Police arrest 92 protesters in Melbourne – as it happened

Federal minister for Veteran Affairs and Defence Personnel Andrew Gee has released a statement, slamming the protesters at the Shrine of Remembrance yesterday, and thanking those who have helped “restore the sanctity of Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance”.

He says community members had to remove rubbish and clean up the shrine, and that all memorials should be above any protest:

I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to all those who have come together to restore the sanctity of Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance following its appalling use as a protest site yesterday.

We have witnessed our veterans and community members volunteering their time to remove discarded glass, bottles and other debris abandoned during the protest.

I would like to recognise and congratulate their community spirit in undertaking this clean up.

They shouldn’t have had to do it.

Further, I extend a special thank you to all our veterans who have taken the time to visit the Shrine and assist with this important work. I know for many veterans this would have been heartbreaking and caused enormous distress.

Yesterday’s events were shameful and denigrated our service men and women, veterans and their families. I hope none of us will ever see this sort of disrespect again.

All of our memorials should be above any form of protest as they stand timelessly to remind all Australians of those who have served and sacrificed for our nation.

The Shrine of Remembrance is a solemn place of reflection and commemoration and is recognised as such around Australia and the world.

All those who have given their time to restore the Shrine have done Victoria and Australia proud.

So the NRL-QLD government-TGA fracas has continued, with the TGA releasing a statement saying it supports providing incentives and said it considered the NRL to be fully compliant:

The TGA considers the NRL to be fully compliant and did not consider taking compliance action against the NRL at any stage.

However, the statement also says the NRL is offering tickets to people “who have had or will have their second vaccination at the vaccination centre.”

This is important because the protestations of Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath centred around the cancelling of tickets for people receiving only their first dose.

TGA guidelines forbid providing incentives for people getting the first dose, the exact red tape that left D’Ath fuming.

It is unclear if the statement is meant to smooth things over, or to indicate they have resolved the issue, but I feel like this issue is not going away yet.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has released a statement saying that vaccine booster shots should be expected by the end of October.

The group said they were looking closely at international data on Covid infections in people who have been fully vaccinated, as well as looking at the safety and efficacy of additional doses for high-risk groups and the wider population.

The group expects a “relatively small cohort” will require a full third dose, including those who are immunocompromised.

Separately, Atagi also foresees that booster shoots may be needed for other groups, and will provide preliminary advice on the need and timing of these shots by the end of October.

Shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong was on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, and as always there’s a lot to pick through. Fortunately I am here to provide the highlights.

Wong was initially asked about the fallout after the government decided to cancel a $90bn French submarine contract to take up nuclear powered submarines from the US, and she said the French reaction reflected the lack of “diplomatic legwork” done before the deal:

I think, what this demonstrates yet again is Mr Morrison is so focused on making a flashy announcement he simply doesn’t do the leg work that’s needed. I mean, he clearly didn’t engage with the French in a way that ensured we didn’t see the sort of diplomatic fallout we have seen.

We have seen the French say that on the same day he was standing up to make the announcement, they got a letter saying that all was well with their project. Now, that’s no way to handle a partner, an important Indo-Pacific partner, and a country which does share many of our interests and values when it comes to the multi-lateral system as well as the region in which we live.

Wong was also asked if the bipartisan support for the deal was waning after she warned the government against sacrificing the country’s sovereignty as part of this deal earlier today:

What we are actually seeing here is the leader of the nation, Scott Morrison, picking a political fight. Picking a political fight when we have been really clear about our support for the partnership, our recognition of the capability argument which is why we’re prepared to take the approach that the government is taking, but we have put reasonable questions that past governments, both Labor and Liberal, have addressed and instead of answering those reasonable questions, this bloke’s reflex is to pick a political fight. That’s not leadership.

So, earlier today, before a lot happened, the Queensland government announced that the NRL was giving away finals tickets to people who get vaccinated at the Pinkenba or Brisbane Entertainment Centre vaccination hubs today.

There has been a hitch, though. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has advised the NRL to suspend the scheme, reportedly because the giveaway should only be given to people who are fully vaccinated under TGA guidelines.

The advice did not go down well with the Queensland government, with health minister Yvette D’Ath slamming the decision and calling on the TGA to “fix this.”

Can I say, this is bureaucracy gone mad.

Are we supposed to be vaccinating people in this country against Covid or not?

Greg Hunt needs to step in and fix this.

Fix this, fix it now. This is ridiculous.

