Australia news LIVE NSW records 1022 new local COVID-19 cases ten deaths protesters clash with police in Melbourne CBD as Victoria records 603 new cases one death
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Victorian health authorities have identified nearly 30 new COVID-19 exposure sites, including a Melbourne hospital’s emergency department.
The Alfred Hospital emergency department on Commercial Road is among several new tier-1 or close contact exposure sites.
The Alfred Hospital emergency department is among new COVID-19 exposure sites. Credit:Luis Ascui
Anyone who attended it on Friday, September 17 between 8.18pm and 9.16pm 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.
Other new tier-1 sites are:
Victorian health authorities have also identified new tier-2 sites, including multiple retail outlets in Geelong, several venues in Corio in the regional city, and several venues in Lara, north west of Geelong.
A full list of Victorian exposure sites can be found here.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has issued a stern warning to people looking to protest in Melbourne again tomorrow, saying police will be out in force and telling demonstrators, “stay awayâ€.
Mr Patton said 62 people had been arrested over protests in Melbourne today, up from 44 earlier this evening. He described the crowd of about 2000 people who flooded the city’s streets as selfish and angry group who were set on confronting police, without any real leader.
The vast majority of the 62 were arrested for breaching the Chief Health Officer’s directions and will be issued fines of about $5500. A couple were arrested for assaulting police.
“Stay away â€" no one benefits from this type of conduct,†Mr Patton said.
“We will be out in force again, I assure you of that. I’m not going to disclose what our tactics will be tomorrow, but they will be different.
“Please, I implore you, do not do this, do not come into the city. It achieves nothing.
“The risk of COVID-19’s spread is increased substantially. The risk to public safety is increased substantially. Please just stay home. We do not want a confrontation.â€
He indicated that on Wednesday there would be more than the 500 officers deployed to combat protest action today, but an exact number hadn’t been settled on.
Police used a range of non-lethal crowd control measures to disperse protesters on Tuesday. Credit:Justin McManus
Mr Patton said people should step back and think about what they had done, and consider their actions in the hard light of day.
He said police saw rocks being thrown during Tuesday’s protests, as well as bottles and lit flares, culminating in a “dynamic, threatening, scary environmentâ€.
“I think it needs to be said, though, it wasn’t just the police who were subjected to this,†Mr Patton said.
“We saw the conduct of these thousands of people, these protesters as they went up on the West Gate Bridge.
“I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be a citizen, a community member just inside their car sitting there â€" how frightening that must have been, how scary that must have been, to have this mass crowd of 2000 people going in and out of their cars, converging past them.
“We’re aware that some cars were damaged as well, and we’re investigating that.â€
There were three officers injured in the protests, he said: one senior constable who had a rolled ankle, one who had a hyper-extended right knee and a first constable who was hit by a rock on the shin.
Mr Patton said while a journalist was hurt during the protests, police were not aware of any other community members having been injured.
He said he was aware of reports of protesters consuming cocaine during today’s protests, but he wasn’t sure if they were factual.
“I think it goes to demonstrate the type of cowardly approach we’re talking to, if people have to take some drugs to get the courage to come up and do what they normally wouldn’t do,†Mr Patton said.
He said he wasn’t sure of the employment status of the 62 people who have been arrested, or whether they were construction workers.
Following the firefighters and nurses, the Victorian Ambulance Union has become the latest to condemn the violent protests in Melbourne, which it says showed protestors were thinking only of themselves rather than the health workers putting in 14 hour shifts to care for COVID-19 patients.
Yesterday’s protest, which targeted the Melbourne headquarters of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, appeared to be triggered by the Andrews government’s move to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for construction workers. The CFMEU is pro-vaccine but did not support mandatory vaccinations.
“We strongly condemn the protest, the abhorrent violence, the disrespect shown towards our police, the danger you have placed the community in,†said Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill in a statement.
“Your actions stop ambulances getting to patients who need our care, and you risk spreading the virus.â€
Mr Hill said the union had initially had concerns about how COVID-19 vaccination mandates would work for its own members with genuine medical exemptions, but those concerns were resolved after discussions with the state government and health advisers.
He declined to comment on the mandate in the construction industry, announced by the Victorian government last week, saying he was not familiar enough with the industry and its circumstances.
In his statement, Mr Hill told people to get vaccinated, stay home, and wear masks.
