominic Perrottet has been sworn in as the state’s 46th and youngest-ever premier. He will receive health briefings this morning as he prepares to steer the state out of lockdown. Mr Perrottet says he wants to take his state from “good to great”. Meanwhile, NSW Nationals MPs will elect the state’s new deputy premier later this morning following John Barilaro’s resignation earlier this week. Transport and Roads Minister Paul Toole is considered the frontrunner. It comes as the Perrottet government prepares to target western Sydney ahead of the 2023 election. NSW yesterday recorded 608 new cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths.
- Doctors say it is becoming harder to find beds for critically ill Victorians amid rising COVID-related hospitalisations. Experts predict the situation will get worse before it gets better. It comes as Premier Dan Andrews insists Melbourne will begin to reopen once his state’s 70 and 80 per cent double-dose targets are met. Earlier this week, the Victorian capital claimed the title of the world’s most locked-down city. Yesterday, there were 1763 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Victoria and four deaths (a national record for daily case numbers).
- Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is this morning isolating after a staffer at his Melbourne electorate office tested positive to COVID-19. His office has been closed and deep cleaned. Mr Frydenberg says he has so far tested negative for the virus.
- In Queensland, there were two new cases reported yesterday – one linked to south-east Qld’s aviation cluster and another detected in someone arriving in Brisbane from interstate. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says her borders won’t “necessarily” open at an 80 per cent vaccination rate. She insists it “depends on the situation of the day” and “what’s happening in NSW and Victoria”.
- The ACT recorded 33 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday and five deaths. There are fourteen coronavirus patients in Canberra hospitals and 94 per cent of Canberrans have received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine (65.1 per cent have received both doses).
- In sports news, Football Australia says it will hold an independent investigation after Matildas veteran Lisa De Vanna suggested she was sexually harassed, indecently assaulted, bullied and groomed during incidents dating back to 2001.
- And in international news, a Facebook employee-turned-whistleblower says the social media giant is putting “astronomical profits before people”. Former product manager Frances Haugen has called for politicians to rein in the power of big tech while testifying before US Congress. She says Facebook’s products “harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy”.
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2021-10-05 21:44:08Z
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