PM urges concession card-holders to fill up on free RATs whereas they’ll
As Covid-19 instances surge, pharmacists and GP teams have condemned the choice to finish entry to free dwelling testing kits for seniors and concession card holders on the finish of the month.
Anthony Albanese was requested on ABC Radio this morning why this measure was ending amid the spike.
He responded that he’d inherited the place from the previous authorities and urged eligible folks to fill up on speedy antigen assessments whereas they might:
To be very clear, my authorities has not made this resolution, this can be a resolution that was inherited from the previous authorities and state governments.
I’d encourage concession cardholders to go and get the ten free speedy antigen assessments that they’re eligible for by the tip of this month. There’s nonetheless a whole lot of time to go and try this. After all, on high of that, there are free speedy antigen assessments accessible in aged care amenities, throughout a variety of areas as nicely along with that.
Prof Sharon Lewin, the director of the Doherty Institute, adopted Albanese on ABC radio saying that governments must be versatile – a name that has been echoed by different elected representatives, together with Queensland senator Penny Allman-Payne.
Can somebody please inform @AlboMP that new governments could make new selections! Now will not be the time to withdraw free RATs and Covid help funds. And blaming the ‘trillion greenback debt’ is a cop out. How about they reduce a few of these fossil gasoline subsidies as a substitute. #RNBreakfast
— Penny Allman-Payne (@penejane70) July 12, 2022
Key occasions:
Josh Butler
Infrastructure minister Catherine King says some Coalition initiatives can be scrapped
The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, has claimed some initiatives pledged by the previous Coalition authorities can be unattainable to ship, saying her predecessor, Barnaby Joyce, left behind a “substantial mess” after showering Nationals seats in taxpayer-funded “largesse”.
In an interview with Guardian Australia, King mentioned her priorities within the portfolio included persevering with the inland rail and constructing infrastructure across the 2026 Melbourne Commonwealth Video games and 2032 Brisbane Olympics, however mentioned some initiatives commissioned below the final authorities could be scrapped.
“To be trustworthy, I’m a bit shocked at what I’m discovering, when it comes to the best way wherein the earlier authorities used this portfolio,” she mentioned.
NSW information 15 Covid deaths and 10,622 new instances
There are 2,023 folks in hospital and 61 individuals are in intensive care.
COVID-19 replace – Wednesday 13 July 2022
Within the 24-hour reporting interval to 4pm yesterday:
– 96.7% of individuals aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
– 95.2% of individuals aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/s9UXzwFM3B— NSW Well being (@NSWHealth) July 12, 2022
A foggy begin for Brisbane this morning.
Extra on the Covid-19 contaminated cruise ship which has now docked in Sydney
The Coral Princess cruise ship with greater than 100 individuals who have examined constructive to Covid-19 has docked in Sydney, and restrictions will purpose to restrict transmission.
After departing Eden on the NSW south coast, the Coral Princess, with greater than 2,300 on board, berthed at Round Quay simply earlier than daybreak on Wednesday. It is going to stay there for a day earlier than returning to its dwelling port of Brisbane.
The outbreak aboard the ship largely includes contaminated crew members, with 114 in isolation on Tuesday.
The crew are required to stay on board and passengers should report a detrimental speedy take a look at end result earlier than disembarking.
4 passengers had been additionally isolating after constructive outcomes, and 24 earlier disembarked in Brisbane, Queensland’s chief well being officer, Dr John Gerrard, mentioned.
– with AAP
Twitter sues Elon Musk
Twitter has sued Elon Musk to power a US courtroom to finish his $44bn takeover of the social media big after a dramatic few weeks of hypothesis that the deal was falling aside. The lawsuit says:
Musk entered right into a binding merger settlement with Twitter, promising to make use of his finest efforts to get the deal accomplished. Now, lower than three months later, Musk refuses to honor his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders as a result of the deal he signed not serves his private pursuits.
The Tesla CEO and richest man on Earth had reached a deal to purchase Twitter on 25 April, with Musk providing to purchase all the firm’s shares for $54.20 every.
Cockroach alert at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane
Because the Maroons and Blues put together to face off within the State of Origin remaining decider tonight, one other showdown is going on between the SES and the “inflow” of cockroaches within the stadium the place the ultimate will happen.
