Victorians to be offered free face masks
Benita Kolovos
More than 3m free face masks will be handed out to Victorians at testing sites, community health services and on public transport in an effort to reduce transmission of Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses.
The premier, Daniel Andrews, and the health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, announced the initiative at Victoria’s parliament this morning.
Andrews says the N95 and KN95 masks will be handed out over the next four to six weeks.
Anyone who presents at a state-run testing site will receive one box of 10 masks along with instructions on how to best wear them. Masks will also be distributed at multicultural, multi-faith events and Aboriginal gatherings, as well as train stations and through a number of disability service providers.
Andrews told reporters:
We know that the advice and the evidence is really clear. If you can wear a mask please wear one, particularly when you’re indoors, particularly where you can’t social distance from other other people. This all about trying to further limit and drive down even further those case numbers the hospitalisation numbers, taking pressure off our nurses, taking pressure off our ambulance workers and doctors and the whole health system. This just makes common sense.
Key events
Australian leaders, stars and cancer survivors continue to remember Newton-John
Tasmanian senator Catryna Bilyk, reflects on the death of Olivia Newton-John as a fellow cancer survivor and shares a hand-written note the star gave her.
Kylie Minogue, Hugh Jackman, prime minister Anthony Albanese and cancer survivors have also taken to social media to reflect on the inspirational status of the singer.
It’s sad to hear that another iconic Australian entertainer has died. But @olivianj was a lot more than that. Like me she was a cancer survivor and patient advocate and founder of the brilliant @ONJCRI, which will remain an important part of her legacy for decades to come. pic.twitter.com/dpbyDcdOQC
— Catryna Bilyk (@Catbilyk) August 8, 2022
Since I was ten years old, I have loved and looked up to Olivia Newton John. And, I always will. (Just like this picture @nfsaonline) She was, and always will be, an inspiration to me in so many, many ways. My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. x ONJ4EVER pic.twitter.com/3nE8PVDFLy
— Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue) August 8, 2022
Olivia Newton-John was a star. A bright, joyful glow in our lives. From the moment we saw her, she was a warm, enduring presence and her voice became a big part of the Australian soundtrack. Above all she was a wonderful, generous person. pic.twitter.com/0G0tc0tauI
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 9, 2022
Olivia Newton John was a beacon and a light to women like me. (Two times breast cancer survivor.) The world has lost a special person. I don’t know what else to say. Lost…
— Devorguilla. (@DevorguillaScot) August 8, 2022
Queensland records 24 Covid deaths
Queensland has recorded 24 more Covid deaths and 4,141 new cases in the last reporting period. There are 710 people with the virus in hospital in the state, with 24 of them in intensive care.
Meningococcal disease case reported in South Australia
A teenage boy is in a stable condition after being admitted to hospital with a case of meningococcal disease.
South Australian Health said there have been nine cases of the disease reported in the state this year, compared with six cases at the same time last year.
Instances of the disease have been seen throughout the country, including two cases confirmed in people who attended the Byron Bay music festival.
Benita Kolovos
Daniel Andrews reflects on Newton-John’s legacy through cancer centre
Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, said he was saddened to hear of the death of Olivia Newton-John, describing the Melbourne cancer centre she helped fund as her lasting legacy.
He told reporters at parliament this morning:
I was honoured to meet Olivia Newton-John on many different occasions in connection with the delivery of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre. [She was] an absolutely supreme talent, a person with such energy, vitality. She took her cancer journey and used that to save lives and change lives. And that’s just a deeply impressive thing.
As a lasting testament to her character and her generous spirit and just the person she was, we have the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre at the Austin hospital … The love and support that is central to that place is a lasting legacy to the person that she was. We are all very saddened, I think to see her pass. And as for celebrating her life, and her music, film and all the other amazing contributions she made we would, of course, want to speak to the family and be as respectful as we can. We’ve only just learned the sad news.
