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Tag: Australia

  • Australian State uncovers 760 mystery cases of COVID-19, closes schools, bans weddings

    Australian State uncovers 760 mystery cases of COVID-19, closes schools, bans weddings

    A total of 760 mystery cases of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which are cases where authorities have been unable to identify a source of infection have been reported in Victoria, Australia.

    With the development, Premier Daniel Andrews declared a state of disaster in Victoria from 6:00 pm on Sunday, with Melbourne residents having to see stricter restrictions from Sunday evening, including a curfew between 8:00 pm – 5:00 am and staying within 5km of their home for shopping.

    A statement by the Premier reads, “I know how much Victorians want to go back to some semblance of normal or at least “COVID normal”. They want to be able to get a beer with their mates. To drop round and see mum. And they definitely want an end to these daily updates and their grim new milestones.

    “Our health experts tell us the measures we’ve introduced are working. But too slowly the current rate of community transmission – mystery cases that cannot be traced back to work or home – is far too high.

    “As they tell us, based on the current numbers, cases might begin to drop off not in days or weeks – but in months. Months more of lockdown restrictions. Months more of 300, 400, 500 cases a day

    “More Victorians in hospital beds. More Victorians hooked up to machines just to breathe. And more Victorians – more grandparents, parents, sons, daughters, partners and loved ones – choked to death by an invisible enemy. That’s not something I’m willing to accept. I don’t think it’s something any of us are willing to accept. We must do more. We must go harder. It’s the only way we’ll get to the other side of this.

    “I know Victorians are with me when I say, too many people are not taking this seriously. And too many people not taking this seriously means that too many other people are having to plan funerals for those they love. It’s why from 6pm tonight, Victoria will enter a State of Disaster. We used this same provision over summer, and as we step-up our fight against this public health bushfire, we need to use it again.

    “This will give our police additional powers to make sure people are complying with public health directions – more on which we’ll have to say in the coming days. From 6pm tonight, Melbourne will also move to Stage 4 restrictions with stronger rules to limit the movement of people and limit the spread of this virus across our city. That includes a curfew from 8pm to 8am beginning tonight.

    “The only reasons to leave home during these hours will be work, medical care and caregiving. Where you slept last night is where you’ll need to stay for the next six weeks. There’ll be exemptions for partners who live apart and for work, if required.

    “The Night Network will be suspended, and public transport services will be reduced during curfew hours. This will also allow us to redeploy more of our PSOS into our enforcement efforts.

    “New time, distance and gathering limits will also apply for exercise and shopping. Exercise will be limited to a maximum of one hour per day and no more than five kilometres from your home. Group size will be limited to a maximum of two – you and one other person – whether you live with them or not.

    “Shopping will be limited to one person per household per day. Again, the five-kilometre rule will apply. Of course, there’ll be some common sense exceptions. If your closest supermarket is further than five kilometres, you can still shop there. If you’re a parent with little ones, you can still take them with you when you go for a walk

    “And these distance, gathering and time limits wan’t apply for work, medical care or compassionate reasons. Study at TAFE and uni must be done remotely. And from Wednesday at 11:59pm, weddings in Melbourne cannot occur.

    “Face coverings will continue to be compulsory – ensuring that if we do have to be out, it’s in the safest way possible

    “The question I know most parents will be asking: schools will return to remote and flexible learning across all year levels.

    “Students who are currently attending onsite – including senior students and those in our specialist schools- will go to school on Monday, have a pupil free day on Tuesday, and be learning at home from Wednesday. Onsite supervision will be offered but tightened – only available for students who really need it. That means children whose parents are permitted workers and vulnerable kids who can’t learn from home.

    “From Thursday, those same rules will apply to Melbourne’s kinder and early childhood education services.

    “We know this will be a significant ask of parents with little ones and big ones too. But I promise, as a parent to three, it’s an ask I don’t make lightly. These changes will be in place for at least the next six weeks until Sunday 13 September. As always, we’ll keep reviewing and realigning the restrictions in line with the advice of our health experts – and if we can change things earlier, we will.

    “We also recognise that workplaces continue to be the site of many of our cases. Today, I’ve made some announcements that change how Victorians will live tomorrow, I’ll have more to say about the way Victorians need to work.

