Australia news LIVE More than 200 arrested in Melbourne anti-lockdown protests NSW records six COVID-19 deaths states protest operation deemed a success
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Two more venues in Yass in the NSW Southern Tablelands have been declared as COVID-19 exposure sites, with anyone who attended the sites in the relevant periods declared a close contact.
Anyone who attended either venue in the stated times must get tested and isolate for 14 days since the time they were at the venue, regardless of the test result.
NSW Health sends a text message to people who have checked in at close-contact venues with further information.
Authorities have also identified a number of new casual contact exposure sites, which can be viewed on this list on the state government’s website.
Anyone who attended any of these venues at the listed times is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob fears the new three-way defence alliance between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom will trigger a nuclear arms race in the contested Indo-Pacific.
On Saturday, Malaysia joined Indonesia in raising alarm bells about the military build-up in the region and the impact that the AUKUS pact, which includes Australia acquiring nuclear-propelled submarines, could have on regional stability.
Ismail Sabri Yaakob spoke to Scott Morrison on the phone on Friday.Credit:Bloomberg
Ismail spoke to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday before on Saturday expressing concern over the establishment of AUKUS to counter a rising China, saying it would be a “catalyst for a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific regionâ€.
“At the same time, it will provoke other powers to act more aggressively in the region, especially in the South China Sea,†his statement said. “As a country within ASEAN, Malaysia holds the principle of maintaining ASEAN as a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality.â€
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The chief medical officer of coronavirus vaccine maker Moderna says there is scope for its COVID-19 booster shots to be made onshore in future and the company will look to leverage Australia’s research talent to make new products.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age hours after the first doses of Moderna’s COVID vaccine landed in Australia, Dr Paul Burton said the company was progressing talks with the federal government about domestic manufacturing and would look to recruit more local research talent.
The NSW government wants Moderna to set up a manufacturing hub in Sydney.Credit:Bloomberg
“I think there is amazing science in Australia, really fantastic basic scientific and clinical research, I’ve seen that first hand,†Dr Burton, who is based in the US, said.
“We’re putting our head of Asia Pacific Medical Affairs in Australia â€" so at least for my part, I think we’re going to try to build out the team there.â€
You can read the full story here.
Women are bearing the brunt of the collapse in lockdown-affected job markets but are poised to recover strongly once restrictions lift and may even find their way back into better-paying positions.
Special research by EY shows almost 100,000 women compared with 73,000 men have left the jobs market over the past two months, during which NSW, Victoria and the ACT have been fully or partly in lockdown to deal with COVID-19 outbreaks.
Women are bearing the brunt of lockdowns, losing hours and spending time on home learning.Credit:iStock
Total female employment levels have fallen by 1.4 per cent and hours worked by women by 6.3 per cent. This compares to declines of 0.4 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively for men.
EY Oceania chief economist Jo Masters said every time a lockdown had been imposed since last year, women’s employment and working hours had taken a larger hit than those of their male counterparts.
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With passport applications plummeting due to closed international borders, processing has recently taken as little as two days.
But authorities are warning wait times will increase when Australia’s international borders reopen.
The Passport Office issued just 603,464 passports over the past year, compared with more than 1.7 million in the previous year. The means a large number of Australians have allowed their passports to expire, which could result in long wait times once borders reopen.
Qantas has scheduled international flights to start from December 18.Credit:James Brickwood
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said that wait times are currently short, but applications had been gradually increasing since August.
“Once international borders start to reopen, the department expects there will be high demand for passports,†the spokesperson said.
“Recent experience in the United States and the United Kingdom has shown that there was a significant increase in applications ahead of international travel restrictions being lifted in these countries, resulting in long wait times for passports.â€
Reports from the US put the wait time for processing at up to four and a half months, as Americans look to travel internationally again.
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While a picnic seems like a meagre reward for enduring Sydney’s gruelling lockdown, many in the city rejoiced at the eased restrictions on Saturday, flocking to parks and enjoying one another’s company until the rain came.
New rules came into effect on Monday allowing Sydney residents who do not live in the 12 local government areas of concern to gather outdoors in groups of five.
The five-person limit does not include children under 12, but people must be within their local government area or five kilometres of their home.
Herald photographers on Saturday captured people at Sydney’s parks lapping up the change.
You can view a full gallery by clicking here. There are also some photos below.
A picnic is disrupted due to heavy rain at Rushcutters Bay.Credit:Rhett Wyman
A group of kids having fun jumping their bikes in Rushcutters Bay Park.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Picnics are packed up as the rain begins to fall at Centennial Park.Credit:Steven Siewert
NSW Police have described a major police operation targeting a planned anti-lockdown protest on Saturday as a success, with “no real protest activity†in metropolitan Sydney.
Across NSW there were 32 people arrested in connection with planned protests, while police issued 265 penalty infringement notices. More than 60,000 vehicles were checked at 19 traffic points on major roads.