Victoria Police have released a statement on the incident in Flinders Station I referenced earlier, although they say very little.

I’ll just publish the statement in full:

Victoria Police are aware of a video circulating on social media depicting an arrest at Flinders Street Station.

The exact circumstances around the incident are yet to be determined and are under investigation by both Transit Safety Division and Professional Standards Command.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, including the person who took the footage and the person depicted in the vision, are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Earlier at his press conference, the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said the federal government has been treating government spending on his state like “foreign aid”.

Andrews was responding to what he called “offensive” remarks made by the federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who said he had rejected a request for special financial assistance for Victoria’s building industry because the commonwealth had already provided “significant funding” to the state.

On Sky News on Wednesday, Frydenberg said he made it “clear” to his Victorian counterpart Tim Pallas that the commonwealth had already done its part:

I made it clear to him that we have already provided very significant funding to Victoria including the Covid disaster payment, where we pick up the bill, and around $2bn has already been made available to 570,000 people in Victoria, including those who may have been affected by the construction industry interruption.

But Andrews was not impressed:

I’m disappointed that the [federal] treasurer has indicated that Victoria won’t be getting what NSW got.

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.

We’re part of this country, we pay our taxes, we pay more than our fair share of taxes. We create more than our fair share of wealth and opportunity and prosperity in our nation and it is offensive.

South Australia Health’s Dr Emily Kirkpatrick has confirmed the state has recorded a new Covid case in a medi-hotel.

Kirkpatrick said authorities were confident the case was a historical infection.

With regards to the truck driver who passed through the state and tested positive on his return to NSW, Kirkpatrick said 130 close contacts have gone into quarantine, all linked to exposure sites, saying the truckie’s movements and infectiousness have created a “real risk” for the state.

Brett Holmes, from the NSW’s Nurses and Midwives’ Association, has told ABC News he welcomes NSW Health’s callout for doctors, nurses and other health professionals who have left the workforce to return to help with the response.

We certainly welcome this call for some of those people who have recently left the workforce to come back and provide assistance, and the registration authority has opened up that new sub-register to extend the scope that people can undertake in helping with the response to Covid-19.

As we see more of our staff need to return from vaccination centres, then many of those positions could be filled by practitioners who have recently left, or they’re able to come into the hospital or community health services to provide some backup and support to a health system that has really been stretched and is expected to be stretched even further.

Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon. A quick thanks to Matilda Boseley for another sterling shift this morning. There is still much going on, so let’s dive in.

With that, I shall leave you in the capable hands of Mostafa Rachwani.

Stay well, everyone!

Reporter:

Victoria locked down much more rapidly than NSW did. On day 50 of their outbreak, they had 260 cases, we hit day 50 with 766, why do you think that is?

Daniel Andrews:

A whole range of different factors. They didn’t go through what we went through last year. That may be one reason. I think fatigue in our community is a very real thing. That’s why it’s so hard. But it’s so important we just see this thing through. It’s only a few weeks we’ll be able to end this lockdown. Please, go and get vaccinated, it’s our pathway out. It’s how we get the place open.

We can never be definitive about it, chains of transmission, the way things spread. There’s an element of chance and good fortune or otherwise in these things also. Probably the speed with which they got to that 50% and other double-dose thresholds.

We’re not having a go at them. I think some of those things do start to shape the curve of this thing. Our main thing now is we’ve all got to work as hard as we can to make sure the numbers don’t continue to grow really fast.

Daniel Andrews has been asked about his reaction to protesters attending the Shrine of Remembrance yesterday who, among other things, urinate publicly:

It’s a disgusting thing. It’s sacred place. We honour the sacrifice of those who gave so much. It’s not appropriate to be there. It’s just not. You should be there for silent reflection and for an honouring of those who gave everything for us. Not violent protests.

For the veteran community, for serving men and women, for fair-minded people across the state, it’s very jarring, it’s very confronting. And it’s deeply offensive to in any way disrespect that sacred place.

Gosh, “there are some very strange dudes on social media, with some very strange ideas” is such an evergreen statement.

Just an update on the vaccination hub that has been closed due to safety concerns in Melbourne.

While two Cohealth services were closed, only one administered the vaccine, the other is a more general service centre for people experiencing homelessness.

This scuffle over the resignation of a senior government adviser continues.

Dan Andrews:

You might have a look at when their contract was ending ... I am not in the habit of getting up here and making things up. My position is that what is being reported is not accurate.

Reporter Paul Sakkal:

You’re not willing to say why that is?