“To those who attended and took part in violent protests in Melbourne, you are not in the real fight. You are not on the side of health workers or the vulnerable patients they protect. You are thinking of yourself only.â€
Today’s protest, which also started outside the CFMEU, did not appear to have a clear objective, although some protesters held a banner saying “freedom†and chanted along the same lines. “To all Australians out there,†one demonstrator said into a camera live-streaming the protest, “this is what defending your freedoms looks likeâ€.
Victoria Police provided an update from 7.30pm AEST on violent protests in Melbourne today.
You can watch a playback video below.
Authorities are warning of new COVID-19 wastewater detections in regional Victoria.
The Chief Health Officer’s update, issued on Tuesday evening, said viral fragments had been detected in wastewater in Bendigo, the state’s fourth-largest city. The period of interest for that area is between Thursday, September 16 and Monday, September 20.
The update also warned of wastewater detections in Macedon north west of Melbourne, as well as Mt Macedon, New Gisborne, and Riddells Creek, around the same area. The period of interest for those areas is between Wednesday, September 15 and Monday, September 20.
There has been a third unexpected detection at Airleys Inlet and Fairhaven on Victoria’s Surf Coast. The period of interest there is also between Wednesday, September 15 and Monday, September 20.
The Chief Health Officer’s update said the wastewater detections could indicate an undiscovered new case or cases of COVID-19, or could be the result of people in those areas still shedding the virus.
“Anyone who lives in, works in or has visited the areas above is urged to watch for the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms and get tested as soon as possible if symptoms develop,†the update said.
NSW’s decision to reopen its construction industry has, unsurprisingly, won a warm response by Australia’s big business lobby, which scorned Victoria’s decision to shut down its building sector for two weeks and claimed it would “put the recovery at riskâ€.
The Victorian government announced late on Monday that the state’s construction industry would be shut from 11.59pm for two weeks. Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said today that 403 coronavirus cases were directly linked to the construction sector. Those cases were, in turn, linked to 186 construction sites.
BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Meanwhile, the NSW government confirmed earlier today it would scrap all capacity rules for greater Sydney construction sites from next Monday.
The state’s $10 billion construction industry had been operating at 50 per cent capacity since August, after an earlier two-week shutdown.
The NSW government updated its rules online on Tuesday, which say that “from Monday 27 September 2021, the worker capacity limit that applies to construction sites in Greater Sydney will cease to applyâ€.
From Monday, “all construction sites throughout NSW can have 1 person per 4 square metre at the site.â€
Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said “we welcome the Berejiklian government’s sensible, risk-based approach to unwinding restrictions and letting people get on with their livesâ€.
“NSW has demonstrated that a best practice model including rapid antigen testing and public health orders to drive vaccination can get construction going safely. Throughout this outbreak, NSW has worked closely with industry to problem-solve and develop solutions in partnership.
“By contrast, Victoria’s snap shutdown of the entire sector will put the recovery at risk and undermine confidence in the state’s slow reopening plan.
“Around 320,000 Victorian jobs in the construction sector have been put at risk because of the actions of a small minority.
“Big projects aren’t a tap that can simply be turned on or off, even a very short shutdown puts projects at risk.
“Businesses are ready to work with the Victorian government to find a way through this challenge to save jobs, just as they have in NSW.
“Harsh restrictions don’t just have a monumental economic cost, every day we delay a safe reopening takes a serious toll on community cohesion and our social wellbeing.
“Most Australians are doing their bit and getting vaccinated, now it’s up to governments to do theirs by sticking to the plan and reopening the nation as people are protected.â€
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has blasted the thousands of protesters who have caused chaos in Melbourne’s streets over the past two days; most recently, bringing traffic to a standstill on the city’s busiest freeway on Tuesday, and taking over the West Gate Bridge.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Premier said there is “no excuse for the terrible behaviour we have seen in our city over the last two daysâ€.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Credit:Chris Hopkins
“Acts of violence and disruption won’t result in one less case of [COVID-19] - in fact it only helps the virus to spread,†Mr Andrews said.
The Premier thanked “the brave men and women†of Victoria Police for their work to keep the community safe.
Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton said earlier that three police officers were injured in today’s protests.
Mr Andrews said “vaccinations are our only ticket out of this pandemicâ€, and “there is no other wayâ€.