Police patrolling Sydney’s Hyde Park on Saturday. Credit:Rhett Wyman
Police were also stationed on the rail networks where a number of the arrests were made for breaches of the public health order and possession of knives.
More than 1700 police were involved in the operation across the state, of which 1500 were deployed across Sydney. The remainder targeted small protests in regional NSW, including in including Tweed Heads, Byron Bay, Central Coast, Wollongong and on the South Coast.
Assistant Commissioner Peter Thurtell on Saturday said the aim of the operation was to prevent protest activity and to enforce the public health order.
“And if you have a look at today’s results I think you’ll find that our actions have been very professional, very well received by the public.â€
Police at Sydney Park checking IDs at the entrances.Credit:James Brickwood
He said he believed many people who were previously supportive of anti-lockdown protests appeared to have “changed their mind†about participating, following the first large scale protest and police operation on July 24.
“They saw it was not only enforced on the day, but there were follow-up operations to identify those that were in breach not only of the public health order, but more importantly those that assaulted police horses and assaulted police officers,†he said.
“We’ve all been in lockdown for quite some time now and the fact that others are prepared to put that at risk means that we need to enforce the health order.â€
Throughout Saturday’s operation 20 people were arrested in Greater Sydney and 236 PINs were issued. In Byron Bay 11 people were arrested and 28 PINs were issued and one person was arrested and later issued with a PIN in Tweed Heads.
A pub in Yass in regional NSW has been declared a close contact COVID-19 exposure site.
Anyone who attended the Australian Hotel Motel on Comur Street in the town on Saturday, September 11 between 6.45pm and 9.20pm is now considered a close contact.
They must immediately get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure, regardless of whether they receive a negative result.
NSW health authorities have also identified a number of new casual contact exposure sites, which can be viewed on this list on the state government’s website.
The Yass Valley Council local government area was placed back under stay-at-home restrictions on Tuesday for two weeks after a positive case was confirmed in the area.
Victorian health authorities have identified more than 30 new COVID-19 exposure sites, including The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and a park in the Macedon Ranges.
The hospital’s main street visitor screening queue was declared a tier-2 or casual contact site on Monday, September 13 between 10.16am and 10.45am.
The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.Credit:Pat Scala
Earlier, a Mercy Health spokesperson confirmed Mercy Hospital for Women in Melbourne was declared a tier-1 or close contact exposure site. The Age understands 120 pregnant women will be forced to isolate as a result.
There is only one new tier-1 site - the Three Little Figs cafe in the city of Geelong, south west of Melbourne - with the remainder of the new sites declared tier 2.
Along with the hospital’s screening queue, they include Woodend Children’s Park in the Macedon Ranges, north west of Melbourne, an office complex at St Kilda in Melbourne’s south east, apartment complexes at Footscray in the city’s west and Docklands in the inner city, and multiple supermarkets.
Authorities warned some people who attended the otherwise casual contact site of Moomba Park Primary School at Fawkner in Melbourne’s north would be identified as close contacts.
A full list of Victorian exposure sites can be found here.
Victoria Police have so far arrested 235 people over Melbourne’s anti-lockdown protest on Saturday.
Commander of the north west metro region Mark Galliott said 193 of those people were arrested for breaching the Chief Health Officer’s directions, and the others were arrested for a range of offences including assaulting police, weapons and drugs offences.
More than 2000 police were deployed in an attempt to thwart Melbourne’s anti-lockdown protests on Saturday.Credit:Chris Hopkins
Commander Galliott said 10 police officers were injured during the protests, and six were hospitalised.
Three officers were still in hospital with a range of injuries, including torn muscles, a broken elbow, broken nose, broken finger, and bruises.
He said protesters threw bottles, stones, and a “range of other objects†at police.
“What we saw today was a group of protesters that came together, not to protest freedoms, but simply to take on and have a fight with the police,†Commander Galliott said.
“That’s what we saw - [they] were angry, aggressive young males there to fight the police, not to protest about freedom.
“What we saw, especially in some instances, was, you know, police getting trampled forcing the lines, police men and women getting trampled, which they do not come to work for - they’re here to help keep the community safe.
“What we don’t come to work for is get trampled, assaulted, and end up going home with broken bones.â€
Commander Galliott said Victoria Police estimated between 500 and 700 protesters turned out for the anti-lockdown rally in Melbourne on Saturday. He said police were anticipating between 6000 and 7000 people would turn up.
All 193 people arrested for breaching the Chief Health Officer’s directions would be fined, Commander Galliott said. He said if police did not shut down the public transport system and enforce vehicle checkpoints on Saturday, “we could have had thousands in the cityâ€.
“We appreciate there was a great disruption to the commuters, to other people at those checkpoints trying to get through to business,†Commander Galliott said.
“But as I said, all we’re simply doing is responding to protester behavior.â€
Commander Galliott said police were yet to put a cost on the operation, but it would have been hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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