Andrews:

I am not willing to enter into a debate or discussion about what are essentially matters of an individual, who is readily identifiable, but what has been put out there is simply wrong ...

Sakkal:

He was not offered another contract?

Andrews:

Clearly.

Sakkal:

Why not?

Andrews:

Again, I am not having a debate with him or with you about him. It has been put to me that he left under certain circumstances. It has been printed that is what occurred and that is not accurate.

Reporter:

We have reached higher case numbers today than we did at any time last year. When you said a couple of weeks ago that we were not trying to reach Covid zero, but that we were trying to keep a lid on it. Where is that lid at the moment and when will the peak be?

Dan Andrews:

The modelling remains unchanged from that were provided to you from the Burnett last week. There is a range which is more positive and a higher number which is clearly more challenging. Numbers will go up. It is not something to be celebrated but to work as hard as we can to shape that trend. They are going to go up but we can all of us, in the choices we make, limit the amount by which they go up.

We’re not going to be able to drive these cases down to zero. That was the health advice. That was a reachable goal for a long time but then it spread so far and wide that it becomes impossible. What is possible though and I say this to all of you, it is possible for us to have less cases rather than more.

Things are getting a little heated as the conversation turns to the slowing supply of Pfizer vaccines.

Reporter:

Why have we not push harder to have more [Pfizer] supply allocated when NSW put that and up in the initial part of their disaster outbreak. Why have we not done the same?

Dan Andrews:

I do not think that is a fair criticism that we did not push back and hard. We have a shortage of supply. And that is my fault, is it?

Seriously. If I am to be criticised that the commonwealth did not order it at the right time or get enough supply or provided to me now, we can have the most robust exchange but let’s be very clear, I do not think it is there to blame the state government for the amount of vaccine we have got because vaccine is not ordered by us ...

If you want to talk about supply, have a chat to minister Hunt or someone else in the federal government. They are the ones who do the ordering, pay for it, ship it in, distributing around the country. We are not doing that.

We are doing more than we said we would do and we’re proud of it: 50% of the program when we said we would do 25%.

I do not think it is unreasonable for me to push back and say, no, I’m not going to stay here and be criticised for supply because I am not responsible for supply.

The premier is asked why the government has decided not to use new home quarantine technological solutions for Victorians returning from Syndey.

Dan Andrews:

The public health advice and the advice of the health department is not needed to go to that level ...

We have done trials and it has worked well, the briefing I have had but we will find other groups to do some trials on and it may be overseas groups, whether students next year or people who have come as a seasonal workers.

Dan Andrews says quarantine arrangements will change significantly once a 80% double rate is reached.

The premier is been asked if Victoria will ever consider running trials of seven- or 10-day quarantine, similar to NSW’s new returned international traveller trial:

Potential. There is a trial going on in NSW announced just ahead of national cabinet meeting last Friday. It carries the support of the chief health officer of the commonwealth, Prof Kelly, to run home quarantine for seven days for a particular group. We will look at that closely and every state and territory look at that closely.

The whole world changes once you get to 80% and if we can go beyond 80% all the better and that means borders can open to the rest of the world and between states, in stages and double-vax people will be given preferential treatment within our country, international travel, going to the pub, going to the football, going to the cricket.

As it should be preferential treatment for double-vaccinated people, that will involve a different quarantine arrangement. I do not think we will use hotel quarantine quite the way we have.

Andrews expects several thousand Victorians will use this new pathway to return home from Sydney.

Many of the reporters at today’s press conference are questioning the need for such stringent quarantine measures for fully vaccinated returning Victorian residents.

Daniel Andrews:

Melbourne is not yet in an extreme zone. We have significant community transmission but I do not think it is a fair comparison to say that Sydney and Melbourne are in exactly the same place, we are not … It is not criticism, it is just the way Delta works.

Reporter:

Why did it take three months to get people means of coming home?

Andrews:

I am here to make these announcements today. The situation is different today to what it was three months ago but not so different to say, come back, no rules and do whatever you want. That is not how it works. Just as there are rules people coming back from regional NSW, who were now in red zones, orange hopefully, but certainly red, no longer extreme, this is also a pathway home, a very clear and obvious one for people who are coming from Sydney. There are rules attached to that.

Dan Andrews:

They are not coming from an orange zone. They are coming from an extreme zone, not even a red zone. As effective double vaccine is against you or me from becoming seriously ill, it does not prevent you from getting the virus and prevent you from spreading the virus.

