Australia news LIVE Digital pass to allow vaccinated Australians to travel hospitals under pressure as NSW Victorian COVID-19 cases rise

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Cabinet minister Christian Porter doesn’t know who ultimately paid part of his legal fees for his defamation action against the ABC and its reporter Louise Milligan.

The Industry Minister, who was the federal attorney-general when he launched the legal action, has made a declaration to parliament that a part contribution to his fees was made by a blind trust known as the “Legal Services Trust”.

Industry Minister Christian Porter.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“As a potential beneficiary I have no access to information about the conduct and funding of the trust,” an update to his register of member’s interests processed on Tuesday states.

The case was settled. ABC managing director David Anderson told an estimates hearing in June the broadcaster agreed to pay $100,000 to Mr Porter’s lawyer Rebekah Giles and half the mediation costs.

Mr Porter noted in his register of interests that “an amount was paid by the ABC to Company Giles” and that had now been “applied to my account”.

As well, he declared he had engaged barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC “on a commercial fee arrangement” but as was her usual practice for some clients, “she did not charge me for all of the time she spent on the matter”.

“Although all of the above contributions were made to me, or were for my benefit, in a purely personal capacity, in the interest of transparency and out of an abundance of caution I make this disclosure,” Mr Porter wrote.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says the Australian economy will recover quickly from a significant hit caused by pandemic-related lockdowns across the country while playing down expectations of higher interest rates before 2024.

Dr Lowe, addressing an Anika Foundation charity function on Tuesday, said the economy was likely to contract by at least 2 per cent, or even “significantly” more, in the September quarter due to restrictions across NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

RBA governor Philip Lowe believes the Australian economy will rebound out of current lockdowns.

But while there would be a large hit, a recovery built on consumers, many of whom would tap built-up savings, should ensure a strong rebound.

“The outbreak is a significant setback for the economy and it has introduced an additional element of uncertainty about the future. But there is a clear path out of the current difficulties and it is likely
that we will return to a stronger economy next year,” he said.

Dr Lowe said the economy should start re-growing in the December quarter, with the key factors being the level of vaccination across the community and the easing of restrictions.

Read the full story here. 

New local COVID-19 infections have more than doubled in China’s south-eastern province of Fujian, health authorities said on Tuesday, prompting officials to move quickly to roll out measures including travel restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the virus.

The National Health Commission said 59 new locally transmitted cases were reported for September 13, up from 22 infections a day earlier. All of them were in Fujian.

In just four days, a total of 102 community infections have been reported in Fujian, a province bordered by Zhejiang to the north and Guangdong to the south.

Reuters

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

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will meet with mayors from COVID-19 hotspots today.Credit:Edwina Pickles

A woman in her 80s from western Sydney died at Ryde Hospital and a man in his 50s from western Sydney died at Concord Hospital. Both had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with the man in his 50s receiving his shot only three days before testing positive. He did not have underlying health conditions. There are currently 1253 COVID-19 cases admitted to NSW hospitals, 231 of whom are in intensive care. There are 104 people on ventilators.

Victorian Deputy Premier James Merlino on Tuesday.Credit:Chris Hopkins

Victoria has recorded 445 new local cases of COVID-19. A man in his 20s died at home and a woman in her 80s died in hospital after contracting the virus. Health Department deputy secretary Kate Matson told the state’s press conference this morning that forensic doctors did not realise the young man, from the Hume region in Melbourne, had coronavirus until they performed the post-mortem.

Of the 158 people in Victoria’s hospital with COVID-19, 91 per cent were not vaccinated and eight per cent were partially vaccinated. Just one person was fully vaccinated, Deputy Premier James Merlino said.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The ACT has extended its lockdown by four weeks to Friday, October 15. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it was the “least worst option available” and “we are all in this situation because of a failure in NSW”. The territory recorded 22 new COVID-19 cases, only two of whom were in quarantine during their whole infectious period. At least 13 of the other cases were infectious in the community. There are now 10 people in hospital, including two in intensive care.

Mr Barr said “we will do our best to contain this virus, and we have put in place a set of measures that have been effective in avoiding a Sydney-like situation for Canberra, where one case quickly became 10 and 10 would quickly become 100 and 100 would quickly become a thousand”.

WA Premier Mark McGowan is opening up Pfizer vaccine eligibility to the over 60s.Credit:Trevor Collens

Western Australia will become the third state or territory to open up the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to every age group after the state’s top doctor declared confidence in supply. Premier Mark McGowan said the expansion of WA’s roll-out means any person over the age of 12 will be eligible from Monday for a Pfizer jab at state-run clinics, which had “thousands” of appointments available over the coming week.

Queensland reported one new COVID-19 case in home quarantine: a student at St Thomas More College in Brisbane where a case emerged last week, and two more were reported yesterday. Health authorities are confident they have contained the Sunnybank cluster.

New Zealand recorded 15 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, all in Auckland, and all household contacts of existing cases. The figure is substantially lower than the 33 cases recorded on Monday. Auckland is in a stage-four lockdown, virtually cut off from the rest of the country, until at least 11.59pm next Tuesday. The rest of the country is at stage two lockdowns, allowing people to return to school and work. Twenty-one people are currently being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, also all in Auckland. Four are in intensive care.

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

Western Australia will become the third state or territory to open up the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to every age group after the state’s top doctor declared confidence in supply of the sought-after vaccine.

Premier Mark McGowan said the expansion of WA’s roll-out means any person over the age of 12 will be eligible from Monday for a Pfizer jab at state-run clinics, which had ‘thousands’ of appointments available over the coming week.

The Northern Territory and South Australia announced they would be opening up the rollout to all age groups last week.