    “I know that will cause a certain level of anxiety and uncertainty, But the truth is, this is complex – and we’re going to take some extra time to make sure we get these calls right. I’ve had the job of leading this state for almost six years – more than 2000 days. And today is by far the hardest day- and the hardest decision. But it is the decision I’ve made to keep our state safe.

    “The whole way through this, I promise to be upfront. So i’ll say this now. This will be imperfect. And for a little while, there’ll be more questions than answers. It’s why I’m asking something else of Victorians – please be calm, please be kind, please be patient.

    “I understand people will feel scared and sad and worried. But we are Victorians – and we will get through this as Victorians. With grit, with guts and together. All the temporary sacrifices we make now all the time missed with mates, those delayed visits to mum -those sacrifices will help keep our mates and our mums and our fellow Victorians safe. We can we will get through this. Apart. But together”.

  • Four die in mid-air plane collision

    Four die in mid-air plane collision

    Four people died after two small planes crashed mid-air at a regional airport in Australia, the Police said.

    The incident took place near Mangalore Airport, some 120 kilometres north of Melbourne on Wednesday morning.

    “Emergency services were called to two separate crash scenes.

    “It is believed that two aircraft collided mid-air before crashing,’’ Victoria Police’s leading Senior Constable, Kendra Jackson, said in a statement.

    “Two occupants in each aircraft have died at the scenes.

    “The four persons are yet to be identified.’’

    Later, another police officer at the scene clarified that the two aircraft collided mid-air, but were not incinerated, before crashing to the ground.

    “One plane almost certainly crashed immediately and the other plane crashed about two kilometres north from here and both were extensively damaged prior to colliding with the ground,’’ Peter Koger, a local area commander, told reporters.

    Police said the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) have been notified.

    CASA said one of the planes was a Piper PA-44 Seminole twin-engine registered to a local training centre, while the second was a privately-owned Beech Travel Air D95A.

    Police, CASA and ATSB are all currently investigating.

  • Anglican Church ‘in crisis’ over same-sex marriage

    Anglican Church ‘in crisis’ over same-sex marriage

    One of Australia’s most senior Anglicans has declared the church is in a new “crisis” over same-sex marriage as Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier tries to calm a week of frenzied debate over whether LGBTQI people are welcome in the faith.

    Dr Freier, the Anglican Primate or head bishop, said crisis was “a strong word” and sought to downplay the question of sexuality and same-sex marriage as a “social issue” and a matter of conscience.

    His statement came in response to comments from Sydney’s conservative archbishop Glenn Davies, who told The Sunday Age the Anglican church was “in a crisis” because some clergy wanted to alter its doctrine to become more accepting of same-sex unions.

    It followed an incendiary speech to the Sydney diocese’s synod last week in which Dr Davies declared people who didn’t ascribe to the doctrine should “please leave” the church. He said later his remarks were directed at “the bishops” and clergy, not “the people in the pews”.

    The remarks were in part triggered by a vote of the Wangaratta diocese and its bishop John Parkes to bless (but not solemnise) civil same-sex unions. Dr Freier has referred that matter to the church’s internal appellate tribunal.

    The Sydney synod voted on Wednesday night to urge its administrators to seek legal advice on deferring its annual payment to the national church, worth about $566,000 next year.

    Some have seen the move as a potential precursor to the notoriously conservative Sydney diocese splitting from the church entirely, tearing apart the communion of more than three million Australians.

    Melbourne’s veteran Anglican scholar Muriel Porter described the Sydney diocese in 2011 as “a threat to global Anglicanism” that far outweighed its size and importance.

    In an interview, Dr Davies sounded a stern warning to clergy in Victoria and elsewhere that he “will not abide” any attempts to alter the church’s doctrine on sexuality and marriage.

    “I don’t have any doubt that in time to come people will breach the Rubicon. They’re testing the waters and my view is I don’t want to have a breach in the wall,” Dr Davies said.

    “We’re in a crisis. The crisis is that there are people that want to change the doctrine of our church. I’m not going to let it happen in Australia – that’s why I stood up and spoke up.”

  • Out-of-control bushfires destroy homes in Australia

    Several out-of-control bushfires in eastern Australia have destroyed a number of buildings and homes, officials have said, issuing emergency warnings.

    Three out-of-control bushfires in northern New South Wales (NSW) have been upgraded to emergency level, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) said on Tuesday, adding the bushfires were spreading quickly.