Follow the latest news on Trump, live
You can follow the latest updates in the breaking story of the FBI raid of Donald Trump’s Florida home on Guardian’s dedicated live blog:
Search of Trump’s home comes amid new details in book excerpt
As Donald Trump says the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home, here are the humble words of the reporter who broke the story:
News of the raid comes as photos suggest Trump blocked toilets with ripped-up White House documents, and an excerpt of a new book published in the New Yorker claims Trump wanted the Pentagon’s generals to be like Nazi Germany’s generals.
Edward Helmore brings you these stories:
Josh Butler
Government to unveil national biosecurity plan
The agriculture minister, Murray Watt, will launch a new national biosecurity strategy today, warning that climate change, Covid and online shopping have contributed to a biosecurity environment that is “more threatening than ever before”.
Watt, who will launch the plan in an address to the National Press Club, says it is the first ever federal plan of its kind and will involve authorities undertaking more regular national exercises to prepare for pest and disease outbreaks.
Victorians to be offered free face masks
Benita Kolovos
More than 3m free face masks will be handed out to Victorians at testing sites, community health services and on public transport in an effort to reduce transmission of Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses.
The premier, Daniel Andrews, and the health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, announced the initiative at Victoria’s parliament this morning.
Andrews says the N95 and KN95 masks will be handed out over the next four to six weeks.
Anyone who presents at a state-run testing site will receive one box of 10 masks along with instructions on how to best wear them. Masks will also be distributed at multicultural, multi-faith events and Aboriginal gatherings, as well as train stations and through a number of disability service providers.
Andrews told reporters:
We know that the advice and the evidence is really clear. If you can wear a mask please wear one, particularly when you’re indoors, particularly where you can’t social distance from other other people. This all about trying to further limit and drive down even further those case numbers the hospitalisation numbers, taking pressure off our nurses, taking pressure off our ambulance workers and doctors and the whole health system. This just makes common sense.
Matt Kean elected as NSW deputy Liberal leader
Michael McGowan
The New South Wales treasurer, Matt Kean, has been elected unopposed as the new deputy leader of the Liberal party in the state.
The party whip, Nathaniel Smith, announced the result of the partyroom meeting on Tuesday, which was forced following the resignation of former deputy Stuart Ayres in the wake of the New York trade commissioner controversy.
Kean, a moderate, had been expected to face a contested ballot after his centre-right rival, the transport minister, David Elliott, announced he would run.
But Elliott pulled out on Monday afternoon, saying he had been forced to eat “humble pie” after the right and moderate factions backed Kean for the position.
Peter Hannam
Consumer confidence drops, latest report shows
On the economic stats front, the latest consumer sentiment report from ANZ and Roy-Morgan shows confidence dropped 4.5% in the past week to its lowest level since April 2020.
The retreat reversed the modest gains over the previous three weeks, and came during a week that the Reserve Bank of Australia extended its series of rate rises to four meetings in a row.
@ANZ_Research and Roy-Morgan’s latest consumer confidence reading is out, showing a 4.5% decline last week to its lowest levels since April
2020, with the latest RBA cash rate rise getting some of the blame: pic.twitter.com/KbqWi98EOn— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) August 8, 2022
As the reserve bank noted last week in its quarterly statement on monetary policy (which we wrote about here) it’s watching how people respond to the rise in prices like the proverbial wedge-tailed eagle.
For now, those expectations are pretty much steady, at least according to ANZ/Roy-Morgan update.
Of particular interest to the RBA is what’s happening to inflation expectations. These edged higher last week (even as petrol prices continued to fall) although the four-week rolling average remained subdued, according to @ANZ_Research and Roy-Morgan. pic.twitter.com/LRX7sSEY98
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) August 8, 2022
One reason why we might see some further easing back of those inflation worries is that petrol and diesel prices are generally in retreat along with global oil prices (which are roughly back to where they were at the time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine).
According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum the price of unleaded petrol was down about 8% alone last week to 160.9 cents a litre.
If that keeps up, the end of the excise “holiday” on 29 September (when you’ll see the price change at the “bowser”) and its 22.1 cents a litre increase might be a lot more manageable.
One reason why the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been unwavering in his comments about letting the halving of the tax expire at the end of its six-month stint (costing the budget $3bn).
