Friday, 31 July 2020

The Morrison Government was advised to get the priorities straight but refused to listen


It appears Scott Morrison & Co did not listen to this open letter. 


Corresponding authors:

Chris Edmond (cedmond@unimelb.edu.au)
Steven Hamilton (steven_hamilton@gwu.edu)
Richard Holden (richard.holden@unsw.edu.au)
Bruce Preston (bruce.preston@unimelb.edu.au)

The views expressed are those of the signatories and not necessarily those of their employer.

19 April 2020

Dear Prime Minister and Members of the National Cabinet:

The undersigned economists have witnessed and participated in the public debate about when to relax social-distancing measures in Australia. Some commentators have expressed the view that there is a trade-off between the public health and economic aspects of the crisis. We, as economists, believe this is a false distinction.

We cannot have a functioning economy unless we first comprehensively address the public health crisis. The measures put in place in Australia, at the border and within the states and territories, have reduced the number of new infections. This has put Australia in an enviable position compared to other countries, and we must not squander that success.

We recognise that the measures taken to date have come at a cost to economic activity and jobs, but believe these are far outweighed by the lives saved and the avoided economic damage due to an unmitigated contagion. We believe that strong fiscal measures are a much better way to offset these economic costs than prematurely loosening restrictions.

As has been foreshadowed in your public remarks, our borders will need to remain under tight control for an extended period. It is vital to keep social-distancing measures in place until the number of infections is very low, our testing capacity is expanded well beyond its already comparatively high level, and widespread contact tracing is available.

A second-wave outbreak would be extremely damaging to the economy, in addition to involving tragic and unnecessary loss of life.

Sincerely,


On the day this open letter was written the number of active confirmed Covid-19 cases in Australia was falling - averaging 42 cases a day in that week. However, nationally there were still est. 2,306 active & not yet recovered cases of the virus and the death toll had reached 70 people.

By 20 April 2020 national infection growth rate - which needed to be below a factor of 1 if Australia wanted to maintain suppression or eliminate the virus - was recorded as 0.89 representing an average of 11 new cases per day for the last 7 days.

By 2 May 2020 active & not yet recovered cases had fallen to 901 but deaths had risen to 93 people. 

That week Prime Minister Scott Morrison began to push for an easing of COVID-19 public health order restrictions.

However by 20 May Australia was averaging 17 cases per day and the infection growth rate was beginning to climb again. 

Even though the national infection growth rate had been above a factor of 1 since early June, the Morrison Government continued to push for a rolling back of public health order restrictions and castigated those states, industry sectors and workers which it thought were not responding quickly enough to its desire to 'open the economy'.

In varying degrees the states and territories complied. The result?

By 3pm on 8 July 2020, there were 1,293 active & not yet recovered cases of COVID-19 in Australia and 106 deaths.

As of 3 pm on 29 July the national number of active & not yet recovered COVID-19 cases stood at est. 5,787 and known deaths from the virus totalled 176 people. That day the Australian Dept. of Health recorded there has been an average of 385 new cases reported each day over the last week.

It is now Friday 31 July 2020 and the resurgence of COVID-19 infection predicted by those 289 economists last April is underway.


Thursday, 30 July 2020

Fair Work Commission shuts the door after COVID-19 has bolted


In April 2020 the Fair Work Commission was aware of a need and varied 99 modern awards to support the inclusion of "unpaid pandemic leave".

At the time it was also aware that there was a need to consider paid pandemic leave in respect of “health care workers” covered by a number of awards.

However, on 8 July the Fair Work Commission dithered and refused to vary identified “Health awards” to provide for paid pandemic leave.

This refusal came despite the strong suspicion that some private sector aged care workers in insecure employment were not declaring COVID-19 symptoms as they could not afford to stay home without suffering financial hardship and possible loss of ongoing employment.

The inevitable began to occur. COVID-19 infection numbers began to rise again in private sector aged care facilities in Victoria where there are now at least 440 active cases in 61 aged care facilities and the death toll for those in residential care stands at 47 elderly people.

In addition these 61 aged care facilities appear to be associated with another 78 COVID-19 cases.

Although Victoria has the highest death toll New South Wales is not far behind, with 29 elderly people in residential care dead since the start of the pandemic.

The national COVID-19 death toll in residential care stood at 78 on 29 July 2020 according to the Australian Government Dept. of Health. 

It was only on 27 July that the Fair Work Commission decided it was convinced there was a need for paid pandemic leave in the aged care sector*.

ABC News, 28 July 2020:

Aged care workers employed under three awards will be entitled to two weeks' paid leave if they are required to self-isolate due to having coronavirus symptoms or being a close contact of a confirmed case, following a ruling from the Fair Work Commission.