    The “very dangerous” blaze burning in Rappville area, has already destroyed homes and buildings, RFS said, asking residents to take shelter and protect themselves from the heat of the fire.

    Firefighters are battling high temperatures and low humidity, along with strong winds, creating more spot fires.

    RFS spokesman Greg Allan said there would “probably be no reprieve until on Wednesday.”

    Another bushfire nearby in Drake, which has been burning for weeks and is currently over 66,000 hectares in size, is “spreading quickly” and is out of control on the south-eastern side, RFS said.

    Also, residents living in the Kildare Road and Tenterfield area have been advised to seek shelter as an out-of-control blaze approached, with ground crews being supported by aircraft to slow the spread of fire and protect homes, RFS said.

    In another state, Queensland, a massive fire in south-eastern Lockyer Valley, 80 kilometres west of Brisbane, has claimed at least one house, according to local broadcaster ABC.

    “The fire is expected to have a life-threatening impact on the community,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) said.

    Temperatures in the Lockyer Valley reached 41 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

    Also, gusty winds are fanning another dangerous bushfire threatening the township of Thornton, which began last week due to a lightning strike in Glen Rock State Forest, QFES said.

  • FIFA WWC: Norway sink Australia in penalty shootout to reach last eight

    Norway beat Australia 4-1 on penalty kicks to reach the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2007 on Saturday in Nice.

    But this was after a highly-entertaining 1-1 draw which both sides could only end up with after extra time play.

    Norway’s Isabell Herlovsen opened the scoring shortly after the half hour.

    But Elise Kellond-Knight’s goal direct from a corner kick seven minutes from time sent the game into extra time ——- during which Australia’s Alanna Kennedy was sent off.

    Australia missed their first two kicks in the penalty shootout and Ingrid Syrstad Engen buried the winning kick to send Norway through.

    They will face either England or Cameroon in the quarter-finals for a place in the last four.

    “I’m really contented with how we handled all this pressure and stress,” Norway coach Martin Sjogren told a news conference later.

    Australia coach Ante Milicic was understandably devastated for his team.

    “I don’t know if there are any words to describe how I’m feeling but, more importantly, how the girls are feeling,” he said.

    Australia set a high tempo from the start and went close in the opening minute when Sam Kerr collected a through ball from Caitlin Foord and fired just wide.

    But it was Norway who found the back of the net first as Karina Saevik played Herlovsen in and the striker finished clinically in the 31st minute.

    There had to be VAR action and it happened five minutes from the interval when a ball bounced off Maria Thorisdottir’s shoulder.

    Referee Riem Hussein awarded Australia a penalty kick, but it was a decision that was overturned after a three-minute VAR review.

    For all their slick passing, the Matildas proved quite toothless in the area, having managed only a single shot on target by the hour mark.

    But Kellond-Knight sent a corner kick straight into the far corner of the net with seven minutes left to send the game to extra time.

    It was only her second goal in 110 appearances for her country.

    Caroline Hansen’s fierce shot was tipped over the bar by Australia goalkeeper Lydia Williams in the 99th minute as both teams attacked relentlessly.

    Kennedy was then shown a straight red card for bringing down Lisa-Marie Utland as she rushed towards goal.

    Vilde Risa attempted a long-range lob that landed on the crossbar as Australia struggled physically but they hung on for dear life to force the shootout

    Kerr and Emily Gielnik missed the first two attempts and Norway kept cool heads to book their place in the last eight.

  • New Australia law threatens social media firms with fines, jail over violent content

    New Australia law threatens social media firms with fines, jail over violent content

    Australia will fine social media companies up to 10 per cent of their annual global turnover and imprison executives for up to three years if violent content is not removed “expeditiously” under a new law passed by the country’s parliament on Thursday.

    The new law is in response to a lone gunman attack on two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, killing 50 people as they attended Friday prayers.

    The gunman broadcasted his attack live on Facebook and it was widely shared for over an hour before being removed, a timeframe Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described as unacceptable.

    Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, has been charged with one murder following the attack and was remanded without a plea.

    He is due back in court on April 5, when police said he was likely to face more charges.

    It is now an offense in Australia for companies, such as Facebook Inc and Alphabet’s Google, which owns YouTube, not to remove any videos or photographs that show murder, torture or rape without delay.

    Companies must also inform Australian police within a “reasonable” time-frame.