And that is the last thing we want to do because every case and that is why these numbers, they will bounce around a bit and we do not know what tomorrow’s number will be.

It is a high case number compared to what it has been, it has been relatively stable for the last four five days.

The percentage of those people will end up in hospital. We do not want to invite virus in. But it is proportionate to allow people to come home under these rules and I’m sure there might be different views but I am sure they will be pleased to come home and I will be pleased to have them back because I do not want people locked out of the state.

Questions have begun at the Victorian press conference and a reporter has asked Dan Andrews why 14 days quarantine is still necessary for Victorians returning from Sydney if they are fully vaccinated and have tested negative to Covid-19, given that case numbers aren’t hugely different between the two states.:

We are not the same: 50,000 active cases in NSW, so the pandemic outbreaks are in different positions. The requirement to test and be fully vaccinated is the chief health officer advice and as I’ve said to you on so many occasions, it is an all of our interest to follow the advice on this. We have to take every precaution to not have them bring the virus with them.

Jeroen Weimar:

Of the 21 cases in regional Victoria, one case in Ballarat, a known primary close contact that has been isolating for their entire infectious period.

We have eight cases in Mitchell shire. Six are linked to known cases in three different households and their isolation protocols are strong. We also have a truck driver based in Mitchell shire who was picked up in the routine surveillance testing we introduced a number of months ago which highlights the importance of that routine, testing and picking up the important cases.

We have one more case in Mitchell shire under investigation that came in late last night.

In Bacchus Marsh, Moorabool, we have four new cases linked to exposure sites and work places in metro Melbourne.

In the Macedon Ranges, we have five new cases. Four are known close contacts of an existing case we have been dealing with over the last couple of days and one is known to a separate work place exposure.

In Mildura, one case, which is a known household contact of the positive case we discussed a number of weeks ago, we are still seeing household transmission in that family, otherwise isolating and otherwise well.

One new case in Surf Coast shire, a known primary close contact and finally, one case under investigation in Bendigo, we will update the details of that case in our CHO release later on this afternoon.

Victorian testing commander Jeroen Weimar is up now, breaking down today’s record case numbers:

In the northern suburbs, we have 468 cases, that is over 60% of today’s cases. Particularly call out the local government area of Hume where we have 264 cases in yesterday’s numbers. That is a 60% increase in the last four days.

We are doing a lot of work with the community in Hume to see what we can do to support them and reduce the rate of transmission. The suburbs of concern include Craigieburn, Roxborough Park and Meadow Heights.

In our western suburbs, we have 172 cases around 22% of today’s total, in key suburbs such as Hoppers Crossing, Point Cook and Werribee.

We continue to see cases in our south-eastern suburbs, so 10% of today’s cases, 76 cases in the south-east, across Pakenham, Dandenong and Berwick and there is 24 cases in Doncaster East and Croydon.

We also have two cases that were acquired interstate in today’s numbers and three cases that remain under investigation.

Acting chief health officer Deb Friedman has reminded the state that from midnight tonight all construction workers must have had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine:

A reminder that the deadline for first dose construction vaccinations is midnight tonight and this is now more significant to construction in regional Victoria, which remains operating in areas that are not under lockdown.

But it is a very good reminder also for Melbourne construction workers to use this two-week pause in order to go and get vaccinated.

Dan Andrews has congratulated the police on their efforts to control the protests yesterday – 215 people were arrested:

Can I send my best wishes to every family member of every member of Victoria police, every family will be anxious to think their loved ones, doing their job with their skills and their commitment and their passion, to keep all of us safe, it is a difficult and challenging time. They are in our thoughts as well.

Police were very effective yesterday and I thank them for putting themselves in harm’s way to keep the rest of us safe. I would hope today and in days to come, there is not a need for that, that instead people are following the rules and doing the right thing so we can get construction open. That is what we want to do. That is our aim and I am confident we will achieve that.

The Victorian premier has condemned protesters who allegedly verbally abused and spat on workers at the Melbourne town hall vaccination hub.

Dan Andrews:

Yesterday we saw some appalling behaviour down at town hall, where a number of people who are vaccinating vulnerable Victorians were treated appallingly by some people pretending to be legitimate protesters. That’s not called for.

These people are doing the very best of work. They are vaccinating people, providing people with close to certainty – not absolute but close to certainty – that they will not become gravely ill.

Why would you abuse, as I’m told, why would you spit on people who are doing that sort of work?