Brisbane Area SES volunteers have responded to a number of requests for help at Suncorp Stadium. With an inflow of cockroaches anticipated at Queensland’s dwelling of rugby league tonight, the orange military has positioned bait at strategic places across the stadium #QLDER pic.twitter.com/4bTc1ZDJ9y
— Qld Fireplace & Emergency (@QldFES) July 12, 2022
PM urges concession card-holders to fill up on free RATs whereas they’ll
As Covid-19 instances surge, pharmacists and GP teams have condemned the choice to finish entry to free dwelling testing kits for seniors and concession card holders on the finish of the month.
Anthony Albanese was requested on ABC Radio this morning why this measure was ending amid the spike.
He responded that he’d inherited the place from the previous authorities and urged eligible folks to fill up on speedy antigen assessments whereas they might:
To be very clear, my authorities has not made this resolution, this can be a resolution that was inherited from the previous authorities and state governments.
I’d encourage concession cardholders to go and get the ten free speedy antigen assessments that they’re eligible for by the tip of this month. There’s nonetheless a whole lot of time to go and try this. After all, on high of that, there are free speedy antigen assessments accessible in aged care amenities, throughout a variety of areas as nicely along with that.
Prof Sharon Lewin, the director of the Doherty Institute, adopted Albanese on ABC radio saying that governments must be versatile – a name that has been echoed by different elected representatives, together with Queensland senator Penny Allman-Payne.
Can somebody please inform @AlboMP that new governments could make new selections! Now will not be the time to withdraw free RATs and Covid help funds. And blaming the ‘trillion greenback debt’ is a cop out. How about they reduce a few of these fossil gasoline subsidies as a substitute. #RNBreakfast
— Penny Allman-Payne (@penejane70) July 12, 2022
Adeshola Ore
Australia braces for five,000 hospital instances a day
Australia’s three most populous states are going through shortfalls of greater than 6,500 hospital and healthcare employees because the nation’s well being system braces for Covid hospitalisations to rise to greater than 5,000 instances a day.
This comes amid a turbulent begin to the flu season that has additionally led to greater than 1,300 admissions to a bunch of main hospitals throughout the nation up to now this 12 months.
On Tuesday the federal well being minister, Mark Butler, mentioned modelling urged the height of the present Covid wave was but to come back and it may take so long as six weeks till case numbers and hospitalisations fell.
Hospitalisations, pushed by the extremely infectious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, may rise by 25% to only over 5,000 a day throughout Australia, he mentioned, just like the January peak of just about 5,400, in line with modelling primarily based on knowledge from the commonwealth and the states and territories.
Paul Karp
‘Australia is again re-engaged with the Pacific’
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is travelling to the Pacific Islands Discussion board right now to spruik Australia’s new emissions discount goal (43% by 2030) and the step-up by the US and Australia within the area.
Albanese informed Radio Nationwide:
My message can be that Australia is again re-engaged with the Pacific, that now we have a set of measures of help from maritime safety and defending their fishing shares to motion on local weather change and infrastructure, our $520m further growth help, in addition to our place on local weather change which is de facto an entrée to get via the door of credibility with our Pacific Island neighbours as a result of, for them, it’s a menace to their very existence.
Albanese hailed the brand new period after the “intransigence” of the Morrison authorities, and in addition drew a distinction with China by noting Australia’s help “doesn’t include strings hooked up”.
He welcomed the US’s announcement that it’s going to step up with an elevated diplomatic presence within the area, ambition on local weather change and infrastructure growth.
Albanese mentioned he had raised the Pacific step-up with Joe Biden on the Quad and New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern final week. He famous that the Pacific is an space of “strategic competitors”, evident from Solomon Islands’ safety settlement with China.
We wish to ensure that our Pacific mates perceive we wish to stay the safety companion of selection.
Albanese additionally spruiked his authorities’s bid to host a Cop local weather convention in Australia. Requested if Australia should carry its goal to host a future PIF assembly, Albanese famous Labor has “a mandate for our place” however 43% is a “flooring not a ceiling”.
He mentioned there “hasn’t been any speedy change” to China’s sanctions on Australia’s items after international minister Penny Wong met her counterpart Wang Yi final week.
Albanese batted away issues that free speedy antigen assessments received’t be supplied by the federal authorities to concession card holders past 31 July, noting Labor “inherited” the choice from the Coalition together with “$1tn of debt”.
Amy Remeikis
Local weather 200’s method for fulfillment
Local weather 200 says it’s fielding calls internationally after its success on the 2022 Australian federal election, with teams within the UK, US, France and Liberia desirous to know precisely how the Australian outfit did it.
The climate-focused group, supported by Simon Holmes à Court docket, used crowdfunding within the Might election to assist group teams fund native campaigns for unbiased candidates, leading to six new independents successful seats within the Home of Representatives, largely in opposition to established blue-ribbon Liberal MPs.