    “It is important that we make a very clear statement to social media companies that we expect their behavior to change,” Mitch Fifield, Australia’s minister for communications and the arts, told reporters in Canberra.

    Juries will decide whether companies have complied with the timetable.

    “We have zero tolerance for terrorist content on our platforms,” said a spokesperson for Google in an emailed statement.

    “We are committed to leading the way in developing new technologies and standards for identifying and removing terrorist content.”

    A spokeswoman for Facebook was not immediately able for comment.

    Facebook said last week it was exploring restrictions on who can access their live video-streaming service, depending on factors such as previous violations of the site’s community standards.

    Australia’s opposition Labor party backed the legislation, but said it will consult with the technology industry over possible amendments if it wins power at an election due in May.

    Australia’s parliament will rise until after the election. The newly elected lawmakers will not sit until at least July.

    Critics of the legislation said the government moved too quickly, without proper consultation and consideration.

    “Laws formulated as a knee-jerk reaction to a tragic event do not necessarily equate to good legislation and can have myriad unintended consequences,” said Arthur Moses, head of the Australian Law Council.

  • World’s largest floating LNG platform starts production in Australia

    World’s largest floating LNG platform starts production in Australia

    Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday it has begun output at its Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility in Australia, the world’s largest floating production structure.
    It is also the last of a wave of eight LNG projects built in the country over the last decade.
    The project started up later and cost more than originally estimated.
    It is expected to further cement Australia’s lead as the world’s biggest LNG exporter, after the country took the crown in November.
    In a statement, Shell said wells have now been opened at the Prelude facility, located 475 kilometres north-north east of Broome in Western Australia.
    This means Prelude has now entered start-up and ramp-up, the initial phase of production where gas and condensate is produced and moved through the facility.
    Condensate is an ultra-light form of crude oil.
    Prelude is expected to have an annual LNG production capacity of 3.6 million tonnes, 1.3 million tonnes a year of condensate and 400,000 tonnes a year of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
    Shell did not immediately respond to a media query on when first LNG will be exported from the facility.
    However, analysts estimate exports to start by early next year, with condensates likely to start first.
    “First LNG cargo is still several weeks assuming all proceeds as planned, but the timing of first cargo and pace of ramp-up is still subject to technical risk,” said Saul Kavonic.
    Kavonic is energy analyst at Credit Suisse in Sydney.
    “Given Prelude’s novelty, geographic conditions and challenges, it may be subject to greater risk to timeline from wellhead production to first cargo than an average LNG project.
    “We expect Shell to seek to get it done right, rather than rush things,” he said.
    Shell owns 67.5 per cent of the project, while Japan’s Inpex Corp, Taiwan’s CPC Corp and Korea Gas Corp hold the rest of the shares.
    Australia overtook Qatar as the world’s largest exporter of LNG for the first time in November.
    This was after the start-up of a number of export projects over the past three years, most recently the Ichthys facility.
    “The start-up of Prelude, following the ramp-up in production at Ichthys and Russia’s Yamal LNG is expected to put pressure on the Asian market next year,’’ said Kittithat Promthaveepong.
    Promthaveepong is a senior analyst at FGE.

  • Recognising Jerusalem as capital of Israel will threaten Australia’s relationship with Indonesia – Ex PM

    Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday warned his successor that recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would threaten Australia’s relationship with Indonesia.
    Following a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a global conference, Turnbull advised Prime Minister Scott Morrison who deposed him as leader of the governing Liberal Party in August that Widodo expressed “serious concern” about the plan to move Australia’s Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
    “There is no question, were that move to occur, it would be met with a very negative reaction in Indonesia.
    “This is after all the largest Muslim-majority country in the world,” Turnbull told reporters on Tuesday.
    Morrison declared he was “open” to the idea of moving the embassy in the lead-up to the by-election in Turnbull’s former seat of Wentworth.
    More than 12 per cent of voters in Wentworth are Jewish and would be more likely to support the move.
    If the move was to go ahead, Australia would become the second country in the world to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the city as Israel’s capital after the U.S. did so.
    During a 40 minute meeting with Widodo, Turnbull said the Indonesian President “expressed to me, as he has done to Prime Minister Morrison, the very serious concern held in Indonesia about the prospect of the Australian embassy in Israel being moved from Tel Aviv to ­Jerusalem.”
    With Indonesians headed to the polls for a general election in 2019 Widodo has been working to secure the support of the nation’s conservative Islamic majority who oppose recognising Jerusalem as an Israeli city.
    Widodo’s objection to Morrison’s announcement raised doubt over whether a free trade agreement between Indonesia and Australia, which took eight years to negotiate, would go ahead but Turnbull dismissed that notion.
    “I have no reason to believe it won’t.
    “Of course, it then has to be ratified through the Indonesian parliamentary system in the normal way,” he said.
     

