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Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce says NSW’s home quarantine trial is an important first step towards restarting international travel, but he wants to see the rules relaxed further as more of the population is vaccinated.

Qantas crew operating international repatriation flights will take part in the four-week trial, allowing double-vaccinated travellers to quarantine at home rather than in a hotel.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce. Credit:Dom Lorrimer

“This is very welcome news for our crews who have been flying overseas to bring Australians home and to carry essential freight, chalking up months in quarantine since the pandemic began,” Mr Joyce said.

Mr Joyce said Qantas had been working closely with the federal and NSW governments on the shift to home quarantine, which was an “important stepping stone in re-starting international passenger services”.

“As vaccine rates rise here and overseas, we’d like to see quarantine requirements relax further,” he said.

Qantas is set to resume regular international flying from December 18, based on the belief the federal government will reopen Australia’s international border before Christmas.

The airline has flights scheduled to London, the US, Singapore, Canada, Fiji and Japan from December 18 to 20.

The home quarantine trial for travellers returning from overseas to Sydney will be launched in the coming weeks and will allow 175 people to isolate for seven days at home instead of in a hotel.

Victorian health authorities have identified a number of new COVID-19 exposure sites, including a primary school in Melbourne’s south east.

Ramlegh Park Primary School at Clyde North was declared a tier-1 or close contact site on Tuesday, September 7 and Wednesday, September 8, between 8.30am and 3.25pm on both days.

The luggage hall at Southern Cross Station at Docklands is among new tier-2 exposure sites. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

Anyone who attended the school during those timeframes has to immediately get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure, regardless of whether they receive a negative test result.

The remainder of new sites are tier 2, but authorities warned there would be some close contacts identified at the Southern Cross Station luggage hall, otherwise declared a casual contact exposure site over four days.

Also among the new tier-2 sites was a V/Line regional train network replacement bus service. Hundreds of V/Line staff are currently in isolation and a majority of services have been suspended after several front-line workers on the network tested positive for COVID-19.

Two tier-2 sites were in the regional locked-down city of Ballarat; BIG W and Best & Less at Bridge Mall Shopping Centre.

A full list of Victorian exposure sites can be found here.

The local government area of Glen Innes Severn in regional NSW will enter a week-long lockdown at 6pm tonight.

NSW Agriculture Minister and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall confirmed the decision on his Facebook page shortly before 2pm.

“I have just been advised moments ago by the Health Minister and NSW Chief Health Officer that a decision has been taken to place the Glen Innes Severn LGA into a 7-day lockdown, from 6pm tonight, as a result of a known COVID case (announced yesterday) active in the community,” Mr Marshall said.

“I am very sorry and realise this was not the news many of you were wanting to hear, especially small business owners, and I fully appreciate the stress and strain this will place on you.”

Glen Innes Severn was one of the regional NSW LGAs to come out of lockdown last Saturday, September 11.

Mr Marshall said he was alerting the community ahead of the formal announcement “to give everyone as much notice as possible”.

“Many of you have already asked about why Glen Innes was not mentioned at the 11am press conference - my understanding is that the independent panel was still doing its work assessing the Glen Innes situation and data from other LGAs across the State where there are also new confirmed cases at the time, so an announcement could not be made at that time.”

He said the case had been active in the local community and outside the community for three days while infectious but a lockdown of seven days, rather than 14, has been recommended based on the level of risk.

The Children’s Court in Melbourne may be a COVID-19 exposure site.

Court Services Victoria said in a statement to The Age that the Department of Health notified the courts that a potential positive case visited the precinct at 477 Little Lonsdale Street.

But it shouldn’t have a serious impact on the operation of the court, given the court has the capability to hear cases online.

“Children’s Court matters are currently being heard online, and all cases listed for today will be heard,” a spokesperson said.

“We have closed the Melbourne Children’s Court registry today.”

Applications for urgent family violence intervention orders can still be made by telephone or online at the Broadmeadows and Moorabbin Children’s Court, or the Magistrate’s Court.

The response was vastly different to what occurred with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after it was listed as an exposure site last week.

The exposure at the tribunal effectively shut down the court because staff were still working in the building, due to technological limitations, meaning dozens of already delayed cases were again adjourned this week.

Public school students in Western Australia will be able to get their vaccinations on campus from Term 4 in a new measure to get as many COVID-19 jabs into arms as possible.

Students will still need to get permission from their parents to get a vaccination just like other similar programs run in the public system.

Western Australia’s Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery.Credit:Peter De Kruijff

Children aged 12 and above are already eligible to get the Pfizer vaccine in Western Australia but the state’s Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery said new measures would just be an additional program to help the roll-out.

The government will make it easier for teachers and 16 and 17-year-old students to get their jabs from next week with dedicated timeslots for school children to walk in to community centres without booking, starting with public clinics in Joondalup and Claremont.

Further clinics will open at Midland, Kwinana, and in the Perth city centre from October 4.