WA will become the third state or territory to open up the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to every age group from next Monday.

“Based on the advice from our Chief Health Officer, West Australians aged 60 and older will be eligible to receive a Pfizer vaccination from next week,” Mr McGowan said.

“People aged 60 and older who have already had a first dose of AstraZeneca should still have their second dose of AstraZeneca as different vaccines cannot be mixed.”

Mr McGowan last week called for the vaccine rollout to be rebalanced following months of NSW receiving bigger slices of extra doses delivered to Australia, but on Tuesday he said WA had “thousands” of extra appointments available in its state-run clinics over the next week.

Health Minister Roger Cook said advice from the state’s chief health officer Andy Robertson was that the state could open up to over 60s because it had greater confidence in the Pfizer supply.

“That’s essentially the advice, which is to say that we’re much more confident with the Commonwealth supply of vaccine, but also more confident about the volume of those supplies,” he said.

To date, 84 per cent of people aged 60 and over have had at least one dose of AstraZeneca.

But its rollout was marred with hesitancy resulting from extremely rare cases of blood clotting.

Those prompted ATAGI to advise against administering the jab to under 50s who were more prone to the clotting. That advice was revised again after clotting cases of under 60s emerged.

People over 60 will still only be eligible for AstraZeneca if they are vaccinated at a GP or other facility, which falls under the Commonwealth’s vaccination program.

Mr Cook said the state expected to see a further reduction in AstraZeneca takeup, but it was up to the Commonwealth to decide what they wanted to do with the extra supplies.

Here’s a breakdown of Victoria’s new cases, according to Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson.

Box Hill construction site outbreak: up by three with a total of 136 cases, which includes 37 staff and 99 household contacts.

Greenvale school construction site: four cases, 270 close contacts.

Fitzroy Community School: 33 cases, up by four.

V-Line: One more case, another driver who resides on the surf coast, total of six cases from an outbreak at a work site at Southern Cross.

Three positive cases at a manufacturing facility Campbellfield, that site has a total of 12 workers so that has closed.

There’s been no further cases at a Ballarat residential disability facility after a fully vaccinated worker returned a positive test.

Ms Matson said 74 per cent of the 445 new cases are in Melbourne’s northern suburbs with 175 in Hume, 64 in Moreland and 36 in Whittlesea.

In the city’s west, there were 38 cases recorded in Wyndham, 16 in Melton and 15 in Hobsons Bay.

Ms Matson said there was a $450 payment for people in isolation waiting for a coronavirus test result, which can be applied for online.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has taken aim at NSW as he extended the territory’s lockdown by four weeks to Friday, October 15.

A street sign in Canberra on Tuesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“We are all in this situation because of a failure in NSW,” Mr Barr said.

The territory recorded 22 new COVID-19 cases today, only two of whom were in quarantine during their whole infectious period. At least 13 of the other cases were infectious in the community.

There are now 10 people in hospital, including two in intensive care.

The ACT’s Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said it was of concern that the number of mystery cases, where contact tracers can’t identify a chain of transmission, wasn’t falling over time.

Victorian Deputy Premier James Merlino says more than 500 of the state’s total active COVID-19 cases are children under nine.

Mr Merlino told the state’s press conference this morning that 85 per cent of the 3,799 active cases are people aged under 60.

Deputy Premier James Merlino on Tuesday.Credit:Chris Hopkins

The breakdown of ages, according to Mr Merlino, is:

563 under nine years of age;

647 aged 10 to 19;

906 are in their 20s;

603 are in their 30s.

Of the 158 people currently in hospital with COVID-19, 45 are in ICU and 23 are on a ventilator.

Mr Merlino said 91 per cent were not vaccinated.

Mr Merlino had said the state was poised to come “very close” to a target of one million vaccine doses tomorrow, with 36,000 shots to go to reach the first target of 70 per cent of people aged 16 and over receiving a first dose. Once that happens, there will be a slight easing of restrictions.

There is no vaccine approved for children aged under nine.

Vaccinations were opened to 12 to 15-year-olds yesterday. Already, 2,014 Victorian teenagers had received their first jab.

“That’s fabulous for day one,” Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson said.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approved for adolescents.

There were three new cases recorded in country Victoria, health department authorities say.

Victorian Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson said a V-Line train driver who resides on the south coast tested positive to COVID-19, but “pleasingly” has been in isolation for their full infectious period.

That case is linked to an outbreak at a work site at Southern Cross train station.

There was also a case in Ballarat, and another case in the Mitchell Shire who works in one of the Melbourne hotspots, Ms Matson said.

An outbreak of COVID-19 at Melbourne school has grown by four cases, following reports the principal invited parents to send their children to school during lockdowns.

Victorian Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson told the state’s COVID-19 press conference this morning that the outbreak at the Fitzroy Community School has reached 33 cases, an increase of four cases from yesterday.

The 33 cases were a mixture of students, parents, teachers and household contacts, she said.

It comes as The Age revealed the state’s school regulator is investigating the school for breaching its legal duty to keep children safe.

Ms Matson also gave an update about the state’s other outbreaks.

The number of cases at a large-scale construction site at Box Hill now has a total of 137 cases - an increase of three - including 37 cases and 99 of their household contacts.

She warned more cases could come with day 13 testing commencing yesterday.

The outbreak at the site has sparked a debate about whether mandatory testing should be introduced for construction sites.

Deputy Premier and Mental Health Minister James Merlino called the principal’s alleged actions irresponsible.

“We’ve got more than 2,200 schools in Victoria, that’s more than one million students. Imagine if every single principal was as irresponsible as this one, imagine that.”

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