That is ugly, that is uncalled for. I am not sure whether those people can be identified but if they can, it is my expectation that Victoria police will deal with them.

Daniel Andrews says home quarantine for Victorians returning from Sydney will not be “technology-enabled” but will be monitored and enforced:

There will be rules that home quarantine is serious, it is not a matter of when you feel like it, it will be a proper 14 days and there will be various mechanisms to check on people.

It will not be technology-enabled. We don’t think we need to do that. We think, however, given the number of cases here and that are in New South Wales, the growing vaccination numbers and our proximity to those first dose – 70% double dose and 80% thresholds, this is a proportionate and the right thing to do. I am pleased to announce that today. If there is further information we need to provide, we will update you on that.

Andrews says 75.2% of Victorians 16 and over have had at least one dose of vaccine and 45.6% have had both.

Here are the details of those four Covid-19 deaths in Victoria today.

Daniel Andrews:

There were 766 new cases yesterday, all are locally acquired. That brings us to a total of 6,666 active cases across Victoria.

I am sad to have to confirm a man in his 80s from Moreland, a man in his 70s from Hume, a man in his 80s from Hume and a woman in her 90s from Hume have all passed away.

I extend, on behalf of the government and all Victorians, our sympathies and condolences to their families during this difficult time.

There are 257 people that are currently in hospital with Covid-19. 60 are in intensive care and 41 are on a ventilator ...

Of those cases, that is to say yesterday’s cases, 81% weren’t vaccinated, 15% were partially vaccinated and just 3% of people were fully vaccinated.

Three per cent is actually a bit higher than it would normally be and the deputy premier noted yesterday that there are a number of people who have come from aged care and have a number of underlying conditions.

The Victorian premier is speaking now.

NSW deputy chief health officer Dr Marriane Gale is giving the hospital numbers:

We have 1,244 people who are hospitalised with Covid-19, 233 people are in the intensive care unit and 112 people are currently requiring ventilators.

Of the 233 people in ICU, 179 are not vaccinated, 48 people have had their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and six people have received two doses.

As the minister said, we’re really pleased to see declining numbers in areas of western Sydney and south-western Sydney.

Brad Hazzard:

Children aged 12 to 15, we opened up the vaccination opportunities now just over 9 to 10 days ago and already 28% of children 12 to 15 are vaccinated. That is amazing. Thank you to all the young people out there.

Here are the details of those six Covid deaths from NSW Health:

Of those who died, four people were not vaccinated. One person – a woman in her 90s – had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and one person – a woman in her 50s with significant underlying health conditions – had received two doses.

A woman in her 90s from Dubbo died at St Mary’s Villa Aged Care Facility in Dubbo where she acquired her infection. This is the fourth death linked to an outbreak at this facility.

NSW Health extends its sincere condolences to their loved ones.

There have been 266 COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since 16 June 2021 and 322 in total since the start of the pandemic.

The stay-at-home orders for Glen Innes and Orange LGAs will no longer apply from midnight tonight, NSW Health has confirmed in a press release.

I assume we will hear more about this at the press conference soon.

Brad Hazzard says second dose vaccination rates are climbing rapidly in NSW:

I want to start by announcing that our vaccination rates have come along extraordinarily well.

First doses are up to 83.6% now. Second doses are sitting at 55.5%. That is quite a remarkable increase. Only two days ago, our first doses were sitting at 82.5%. That is about a per cent increase since that time. It is going up at about 0.5% each day for the first doses.

The second doses two days ago were sitting at 53%. They are going up a per cent a day for second doses. That is quite remarkable.

Here is what that looks like on the daily NSW case number graph:

Labor’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Penny Wong, is addressing a United States Studies Centre webinar now. We previewed this speech this morning but she has faced a question about the assurances she’s seeking on the submarine deal.

Readers may have seen that Scott Morrison in Washington DC this morning accused Labor of having an “each-way bet” on national security. Wong said Labor had been consistent in supporting the new defence arrangement known as Aukus. She said Labor had received official briefings and accepted the case that had been made on the need for nuclear-propelled submarine capability:

But I think it’s entirely reasonable to talk about how these new arrangements will be implemented.

Wong said Australia had, for some time, gained benefit from the US alliance in terms of access to advanced technology and to intelligence. In more recent years, she said, both militaries had also worked on greater interoperability (essentially closer integration):

I think this new arrangement is not entirely new in terms of kind or character but it is different in terms of degree, so we just have to think through, as we have with previous arrangements, how it is we ensure we retain our independent decision making capacity in circumstances where there is a greater degree of technological dependence and we need to ensure that the arrangements we enter into reflect that desire for our sovereign strategic capability.