Regional clinics will also have similar time slots available for the same teacher and older student cohorts starting with Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Coolgardie, Kambalda, Leonora, Norseman, Bunbury, Derby, Kununurra, Carnarvon, and Geraldton.

Ms Ellery said the eventual rollout within schools would cover everyone from ages 12 and above including staff.

“We will begin that in our residential boarding colleges, agricultural boarding colleges, education support schools ... and selected secondary schools and we will add to these throughout Term 4,” she said.

“Our announcement today adds to the existing arrangements which will continue to be available for all eligible West Australians, that is booked appointments at the community vaccination centres or their GPs.”

Older students are being prioritised to avoid any dramas in the case of COVID-19 incursions into WA which could disrupt their exam period.

Western Australia’s vaccine commander Chris Dawson said there were more than 100 locations around the state where vaccination clinics were running and there were plenty of bookings available.

“In fact we have 50,000 appointments available in our state run clinics over the next six weeks,” he said.

“We’re strongly encouraging people to book and make your appointment for a vaccination. Yes there will be walk in opportunities for school leavers and school children to do that ... but for those people who have not yet been vaccinated we have 50,000 appointments available.

“You don’t want to have COVID for Christmas, we want to get this vaccination out in the community in all eligible people before we have any crossing of our borders of COVID in our community.”

Melbourne construction workers escalated their protest at the state government’s tearoom ban by setting up tables and chairs and sitting down for lunch in the middle of a busy CBD intersection on Friday.

About 150 tradies attended from a Multiplex site on Lonsdale street near King street, firing up a barbecue and sharing soft drinks as traffic was forced to bypass the area for about 20 minutes.

Construction workers using Lonsdale Street as a tearoom on Friday. Credit:Joe Armao

While two men flipped sausages, another sliced salami he brought from home to share with his colleagues.

One man told The Age that he expected the protest to continue on Monday because the construction workers had nowhere else to enjoy their breaks without a tearoom.

Flagstaff Gardens is a five-minute walk from the impromptu barbecue location.

Workers fired up a barbecue on the street to protest the ban on tearooms. Credit:Joe Armao

Police surrounded the civil, peaceful protest in what appeared to be an effort to stop it expanding and stopping traffic elsewhere.

The luncheon ended shortly before 1pm, at which point the workers packed up their tools and went home because light drizzle had started falling.

Construction workers are unhappy with a series of measures introduced yesterday to prevent transmission on-site, including closing tearooms and a mandate to receive one vaccine dose if they want to continue working from next Friday.

A worker cuts up salami on Lonsdale Street to share with his colleagues. Credit:Joe Armao

Earlier today Victoria’s COVID-19 Response Commander Jeroen Weimar said people were bending over backwards to keep the construction industry going and some workers needed to check their privilege.

“Recognise the privileges that those of us who are still able to work, get, and if it means you can’t sit with your mates while you have a sandwich, that doesn’t seem to be a huge burden,” Mr Weimar said.

Mr Weimar said tearooms posed a significant risk of transmission with workers coming from different parts of the city, sitting in small spaces, and eating and drinking.

CFMEU Victorian secretary John Setka said the action “wasn’t really a protest” and workers at big construction sites didn’t have anywhere else to take their smoko breaks.

Mr Setka was annoyed the government did not consult them about the tearoom ban.

“What they decided was if we can’t sit in the smoko shed where do we have our break? So they’ve taken all the tables and chairs out into the fresh air,” Mr Setka told 3AW on Friday morning.

“They’ve got nowhere else to have their smoko.”

Read the full story here. 

Western Australia Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery and vaccine commander Chris Dawson provided an update from 11.30am WST, or 1.30pm AEST.

Watch the playback video below.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described the blind trust associated with Industry Minister Christian Porter as “not ordinary arrangements” but would not say whether he could keep his cabinet position if he returned any anonymous donations.

In a flurry of media interviews on Friday morning, Mr Morrison stuck to his position that he would not make a decision on Mr Porter’s future until he received departmental advice about whether he breached ministerial standards by taking anonymous donations through the trust for his legal fees.

Industry Minister Christian Porter.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“He only, most recently as I’m aware, became aware of becoming a beneficiary and that beneficiary payment becomes available to him,” Mr Morrison told the ABC.

“These are not ordinary arrangements and that’s why we’re seeking to have a full understanding of them.”

Mr Morrison is expected to receive the advice within the coming week.

Little is publicly known about the “Legal Services Trust”, which Mr Porter declared this week had made a part contribution to his legal fees in his since-discontinued defamation action against the ABC.

In an update to his register of interests on Tuesday, Mr Porter stated: “I have no access to information about the conduct and funding of the trust.”

Mr Porter did not disclose the size of the donation he received through the trust, and is yet to comment publicly about whether he knows who set up the trust or if he has sought to find out.

Asked on 2GB radio whether Mr Porter could keep his job if he paid back the money, Mr Morrison again referred to the forthcoming advice.