  • Australia, Netherlands hold Russia legally responsible for Malaysian MH17 crash

    Australia and the Netherlands have decided to officially hold Russia accountable for its role in downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014, paving the way for the two countries to possibly take legal action against Moscow.

    MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board. In a report from the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) issued Thursday, international investigators said the Buk anti-aircraft system used to bring down the jet belonged to the Russian military.

    “The Netherlands and Australia are now convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation that was used to down MH17,” Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok said in a statement on Friday.

    “The government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable,” Blok said.

    “Australia and the Netherlands have informed the Russian Federation that we hold it responsible under international law for its role in the downing of MH17,” Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.

    Bishop and Blok said their governments asked Russia on Friday to enter talks about its role in the disaster in order to find a solution “that would do justice to the tremendous suffering and damage” caused by the downing.

    The case could next be presented to an international court or organization for judgement, the Dutch and Australian governments said.

    The son of an Australian couple killed in the disaster said earlier Friday the international community should pressure Russia to take responsibility after investigators found its military missile brought down the flight.

    “It’s good to see some strong evidence that Russia was involved,” Paul Guard, who lost his parents Jill and Roger in the disaster, told Australian broadcaster ABC.

    “Clearly, Russia has a lot of questions to answer as to what its missile launcher was doing there and why it was involved in this war in the first place.”

    He said governments have a problem in acknowledging their involvement “in these sorts of things.”

    “The US, I think, took over 10 years to acknowledge the shooting down of an Iranian jet. I’m not expecting anything anytime soon.”

  • Four children, three adults found dead with gunshot wounds

    Four children, three adults found dead with gunshot wounds

    Four children and three adults were found dead with gunshot wounds on Friday in a rural home in south-western Australia, in an incident that has sent shockwaves through the small community.

    Police are treating it as a murder-suicide and said they are not looking for any suspects.

    West Australian Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said officers were called to a building in Osmington in the Margaret River region, 270 kilometres south of Perth, early Friday.

    “The loss of any life is tragic, but four children and three adults, this is a significant tragedy,” he told reporters in Perth.

    Osmington is a small rural community with some 135 residents. It has a handful of farms, vineyards and stud farms.

    According to local media, three generations of the same farming family were involved in the incident and two of the adults were the grandparents of the family.

    Dawson did not identify the victims. He said the bodies of two adults were found outside a building, while the remaining five bodies were discovered inside.

    “It appears that gunshot wounds are there, but I don’t want to go further than that as two firearms have been located,” Dawson said.

    He said police were tipped-off by a man connected to the property but did not elaborate.

    “Police are currently responding to what I can only describe as a horrific incident,” he said.

    “This will be a very large-scale and detailed investigation.”

    All the victims appeared to be residents of the property, police said, but did not explain how they were connected.

    Police are still trying to locate next of kin and friends.

    Libby Mettam, a local parliamentarian, said the deaths had sent “significant shockwaves” through the town and the community was hurting.

    “This is a much-loved family, a big part of the Margaret River community,” Mettam told reporters.

    Felicity Haynes, a former local councillor, who lives next to the property where the incident took place, said the family involved had moved in just three years earlier and were “caring neighbours.”

    “They were a very socially aware family, doing their best to create a safe community, and that is why it is so shocking to think that could be destroyed so quickly,” she told broadcaster ABC.

    Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan described it as “tragic and shocking.”

    Local media have called it “the worst mass shooting incident” in decades.

    In 1996, 35 people were killed over two days in the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania. That mass shooting prompted strict gun laws in the country, including penalties of up to 14 years in jail for unregistered firearms.

    “We have been lucky that all forms of gun-related deaths have reduced dramatically since we took that step of having less guns,” Glynn Greensmith, an expert on mass shooting incidents, told ABC.

    “But there are as many guns now in Australia as there were at the time of the Port Arthur massacre.”

    dpa