Australia news LIVE Victoria braces for more protests as state grapples with growing COVID-19 cases NSW cases also on the rise

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Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Australia needs to be aware of the “consequences” of getting a transition to renewable energy wrong.

He was asked about Treasurer Josh Frydenberg supporting cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The National Party leader said he had no problem with a net zero plan if it did not hurt regional areas, pointing to the UK’s experience with renewable energy as a cautionary tale.

“We’ve got to make sure in every decision we make that we don’t replicate the mistakes of the United Kingdom, suffer the consequences of what’s happening in Europe, or the consequences will be ours,” Mr Joyce said on ABC radio.

“What happened in the UK was that renewables were not able to fill the void and ... they’re having to fill the void by opening closed coal-fired power stations.”

Speaking on the Today show this morning, Mr Frydenberg said he and Mr Joyce had a “good conversation last night”.

“Whether it was the Industrial Revolution, whether it was the digital age, financial markets have reacted to these structural shifts,” the Treasurer said.

“Climate change is no different. It impacts on Australia because we are so heavily reliant on foreign investment. We have about $4 trillion in foreign investment and half of our bonds are bought by foreign investors and bank lending is supported by offshore borrowing.

“Whether it is a household mortgage or a business loan, it is important that we continue to be an attractive place in Australia and we don’t get penalised. That is why I am making it very clear that we have the right regulatory framework in Australia and we stick to our reduction plans and targets.”

The Victorian government wanted to keep some of its “big build” construction projects working as it imposed a two-week shutdown on the rest of the industry, but trade union objections put a stop to the plan.

Treasurer Tim Pallas and Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan told a meeting of unions and industry groups on Monday evening that the government planned to keep working on 11 projects, including the flagship Metro Rail tunnel, amid the two-week shutdown imposed on the rest of the industry due to mounting COVID-19 transmission fears.

Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel site under construction. Credit:Joe Armao

But according to four separate sources present at the meeting who were not authorised to speak publicly, there was significant opposition to the government’s plan among key building unions the CFMEU, Electrical Trades Union, the Australian Workers’ Union and the Plumbers’ Union.

The unions were worried the building sites, which also included level crossing removal work and school and hospital projects, would become fresh flashpoints for the trouble that broke out at the CFMEU’s Carlton headquarters on Monday and told the ministers that workers would boycott the government’s construction jobs.

Read the full story here.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has released a statement on the passing of former Carlton president John Elliott.

He described the former Liberal party heavyweight, and father of 3AW broadcaster Tom Elliott, as a “forthright man who said what he meant and meant what he said”.

“He lived a big life. It was an authentic Australian life,” the PM’s office said in a statement.

“John Elliott seemed to embody much of the ambitious outward looking 1980s. He was a proud Victorian, he took Fosters to the world, led his football club with a passion that won’t ever be forgotten, and loyally supported the Liberal Party through what were lean times.

“Big lives always have their critics, make their fair share of mistakes, but mostly, there is something about them that capture their times. Such people are leaders. John Elliott was such a leader.

“On behalf of the Liberal Party, I extend my condolences to John’s family in their time of grief.”

Three Sydney schools have been forced to shut after confirmed cases of COVID-19.

A NSW Education spokesperson said Busby West, Lidcombe and Villawood East public schools, all located in Sydney’s south west, would all be closed on Friday for contact tracing and cleaning.

All staff and students are asked to self-isolate and follow NSW Health directions after COVID-19 cases were reported in the school communities.

“NSW Education will continue to work closely with NSW Health to ensure the health and safety of all students and staff is maintained,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, a number of venues in regional NSW have been added to the state’s exposure list.

Sites in 25 regional locations â€" including Dubbo, Cowra, Shellharbour and Broken Hill â€" were named as casual contact venues, meaning people who visited must get tested and isolate until receiving a negative result.

The full list of venues can be viewed here.

A primary school in Melbourne’s western suburbs and a childcare centre in Melbourne’s north are the latest tier-1 coronavirus exposure sites listed across Victoria.

Sunshine North Primary School was listed as a tier-1 exposure site on September 15, meaning that any students, staff or parents who attended the school will need to isolate for 14 days and get tested immediately.

Joybelle Childcare Cente Fawkner, in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, has been listed as a tier-1 exposure site on September 17.

Other tier-1 exposure sites listed last night include Prestige Tyre and Auto Service in Roxburgh Park, which was visited by COVID-positive person September 16 and 17.

FoodWorks Roxburgh Park has been listed as a tier-2 exposure site on September 16 and 17, but some patrons and staff of the supermarket will be considered tier-1 contacts and need to isolate for 14 days.

North Coburg’s Australian International Academy of Education has also been listed as a tier-2 between 8.30am and 4.30pm on September 14, 15 and 16, with the Department of Health to contact some visitors directly and require them to isolate for two weeks.