“For those who think violence is the answer, I ask that you think of your fellow Victorians - doing the right thing over many months, following the advice of our health experts,†he said.
“We have come too far to turn back now. Please spare a thought for our healthcare workers who are working such long hours looking after patients, many who are struggling to breathe.â€
He added that “the more of us who get vaccinated, the fewer of us who will end up in hospitalâ€.
Victoria Police were forced to deploy rubber pellets, smoke rounds, foam baton rounds, and pepper balls in an attempt to subdue masses of protesters who took over Melbourne’s streets on Tuesday, police say.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said police estimated up to 2000 protesters attended the rally, which saw “a journalist attacked numerous timesâ€, three police officers injured, and police cars attacked and damaged.
Victorian Chief Commissioner of Police, Shane Patton.Credit:Nine News
Forty-four people had so far been arrested, Mr Patton said, “but that number will continue to grow†as the protest continued to unfold.
He said police were “making arrests as we stand here at this momentâ€.
“We have, throughout the day, been dealing and confronting with this group as they’ve marched through various different locations around the city, at times heading out onto the West Gate Bridge,†he said.
“Can I say that any police force would have been challenged by the spontaneity and the sheer mass of numbers that we saw involved with this group, and the tactics that they employed throughout the day.â€
Mr Patton said about 500 police officers were deployed to assist with the protest on Tuesday, and their focus was public safety.
“That’s what our primary focus is, it has been all day, and we’ll continue to try and stop this protest. We will stop this protest,†he said.
“And we will then step back and investigate and hold those to account who need to be held to account.â€
Mr Patton said: “No person - be it a police officer, be it a journalist, anyone - no one should come to work and be suffered injuries at the expense of people who claim to be protesting for freedom.â€
The firefighters union has issued its own statement lashing the protests on the streets of Melbourne that have seen a union office attacked, roads blocked and clashes with police.
In its statement, the firefighters took aim at those protesters who have fought with police.
“We condemn the attacks on our emergency service colleagues, who are members of the Police Association,†said United Firefighters Union (UFU) secretary Peter Marshall.
People inside the CFMEU office fend off protesters with fire extinguishers on Monday.Credit:Justin McManus
“The violence must stop. It is disgraceful to see opportunists hijack genuine frustration and concern among workers for their own entertainment. Their callous disregard for the health and safety of their fellow Victorians shows they are not trade unionists.â€
Estimates differ on how many of those in the protest crowds over the last two days are union members, or other people egged on by outside agitators. The Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union has said a minority of the protesters were unionists.
The protests yesterday targeted the CFMEU headquarters in Melbourne’s CBD and started at the offices again today. The initial protest appeared to have been spurred by the Andrews government’s move to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for construction workers.
The firefighters union made a point of saying it supports COVID-19 vaccination but said mandates should not be issued through industrial law. Here’s more of Mr Marshall:
Throughout this pandemic, professional firefighters have continued to respond to emergencies.
It’s an insult to their work, and to the efforts of every frontline worker, to see these protesters so selfishly ignore the rules.
We particularly recognise the ongoing work of the nurses and health professionals, and would echo their calls that protesters must stop the violence and engage in respectful dialogue.
In recognition of the risks faced by firefighters in responding to emergencies during the COVID 19 pandemic, and in particular recognition of the risks posed by duties in emergency medical response, the UFU strongly recommends that all members, subject to the advice of their medical practitioners, obtain COVID 19 vaccinations.
The UFU does not support the mandating of vaccinations through the use of employment law.
Victorian health authorities have identified a number of new tier-2 or casual contact COVID-19 exposure sites, including a medical centre in Melbourne’s outer south-east.
St Antony Medical Centre at Pakenham was declared a tier-2 site on Thursday, September 16 between 3.30pm and 4.05pm.
Anyone who attended the centre during those times must get tested urgently for COVID-19 and isolate until they receive a negative result. However, authorities warned there would be some close contacts identified there.
They warned the same for another otherwise casual contact site: Werribee Post Shop in Melbourne’s south-west.
The post shop was declared tier-2 on Thursday, September 9 between 11.50am and 5.40pm.
The other new tier-2 sites were Burgies hamburger restaurant at Campbellfield in Melbourne’s north, and The Village Door at Geelong West.
A full list of Victorian exposure sites can be found here.
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