French president Emmanuel Macron has not yet taken a call from Scott Morrison amid continuing fury in Paris over the torn-up submarine deal.

Morrison said he hoped to speak to Macron “when the time is right and when the opportunity presents” but he understood “the hurt and the disappointment” felt by France over the cancellation of the $90bn arrangement.

Macron and Joe Biden spoke by phone on Wednesday, nearly a week after the announcement of the defence partnership between Australia, the US and the UK prompted France to complain that it had been deliberately kept in the dark.

A joint statement issued by Macron and Biden after the call said that both leaders had “agreed that the situation would have benefited from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners”.

You can read the full report below:

It looks as though we will be hearing from Victorian premier Daniel Andrews at 11.15am today as the state records its worst day of Covid-19 case numbers yet, with 766 local infections overnight.

It seems there has been a fair amount of debate about the international border at the Queensland press conference. I’ll try to bring you the full quotes soon.

A Nine security officer has been slammed to the ground and detained by police, reports the Age newspaper, before the scheduled fourth day of protests in Melbourne’s CBD.

According to the paper, which is owned by Nine, the guard had left a group of media “before being intercepted by police, slammed to the ground and held face-down by four officers”.

One officer allegedly had his knee in the man’s neck as he screamed.

He was led away but it seems he was released from custody a short time later.

Only one arrest has been made linked to ongoing protests this morning outside the CFMEU building, the ABC reports.

A large police presence has once again descended on Melbourne’s CBD in expectation of another day of protests this morning.

The Shrine of Remembrance is empty after multiple police officers were struck at the site yesterday afternoon. Police arrested 215 people, most for breaching of the chief health officer’s directions.

No NSW premier at today’s 11am press conference, with health minister Brad Hazzard fronting the media today.

Well. This graph is upsetting.

There’s a massive jump in case numbers for Victoria from yesterday.

Shepparton fruit and vegetable processor SPC says 98% of its employees have now booked in for their first and second Covid-19 vaccine since the company mandated the vaccination in August.

On 5 August SPC became the first corporate company in Australia to require all staff and contractors to be fully vaccinated in order to work.

At the company’s West Sydney facility, 100% of employees have now booked in for their second vaccination.

SPC says it’s now well on track to reach 100% compliance by its end of November target, and is “in conversation” with employees who haven’t yet complied, McPherson Media reports.

Last month Shepparton police began investigating social media threats against the canned processor made in the wake of the mandate.

Since SPC’s announcement, a number of organisations including Qantas and LaTrobe University have introduced mandatory vaccination requirements.

You can read Guardian Australia’s previous reporting on this below:

Australians will need to adjust to less forensic tracking and tracing of Covid-19 infections even as case numbers continue to rise, according to the expert leading the Doherty Institute’s epidemiological modelling.

Prof Jodie McVernon has confirmed she is working with governments to gradually de-escalate the public health responses rolled out during the first, second and third waves of the pandemic.

McVernon said the new policy development process involved identifying the “core response actions that will get you the majority of the impact”. She said higher vaccination rates were enabling the necessary step-change in infection control strategies such as contact tracing.

“We can’t discuss this in detail yet, but we are obviously looking at what is happening in the public health response right now, and understanding what is making the biggest impact,” she told Guardian Australia.

You can read the full report below:

The media helicopter was grounded in Melbourne yesterday, with police fearing protesters may have been using the live stream aerial footage to gain information about tactics officers were using on the ground.

This matter is now in front of the federal court.

Just to reiterate, the peak of Victoria’s outbreak has now climbed above the peak of last year’s second wave. It should be noted that the number of Covid-19 deaths recorded is still significantly lower than in 2020.

Snow down on the island this weekend!

The former federal frontbencher Darren Chester has declared the National party needs to have a “credible policy” on emissions reduction and sustainability which includes an aspirational target of net zero by 2050.

Chester’s intervention, which follows public positioning by metropolitan Liberals this week, comes before a speech the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, will make to business leaders on Friday highlighting changing dynamics in global capital markets and problems associated with carbon risk.

Barnaby Joyce dumped Chester from the ministry when he returned to the Nationals leadership in June. The Victorian National told Guardian Australia he supported the commitment by the National Farmers’ Federation to an economy-wide target of net carbon zero by 2050.