“Well, I’m just taking some advice on those arrangements and the ministerial guidelines, and that’s what’s occurring at the moment. And I know Christian’s looking carefully at those things as well. And, so, we’ll allow that to take place,” he told 2GB.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese repeated his calls for Mr Porter to be sacked on Friday.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr says a number of residential construction sites in the territory have been shut down, after authorities identified significant breaches of COVID-19 safety requirements.

“WorkSafe ACT were out in force across Canberra yesterday,” Mr Barr said during Friday’s coronavirus update.

“Alarmingly, the commissioner reported a number of significant breaches of the COVID-safe requirements on residential construction sites.

“These breaches are unforgivable.

“They have put employees and the general community at risk. It’s simply not good enough, and the sites have been shut down.”

Mr Barr said 12 vehicles were turned around at checkpoints at border crossings between NSW and the ACT on Thursday.

The territory reached 76.3 per cent of its eligible population having received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 52.3 per cent of the population having received their second doses, he said.

Good afternoon and thank you for reading our live coverage of the day’s events. If you’re just joining us now, here’s what you need to know:

NSW has recorded 1284 new COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths, as the state announced a home quarantine trial for returned travellers. Among the 12 deaths were two people in their 20s: a woman from western Sydney who had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine but had underlying health conditions, and a woman from the Life Without Barriers group home in Wyong. She acquired her infection at the home and was not vaccinated.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres and Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Marianne Gale provide a COVID-19 update. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Of the remaining 10 deaths in NSW, three people were in their 50s, one person was in their 60s, two people were in their 70s, three people were in their 80s, and one person was in their 90s. Seven of the 12 people who died were not vaccinated, two people had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and three people were fully vaccinated. There are 1245 COVID-19 cases admitted to NSW hospitals, 228 of whom are in intensive care. Of those, 112 people are on ventilators.

The state will today reach a milestone of 50 per cent of people aged 16 and over being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Seventy per cent of that age group have received a first dose.

Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres on Friday.Credit:Rhett Wyman

NSW Transport Minister Stuart Ayres outlined a home quarantine trial in the state for travellers returning from overseas to Sydney that will start at the end of this month. It will allow 175 full-vaccinated people to isolate for seven days (down from 14 days) at home instead of in a hotel. The participants will be selected by NSW Health and may include NSW residents, non-Australian residents and Qantas air crew.

Mr Ayres said the home quarantine trial was a critical step in limiting the use of hotel quarantine, and “we are sending a really clear signal that the future of hotel quarantine will end for people [who] are double vaccinated.” Only people who are vaccinated with a jab approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration will be selected for the trial.

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley.Credit:Simon Schluter

A Victorian woman in her 50s has died with COVID-19 and the state recorded 510 new local cases on Friday, as the 70 per cent first-dose vaccination milestone for people aged 16 and over was reached. Most of the new cases are in Melbourne’s north and west. Health Minister Martin Foley said 208 people are in hospital with COVID-19, 49 are in intensive care and 32 are on ventilators.

Mr Foley also said a baby is in intensive care with COVID-19. The child is under the age of one, Mr Foley said, and he did not know if they had any other underlying conditions.

Victoria is preparing for a slight easing of COVID-19 restrictions from Saturday as small outdoor gatherings are permitted for two unvaccinated (or single-dosed) people from different households, or up to five people from two different households if everyone over 18 is fully vaccinated.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Queensland recorded one low-risk case of COVID-19, the household contact of an earlier case who has been in isolation for their entire infectious period. The state government’s “Pfizer weekend” vaccination push begins from Friday, with vaccinations being offered to people attending the NRL semi-final between the Manly Sea Eagles and the Sydney Roosters in Mackay. The Pfizer jab is now available in Queensland to everybody aged 60 and over, and will also be available to West Australians in that age group from Monday.

The ACT has recorded 30 new COVID-19 cases, 14 of whom were infectious in the community. Another 12 cases were in isolation during their infectious period, leaving the isolation status of four cases unknown. Eight people are in hospital, one of whom is in intensive care. “It is clear that is not a good number ... a case number that is simply too high,” ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said. “While we have a high number of cases infectious in the community, our case numbers will continue to grow.”

Patients wait in line for the vaccine.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

National cabinet will meet today to discuss a raft of COVID-19 measures, including home quarantine for Australians returning from overseas, and mandatory vaccinations for all healthcare workers (not just aged care staff, as previously mandated). Home quarantine is regarded as a key plank of the plan to resume international travel for Australians. States including NSW, WA and Tasmania have already made immunisation a work requirement for healthcare workers, and Victoria has plans to follow.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at yesterday’s joint press conference with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.Credit:AAP

China has reacted angrily to the announcement of a defence pact between Australia, the US and the UK, the AUKUS alliance, under which Australia will acquire its first fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. The deal is aimed implicitly at countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific and includes a commitment to work together on cyber defences, artificial intelligence, missile capabilities and supply chains.

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off on the blog for today. My colleague Cassandra Morgan will keep you informed of the latest news throughout the afternoon and evening.

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