Health News at Your Fingertips

PK has asked Joyce if it is appropriate for the Senate to be looking at the ABC”

“They want to have those Senate inquiries they can have one.

“You can turn up and defend the ABC if you wish, one thing you guys are good at is arguing your case, you can go there and argue your case and you will.

“You are making a big thing of it to be quite frank and making it worse, better to deal with it and send someone along, give your evidence.”

Joyce is arguing he cannot answer for Liberal moderates who want higher climate change targets.

“They are the Liberal Party, that is for him [Scott Morrison] to look after and the Liberal Party, I look after the National Party.”

Joyce says he is happy with the governments target and he thinks Australia did a great job.

Joyce is asked if the government should not have signed up to returning next year and revising the target.

“If they want to talk about something and have another talkfest, knock yourself out, have it somewhere else, have the movie stars come back and all the billionaires and all the core projects, and have people bleeding all over the place and terribly upset.

“We honour every agreement when we signed it. That is why we are cautious about what we sign. A lot of these other countries, yes, they will sign the agreement and hooray for the photo. But as they walk back on the corporate jet, they go, “Bye”.”

PK says Sharma was emotional because he felt it was a great achievement.

“Give me a break! These people are worried about the environment, they just want to end up on television.”

Joyce is now mocking the COP26 President for becoming emotional at the end of the final COP26 sitting.

“I think we have done a great job. I think we have done a great job.

“It annoys me that, what is that guy’s name? The chairman Sharma with his gavel, “I am crying, I can’t do it,” he wants to talk about shutting down the coal industry but he never talks about shutting down the oil fields in the North Sea, he doesn’t want to shut that down.

“He wants to shut down industries and other people’s countries, not in his country.”

Joyce says the nationals didn’t sign the COP26 final agreement including a request to strengthen 2030 emission targets – which the government did before issuing a statement within hours the target is fixed.

“I didn’t sign it.

“The Nationals didn’t sign it. I did not sign it.”

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is on Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas.

He says protestors who are currently blocking coal trains in the Hunter region are not exercising “their democratic right”.

“When they hang themselves off scaffolding, stopping trains, $60m worth of exports, but about $6m worth of royalties that could have gone to hospitals, schools, could have gone to things that support our standard of living.”

This from AAP:

The Victorian government is in talks with crossbenchers to amend its controversial pandemic legislation ahead of the debate in state parliament’s upper house.

The government is relying on the support of Animal Justice MP Andy Meddick, Reason Party MP Fiona Patten and Greens leader Samantha Ratnam to pass the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 this week.

If passed, the bill will replace the state of emergency powers due to expire on December 15 and will give the premier the responsibility of declaring a pandemic, which can be extended for three months at a time for as long as considered necessary.

Once a pandemic is declared, the health minister will be given “broad powers” to make public health orders. Such powers currently reside with the chief health officer, who is not an elected official.

However, both the premier and the health minister must continue to consult with the chief health officer and the advice behind the orders must be made public within a fortnight.

The bill has become a lightning rod for anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination groups, with thousands gathering in Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday to rally against it, including a man seen carrying a homemade gallows with three nooses in an apparent reference to the three crossbenchers.

Greens politicians are concerned about a catch in South Australia’s plan to open its border.

Fully vaccinated travellers from other states will be allowed to enter SA from 23 November.

But if they are coming from a local government area where there is community transmission and less than 80% of the population are fully vaccinated they still have to quarantine.

Jenny Leong (member for Newtown), Ellen Sandall (member for Melbourne) and Tammy Franks (SA) are concerned residents from the City of Melbourne and the City of Sydney will be impacted because statistical anomalies show a low vaccine rate in both central LGAs.

They have written to Greg Hunt flagging their concern.

“As it stands, these statistical anomalies will prevent many people living in the City of Sydney and the City of Melbourne from travelling and being reunited with family in South Australia,” the letter reads.

“It will also prevent interstate travel by South Australian residents to these cities.

“It is critical that vaccination rates are set and we are very supportive of ensuring the community is kept safe through a strong public health vaccination program.

“That said, it is problematic to be preventing interstate travel based on outdated population predictions which seem to skew the actual vaccination rates in these areas.”

There was also a strong warning for year 12’s celebrating finishing in Dunsborough later this month.

WA Commissioner of Police Chris Dawson said:

“I’d caution anyone that is contemplating to try and game the system … It’s a criminal offence. If you want to attempt to enter by way of fraud or forgery, you are liable, and look, why would you waste all your education up to year 12, you want to go to university or get a job, and run the risk of actually getting a criminal conviction?”

Mark McGowan has hit back at Greg Hunt after Hunt appeared yesterday on the ABC’s Insiders saying he heard Western Australia was considering opening its borders earlier than planned to coincide with the cricket.

“I’ve never met Greg Hunt, I’ve never spoken to Greg Hunt, I wouldn’t know him if I met him. He’s got a very vivid imagination. He hasn’t spoken to the [WA] health minister. I would urge the commonwealth government to stop making things up.

“The commonwealth has been difficult the whole way along the last two years, always staying to be very adventurous and unsafe whereas we have been very cautious and very safe.”

The plan for Western Australia at the moment is to set a date for reopening its borders once 80% of people 12 and over have been fully vaccinated on that date is set to be sometime in late January or early February.

That’s it from the BOM but I’ll follow the updates and bring you those through the afternoon.

You can check the NSW weather warnings on the BOM’s website and on Twitter.

Swindles is asked to give an update on operations in the Blue Mountains.

“The strong winds we saw over the weekend kept the BlueMountains unit very busy – over 60 calls for assistance for trees being down.

“Some leaking roofs as well as some of the rain that we got, extending down to the Hills area. Once again, our Blue Mountains crew are certainly active today in finishing those jobs.

“Warnings for wind, when we get them, we asked for people to secure loose items around the yard, and also with leaking roofs, we just had that we are expecting more rain, and when it comes into the season when you get the opportunity get onto your rooms, clean your gutters and cut down any low-lying trees over your rooms, that will certainly assist us.”

He said evictions warnings had been given out and residents were ready to leave if and when needed.

“We are working closely with the Bureau with regard to predictions. And may escalate to an evacuation order.

“When that does happen, those residents will be given clear instructions as to what they should do.

“As we referred to, in 2016, the community of Forbes are resilient, they are aware as to what could occur and I’m sure they have plans in place to look after themselves and we will be there to guide and assist.”

Swindles said they had 30 teams out in the area yesterday helping.

“I believe we had 30 teams out in the field day yesterday, doorknocking at risk properties, those 800 properties to give them forewarning, and upwards of over 100 SES volunteers who really just end up at times like these to help their community members.

“They are outstanding in the work they do.”