Earlier than an handle on the Nationwide Press Membership right now, Local weather 200 government director Byron Fay gave the vast majority of credit score to the group campaigns and the 11,200 donors:
Local weather 200 was only one small a part of this success, however we’re eager to share our data of the position that Local weather 200’s donors performed in levelling the taking part in area for climate-ambitious group independents.
China sanctions
China’s commerce sanctions on Australian items was a difficulty international affairs minister Penny Wong introduced up in her assembly final week together with her Beijing counterpart.
Anthony Albanese was requested on ABC Radio this morning if the assembly had caused any change within the sanctions.
He mentioned there had been no speedy change since Wong’s assembly however that China wanted to acknowledge there was no justification for the measures.
He emphasised that he desires to see extra cooperation with China however Australia will arise for its nationwide pursuits.
Penny Wong raised the problem of Chinese language sanctions on Australian items in her assembly together with her Chinese language Counterpart… did something change?
“China must acknowledge that there is no justification for this and take away it”
– @AlboMP, Prime Minister
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) July 12, 2022
Bowen says local weather change will hit Australian islands too
Chris Bowen is requested if the consideration of 100 coal and fuel initiatives for approval undermines the federal government’s message of a powerful local weather stance it’s taking to Pacific Islands Discussion board.
Bowen says there isn’t but a assure all initiatives will go forward:
There’s a lengthy lengthy option to go.
He mentioned his go to to the Torres Strait Islands had gone nicely, that he had reassured folks there that they’d not been forgotten.
He says Australia has to recognise the results of local weather on our personal islands, not solely international islands.
Renewables deal
Chris Bowen, the vitality minister, is on ABC Radio discussing the brand new renewable know-how deal brokered with the US on the sidelines of yesterday’s Sydney Power Discussion board.
Bowen says the settlement is the beginning of the method, and a recognition of every nation’s experience.
For any nation to have 80% photo voltaic cells in three years “that could be a large focus and threat to produce chains”.
Japan has requested to spice up LNG manufacturing however Bowen says it hasn’t been raised with him straight. However he says Japan’s minister for industrial competitiveness Kōichi Hagiuda is coming to Australia right now.
He says it exhibits how vital the assembly is that he didn’t pull out regardless of the demise of Shinzo Abe.
‘We’ve got reached out to all our Pacific mates’
Extra from Anthony Albanese’s interview this morning with ABC Radio, when he mentioned his agenda on the Pacific Islands Discussion board.
Albanese mentioned his key message was one in every of re-engagement and that Australia’s place on local weather was an “entrée to get via the door” with Pacific nations.
He mentioned he can be assembly with Manasseh Sogavare, the chief of Solomon Islands.
Albanese desires to stress there’s a “new period of cooperation” between Australia and Pacific Island nations after what he calls the “intransigence” of the earlier authorities. He mentioned relationships had been hampered by the Coalition’s place on local weather change.
He welcomed new US investments within the Pacific, saying they arrive as affirmation of Joe Biden’s announcement he desires to re-engage with the area.
After Kiribati’s departure from the discussion board, Albanese was requested whether or not he had reached out to its chief:
We’ve got reached out, as now we have reached out to all our Pacific mates.
He believed Pacific nations would additionally welcome Australia’s bid to host a Cop summit in partnership with them earlier than 2024.
Good morning!
As hospitalisations rise throughout the nation, well being authorities say the present Omicron wave is because of peak in coming weeks.
Mark Butler, the well being minister, mentioned modelling urged the height was but to come back and hospitalisations may rise by 25% to only over 5,000 a day throughout Australia, pushed by the extremely infectious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has this morning boarded a airplane to Fiji the place he’ll attend the important thing leaders assembly on the Pacific Islands Discussion board, together with a digital handle from Kamala Harris, the US vice-president.
Earlier than Albanese boarded that flight he informed ABC Radio that his key message on the discussion board can be that Australia is re-engaged with Pacific and welcomed the brand new US commitments within the area.
In the meantime, the Coral Princess cruise ship has docked in Sydney carrying scores of people that have examined constructive for Covid-19. Authorities say the outbreak has largely contaminated crew, who won’t be allowed to disembark.
I’m Natasha Might and, should you’d prefer to get in contact with information you suppose needs to be on the weblog, my messages are open on Twitter @natasha__may or e-mail natasha.might@theguardian.com.
Let’s get caught in.