The Victorian Department of Health currently has 617 exposure sites listed on its website.

The relationship between Defence Minister Peter Dutton and the military top brass has frayed badly over the fallout of the Brereton war crimes inquiry, with armed forces chief Angus Campbell now described as a lame duck by senior politicians and former military generals.

Serving and former senior military officials have privately lashed what they regard as Mr Dutton’s undermining of efforts by special forces command and the military top brass to reform the SAS in the wake of the Brereton inquiry.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton at the Townsville field training area in Queensland this week.Credit:ADF

Military insiders, who requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly, said Mr Dutton had ditched or challenged a number of General Campbell’s reforms â€" including the military chief’s plan to remove a unit-wide citation for meritorious service in Afghanistan and his reform of special forces recruitment. These decisions had left General Campbell increasingly isolated and powerless, the sources said.

More on this story here.

Hundreds of international students will start returning to NSW by the end of this year, although vaccine restrictions will mean students from key markets in China and Nepal are not likely to be among them.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet confirmed the plan to restart the state’s critical international higher education sector had been finalised and would form part of the state’s road map to reopening after the Delta outbreak.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet wants international students to return to his state.Credit:James Brickwood

Mr Perrottet had been working on a plan to bring back international students for about 12 months, but it was thrown into disarray with the Delta outbreak.

He said “tens of thousands of people in NSW rely on the international student market for work” and the restart of the industry would “also address the rising issue of labour shortages in the state.”

More on NSW’s plans here.

A vaccination centre has closed and healthcare workers have been told not to wear their uniforms in public after abuse from protesters across Melbourne this week, including one case where a nurse was allegedly spat on.

Plans for a fourth day of widespread protests against mandatory vaccinations and the closure of the construction industry did not materialise yesterday, as the Health Department revealed a person who attended Wednesday’s rally was in hospital with COVID-19.

Police speaking to people in Melbourne’s CBD yesterday. Credit:Getty

A spokesperson for the department said it was investigating the case and urged anyone who attended the protest to get tested if they had any symptoms.

Police said they arrested 92 people across the city yesterday, primarily for breaching public health directions, and would “continue to provide a highly visible presence across the city over the coming days”.

In an attempt to bypass hundreds of police deployed across the CBD, organisers tried to organise a protest at the Melbourne Museum vaccination centre. However, dozens of police were sent to monitor the Museum and adjoining Carlton Gardens, where no protests eventuated.

More on the situation in Melbourne here.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has backed the case to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 in a warning that Australia must not be left behind in a mammoth economic shift that will impose sweeping costs on countries that do not act on climate change.

Mr Frydenberg will point to powerful decisions by global investors to outline the need for the more ambitious target, in the strongest endorsement to date from a senior cabinet minister on a question that has divided Liberals and Nationals.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says global markets are already pricing in net zero targets by 2050 and Australia cannot be left behind.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

His call is likely to strengthen support for the goal within the government as Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce holds out against the target, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison tries to settle the issue after returning this weekend from meetings in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Good morning and thanks for your company.

It’s Friday, September 24. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.

Here’s everything you need to know before we get started:

Victorian authorities are concerned that a violent protest in Melbourne earlier this week could have been a super-spreading event. It’s been revealed that a demonstrator from Wednesday’s rally is in hospital with COVID-19. Meanwhile, healthcare workers have been told not to wear their uniforms in public after reports some were abused â€" with one nurse allegedly spat on â€" by those protesting the Andrews government’s vaccine mandate and subsequent shutdown of the local construction industry. Yesterday, Victoria recorded 766 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 (the state’s largest daily tally) and four deaths.

Hundreds of international students are set to return to NSW by the end of the year under the Berejiklian government’s reopening plan. However, vaccine restrictions mean students from key markets â€" such as China â€" aren’t likely to be among them. NSW yesterday recorded 1063 new cases of COVID-19 and six deaths. The local government areas of Orange and Glen Innes are now out of lockdown.

The ACT recorded 16 new coronavirus cases yesterday. Of those, at least 11 were infectious for at least some time in the community. There are 12 coronavirus patients in Canberra’s hospitals. Chief Minister Andrew Barr says those living in the nation’s capital who are aged 12 to 59 are now eligible for the Moderna vaccine.

WA Premier Mark McGowan says Saturday’s AFL grand final in Perth will be the “greatest grand final ever”. The state recorded no new cases of COVID-19 ahead of the clash between the Melbourne Demons and Western Bulldogs.

Queensland reported one new case of COVID-19 in the community yesterday. However, it was a student who was already in isolation when she returned a positive test. Meanwhile, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended her tough stance on borders.

And Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has thrown his support behind a push to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Mr Frydenberg is expected to give a major speech today urging Australia not to be left behind when it comes to tackling climate change. It’s significant because there has long been tensions within the Liberal and National party rooms over how to address a changing climate and transition Australia’s economy.

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