Australia news LIVE Victoria records 733 new local COVID-19 cases one death as police brace for more protests NSW cases also on the rise
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The Federal Treasurer has hit back against suggestions financial support for Victoria is being treated like âforeign aidâ, blaming the state government for not including construction in their business support agreement.
Friction is building between the Victorian government and the Commonwealth, with Premier Daniel Andrews once again accusing his federal counterparts of giving preferential treatment to NSW when it comes to financial assistance.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has been accused of giving preferential treatment to NSW. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
âVictorians are getting sick and tired of every time the Commonwealth government spends $1 in Victoria, itâs treated like itâs foreign aid, like we should bow our heads and be grateful,â Mr Andrews said on Thursday.
But Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he was ânot going to take the baitâ and give the Victorian government the âdistractionâ they were looking for.
He said the NSW government had provided additional financial support on top of what the Commonwealth had provided, and that was âan option thatâs available now to the Victorian governmentâ.
âIn NSW, they chose to put construction in their business support payments that we went 50-50 with,â Mr Frydenberg told radio station 3AW.
âIn Victoria, they took a decision not to put construction in [the plan we reached with them]. They included hospitality, they included gyms, they included hairdressers.
âThe federal government is providing around twice what the state government is providing right now to Victorian households and businesses, and weâre doing that through the COVID disaster payment.â
He said fully vaccinated tradespeople who didnât attend this weekâs anti-lockdown protests in the Melbourne CBD would now be wondering why they had been shut down, which Mr Frydenberg called a âgenuine question only the state government can answerâ.
We have some early vaccine data from the federal government, and it seems weâve passed a couple of milestones.
More than 26 million doses have been administered across the country now, and more than half (50.15 per cent) of people aged 16 and up are fully vaccinated.
Georgia Meir, 14, receives her Moderna vaccine from a pharmacist. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Yesterday was the highest daily total of doses administered, with 347,000 doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer and also Moderna put into arms at mass hubs, GP clinics and pharmacists across the country.
It means weâve also had a record seven-day period, with a bit over 2 million doses administered in the last week.
This week is the first week people have been able to get the Moderna mRNA vaccine â" the first deliveries went to 1800 pharmacies around the country earlier this week.
Younger people have also started getting vaccinated in droves, with those aged 12 to 15 also now eligible for the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.
Those adolescents have only been eligible for less than a fortnight, but already 21 per cent of that age group has had at least one dose.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says it would be a bad decision for Queensland to keep its borders shut when the country reaches 80 per cent vaccination coverage, saying the state must learn to live with COVID-19.
It came after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday cast doubt on whether the state would allow interstate travel when the nationally agreed threshold was reached.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Frydenberg said such a decision would cost Queensland jobs and divide families.
âItâs inconsistent with the national plan agreed at national cabinet and itâs denying and delaying the inevitability, and that inevitability is living with the virus,â he told radio station 2GB.
âIt canât be any clearer â" you turn on your TV and in the UK and US and in Canada there are thousands of cases every day but they are living with the virus, theyâre getting on with their lives.
âMy message to Annastacia Palaszczuk is you need to learn to live with the virus and that is really important for Australians to get their lives back in a COVID-safe way.â
Victoriaâs daily coronavirus numbers are in.
The state has recorded 733 new, locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and one death. That figure is down from yesterdayâs tally of 766 cases.
The Department of Health has not said how many cases are linked to known outbreaks or how many people were already isolating when they received a positive test.
Zero cases were detected in hotel quarantine.
There are now 7160 active cases of coronavirus across the state.
Todayâs numbers are off the back of yesterdayâs 56,520 COVID tests.
MPs are demanding Sydneysiders be banned from northern parts of NSW, including Byron Bay, once the state reopens, insisting non-essential regional travel should not be allowed until local vaccination rates catch up.
In a bipartisan letter to Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Thursday, Nationals, Labor and Greens MPs said all regional travel was ânot good health policyâ while jabs were lagging in some areas.
Byron Bay, where vaccinations are below the state average.Credit:
âWithout policy changes our region will suddenly become deeply vulnerable to a major influx of newly freed Sydneysiders, while we are still short of the 70 per cent safety target,â they said.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard yesterday conceded regional vaccine supplies were ânot as good as they could have beenâ.
Read the full story here.
Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Australia needs to be aware of the âconsequencesâ 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 UKâs experience with renewable energy as a cautionary tale.
âWeâve got to make sure in every decision we make that we donât replicate the mistakes of the United Kingdom, suffer the consequences of whatâs happening in Europe, or the consequences will be ours,â Mr Joyce said on ABC radio.
âWhat happened in the UK was that renewables were not able to fill the void and ... theyâre having to fill the void by opening closed coal-fired power stations.â
Speaking on the Today show this morning, Mr Frydenberg said he and Mr Joyce had a âgood conversation last nightâ.
âWhether it was the Industrial Revolution, whether it was the digital age, financial markets have reacted to these structural shifts,â the Treasurer said.
âClimate 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.
âWhether it is a household mortgage or a business loan, it is important that we continue to be an attractive place in Australia and we donât 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.â
The Victorian government wanted to keep some of its âbig buildâ 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.
Melbourneâs 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 governmentâs plan among key building unions the CFMEU, Electrical Trades Union, the Australian Workersâ Union and the Plumbersâ 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 CFMEUâs Carlton headquarters on Monday and told the ministers that workers would boycott the governmentâs 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 âforthright man who said what he meant and meant what he saidâ.
âHe lived a big life. It was an authentic Australian life,â the PMâs office said in a statement.
âJohn 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 wonât ever be forgotten, and loyally supported the Liberal Party through what were lean times.
âBig 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.
âOn behalf of the Liberal Party, I extend my condolences to Johnâs family in their time of grief.â
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 Sydneyâs south west, would all be closed on Friday for contact tracing and cleaning.
All staff and students are asked to self-isolateâ¯and follow NSW Health directions after COVID-19 cases were reported in the school communities.
âNSW Educationâ¯will continue to work closely with NSW Health to ensure the health and safety of all students and staff is maintained,â the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a number of venues in regional NSW have been added to the stateâs 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 Melbourneâs western suburbs and a childcare centre in Melbourneâs 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 Melbourneâs 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 Coburgâs 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.
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