Australia Covid live update: Sydney braces for surge in cases as Perth, NT and Qld battle outbreaks

Darwin in lockdown after reporting four cases, WA imposes restrictions, and Queensland tracing contacts of cases with the Alpha variant. Follow the latest news live

• Latest NSW rules and Sydney lockdown restrictions
• NSW Covid exposure sites and cases map; Queensland hotspots
• Full report: outbreaks sweep nation as NSW reports 30 new infections, and Perth, NT and Qld record cases
• Travel bans: where you can and can’t go within Australia
• Download the free Guardian app; get our morning email briefing

10.39pm BST

Oh no! The federal government is being asked if NSW is still the “gold standard” of the Covid-19 response!

But it looks like Frydenberg, at least, isn’t ready to sell their favourite state government down the river just yet.

Well, they have been very successful to date, obviously, in dealing with outbreaks ...

I think they’d be the first to admit that those workers should have taken further precautions. And these are the issues that will be discussed not just by the AHPPC but also by state, territory ...

Not necessarily precautions, treasurer ... Was it a failure not having the rules and regulations in place from the state government?

Well, again, those rules should be in place to ensure that workers dealing with vulnerable cohorts have the necessary protections in place. Because we’re still dealing with this virus for some time to come, and we need to ensure that the more vulnerable cohorts are protected, and that means having the strictest of restrictions.

10.36pm BST

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is out and about this morning spruiking the new 2021 Intergenerational Report, the main takeaway of which is the warning that the most enduring economic effect from the pandemic is likely to be a smaller population and birth rates look set to significantly dip in the coming decades.

Also central to the report’s findings is that significant budget repair measures will need to be brought in, in order to rescue Australia from its Covid-19 debt:

We have issued important reforms and passed through the parliament only just last week.

We reduced the red tape to ensure that people workers can move more freely across the country with their mutual recognition of occupational licencing that’s an important microeconomic reform. We make significant changes to superannuation...

Continue reading...

from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/35VKjCp