He characterised the NFF’s position as “eminently sensible”.

You can read the full story from Katharine Murphy and Daniel Hurst below:

Hmmm, it’s 9am. Where are our Victorian Covid-19 numbers? Hurry up, Dan!

My lovely Queensland readers, we will be hearing from your leader at 10am AEST today. I’ll bring you the updates here.

The Melbourne v Sydney rivalry is really heating up this morning with this rather pointed Daily Telegraph front page:

OK, I spent a lot of time on this blog making fun of Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s social media adventures (and terrible graphic design choices) but I have to give it to her. Her TikTok game is surprisingly strong.

Big props to the gen Z media manager she must have hired!

Federal Labor faces an insurrection over its captain’s pick of Daniel Repacholi for the New South Wales seat of Hunter, with a former local union leader vowing to run as an independent, and other candidates pushing ahead with nominations in protest at the move.

Daniel Wallace, a former secretary of Hunter Workers, which represents affiliated unions in the region, has told the national executive and the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, of his intention to run unless a rank-and-file ballot is held.

While the national executive is set to confirm Repacholi’s nomination at a meeting on Friday, party members are enraged about the decision, with three candidates still expected to nominate in defiance of Albanese’s wishes – paying a $75o nomination fee to do so.

Cessnock nurse Emily Suvaal is pushing ahead with a nomination to the national executive, saying she believes “a discussion around improving healthcare for regional communities” should be at the forefront of Labor’s election bid.

You can read the full report below:

Does this mean this is the only active construction site in Victoria right now?

If you are keen to hear from Kevin Rudd being extremely not happy, he actually wrote about it for Guardian Australia yesterday:

Scott Morrison’s determination to put political spin over national security substance in welcoming a new era of nuclear submarines (now to be brought to you exclusively from the Anglosphere) has undermined one of our most enduring and important global relationships – namely with the French Republic.

While the prime minister’s office would have been delighted with the television images from Washington and London to show the “fella from down under” mixing it with the big guys and being hairy chested about China, no one there seems to have given a passing thought to the cost to Australian interests that will come from Morrison’s cavalier treatment of France.

Have a read of the full opinion piece below:

A little blog treat for you this morning!

Kevin Rudd has been out and about this morning criticising Scott Morrison’s handling of the submarine deal and subsequent alienation of France.

The former PM has just spoken to ABC radio:

This has got foreign policy debacle written all over it – that’s why I weighed into this debate ...

The only explanation for secrecy about the unilateral cancellation of the French contract is that Morrison was seeking a wow factor in relation to Australian domestic politics and possibly a broader wow factor in the international community ...

The French now have every possibility of working against our wider strategic interests, not just in Brussels but in a broader sense of allied solidarity in dealing with China’s rise.

That’s where the cost to Australia has yet to be fully calculated.

Boris Johnson has reopened the rift with Paris over the Aukus defence and security deal, urging the French to “prenez un grip about this and donnez-moi un break”, after he and Joe Biden discussed deepening the pact.

The UK prime minister was speaking in Washington, where he attended a dinner on Tuesday evening with Scott Morrison after meeting the US president at the White House.

Johnson and Biden talked about extending their cooperation through the pact to cover further issues including safeguarding human rights and promoting free markets – and ruled out inviting more countries to join.

Johnson said: “What I found on Capitol Hill was that they want to populate the agenda with all sorts of other things which matter.”

He cited the need for a western rival to the telecom giant Huawei, which the UK government decided to remove from some parts of the country’s critical infrastructure because of security concerns.

You can read the full report below:

So I think the biggest takeaway from that media appearance was that it seems Scott Morrison has been attempting to get the French president on the phone to discuss this whole submarine saga but Emmanuel Macron won’t take his calls just yet.

Reporter:

Did you hear Paul Keating’s comments about Aukus?

Morrison:

No.

Scott Morrison has labelled yesterday’s anti-lockdown protests that ended at Melbourne’s Shine of Remembrance “disgraceful”:

I think that the scenes were disgraceful and the conduct was disgraceful. I think that the RSL president put it best. This is a sacred place. It is not a place of protest. It was disrespectful and it dishonoured those Australians who have made the ultimate sacrifice and I would hope any and all who were in that should be ashamed.

Reporter:

The president essentially apologised for a lack of transparency. You said that you communicated with the French, but they clearly still very angry and blindsided. Are you willing to apologise to Macron now or when you speak to him, will you say sorry for what happened?

Morrison:

I acted in accordance with Australia’s national security interests. That is something that Australia should always do, and I think that all Australians would expect me to do. Hard decisions have to be made by prime ministers about our interests. And so, of course, that is something that was necessary for me to do.

I don’t share your interpretation of what the president has said, the US president has said. I don’t think that it is fair for you to paraphrase him or put words in his mouth.

Scott Morrison has been asked if his conversations with UK prime minister Boris Johnson have lead to any additional plans to help get England cricketers to Australia for the Ashes:

You only ever have lively discussions with Boris Johnson and it was tremendous to spend time together last night. At 80% vaccination rates, the plan provides for people to travel again and that’s certainly what we intend to facilitate.

And for vaccinated people to travel. We’re not looking for any special arrangements ...

We’re expecting to be welcoming back students. We’re expecting to be welcoming back skilled migrants. We’re expecting to be welcoming back, when they’re vaccinated, people into the country when they’re vaccinated on that basis. The premiers and I are looking at that. So I look forward to that. I think Australians look forward to that.

Morrison says he is glad the US president managed to have a constructive discussion with France, but seems to imply that the French president isn’t quite ready to jump on the phone to him just yet.

Reporter:

When you went to the Pentagon, Joe Biden was able to make a 30-minute phone call to Emmanuel Macron which could lead to the return of France’s ambassador to Washington by the end of next week.

What is your interpretation of the consequences that flow from that conversation for Australia and the resumption of diplomatic normality in Canberra?

Morrison:

Well, I welcome the fact that they’ve had that discussion and that was discussed between President Biden and I yesterday. So I’m glad that that call took place. I’m glad that he was able to reinforce, not just from the United States’ perspective, but from all partners in this new arrangement, that we very much want to see not only France but all the nations of Europe, our like-minded nations in Europe, playing a very important role in the Indo- Pacific ...

I look forward when the time is right and when the opportunity presents that we will have a similar discussion ...

The opportunity for that call is not yet. But we’ll be patient. We understand their disappointment and that is the way that you manage difficult issues. It’s a difficult decision. It was a very difficult decision.

Scott Morrison:

It’s great to have the strong support of the president and the executive of government and today it was very clear that Congress and the Senate will be backing this in. Now, there’s a lot more work to do, that but that work will be done in a spirit of cooperation and in the spirit of endorsement.

So I think a very successful day for Australia and an important day for Australia. But one where Australia’s ability to contribute to this partnership. And so, not only are our own interests served in that endeavour but also the United States can see the great value at all levels of what we’re seeking to achieve here and they’re getting ready to work with us and that’s fantastic.

Scott Morrison says the US providing Australia with the technology to build nuclear-powered submarines has unwavering support in Washington from both Republicans and Democrats:

Today, Australia received overwhelming support for our Aukus partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom. We received overwhelming support when it came to Australia moving ahead to establish a nuclear submarine fleet for Australia. To ensure that we could contribute to the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific.

There is great enthusiasm for us going ahead with these projects. Whether it’s from the secretary of defense, the bipartisan support that was on display today up on Capitol Hill. Both at the House and Senate levels. In the Congress, there is an overwhelming sentiment towards Australia.

Good morning everyone, Matilda Boseley here, ready to take you through the day’s news.

Let’s start in Sydney where two dozen people at Liverpool hospital have contracted Covid-19 in a week, in the second major outbreak there.

Those infected include 13 patients and two staff members in the orthopaedics ward, five patients in the geriatrics ward, three patients and one staff member in the neurology ward, two patients and one staff member in the renal ward, one patient in the cardiothoracic ward and an intensive care nurse.

All staff members who have tested positive are fully vaccinated, a spokesperson for the hospital said.

The previous outbreak, which came after a nurse unknowingly worked while infectious in late July, left 12 people dead.

In Melbourne police are bracing for a fourth day of protests, though yesterday’s significantly smaller turnout has left many hopeful the demonstrations are winding down.

About 300 to 400 protesters again swarmed the Victorian capital, despite stay-at-home orders and repeated warnings from authorities. They ended up at the Shrine of Remembrance, which led to a tense standoff with police that lasted about three hours.

Riot squad members appeared to fire teargas, rubber bullets and other non-lethal rounds when some of the mob became increasingly hostile and refused to leave.

Victoria police say 215 people were arrested.

Now Scott Morrison is about to speak from the US about the successes he has had convincing France to be our friend again, so why don’t we jump right in and I’ll bring you all those updates as soon as he stands up.