The amendments will come into effect from Wednesday, July 29, and last for three months.

Conditions attached to the paid leave include:
  • Workers must be aged 17 or older and be likely to have worked during the self-isolation period
  • Cannot be receiving any income — including other leave or JobKeeper — during their time in quarantine
  • If workers test positive to the virus they will be provided with workers compensation leave, which will supersede the pandemic leave
  • If the direction to self-isolate comes from a doctor, and not come the Government or employer, the worker must provide a medical certificate
  • The entitlement extends to casual employees "engaged on a regular and systemic basis" and the payment would be based on their average earnings over the past six weeks.....
In its ruling, the FWC stated "it cannot be assumed that the current outbreak will remain confined to Victoria".

"The recent events in that state demonstrate how rapidly circumstances can change," the full bench of the commission found.

"Recent developments in New South Wales are not encouraging. The award of the entitlement remains necessary notwithstanding that the current locus of the pandemic is in Victoria."…...

Key points:
  • The Fair Work Commission ruled the paid leave was necessary nationwide due to recent events demonstrating "how rapidly circumstances can change"
  • The ruling follows submissions from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Health Services Union and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation calling for paid pandemic leave to apply for all staff in aged care across the country until the end of September
  • Only casual employees who can have been employed on a "regular and systemic basis" will be entitled to the paid leave
  • The commission's ruling grants paid pandemic leave to staff working in residential aged care under the Aged Care Award, the Nurses Award and the Health Professionals Award.
NOTE
* See Fair Work Commission, Decisions, Health Sector Awards—Pandemic Leave, (AM2020/13), 27 July 2020

Wednesday, 29 July 2020

If a Gumnut Baby & Kooka can mask up then so can you!


Government Spanish Influenza Pandemic Poster 1919
May Gibbs

More than 60 per cent of businesses in Byron Bay are now relying on JobKeeper to stay afloat


The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 July 2020:

In Byron Bay, sales of a $9.30 large green G-Force smoothie reveal how the COVID-19 wave has dumped on the NSW tourist town. 


In good times, with 2.4 million visitors a year ranging from backpackers to festival goers and others looking for yoga, surf and a healthy lifestyle, Byron can support six smoothie businesses. 

One of them, Sweet Byron, would sell 19 of these large green smoothies a day.   

Then coronavirus hit, forcing the closure of domestic and international borders. Byron's foreign visitors dried up, and its English language schools nearly emptied. 

 COVID-19 caused the cancellation of weddings and events such as the Writers Festival and the Splendour in the Grass misic festival, which usually provide a boost in the slow winter months. 

Ninety per cent of shops, hotels and restaurants in the town closed. When they reopened before school holidays, the streets were empty and Sweet Byron was lucky if it sold two Gforce Smoothies. 

Those students and backpackers who had remained headed north when the Queensland border re-opened earlier this month. 

More than 60 per cent of businesses in Byron are now relying on JobKeeper to stay afloat, according to a map by data analytics company Taylor Fry released last week

This is the most in any local government area in Australia and double the number in capital cities. 

Without JobKeeper Mika Cohen, the owner of the Sweet Byron smoothie shop, said his business wouldn't survive. 

Smoothie sales bounced back during the recent school holidays after coronavirus travel restrictions lifted and the town filled with families who followed the sun north. 

Mr Cohen was back to selling 8 Gforce Smoothies a day, still less than half the number he sold pre-COVID. 

With nearly all of Byron's economy tied to tourism, hospitality and the creative arts, Byron mayor Simon Richardson said the pandemic has delivered a "triple whammy". 

"It is really dangerous times for us," he said. 

Hotel bookings looked healthy for summer, but if the town doesn't get that "fattening" he feared it could "lurch into real danger". 

Hotel owner Christian Millett said Byron had been a stable market all year long, in the past. But after coronavirus shut down weddings and festivals, Mr Millett said he would not have been been able to justify keeping his doors open outside of school holidays if he wasn't receiving JobKeeper.....

Taylor Fry's analysis found smaller firms in retail, hospitality, manufacturing and construction sectors are especially dependent on JobKeeper to retain their staff...... 

When the tourism dried up, it affected the rest of the region with "all the pork and tomatoes, macadamia and the mueslis which aren't being bought".

Cr Richardson said there was a "false sense of affluence" associated with Byron because of its multimillion-dollar beach houses and movie-star residents like Chris Hemsworth. 

"For every $10 million house at Wattegos Beach there are 10 homes that are in some of the poorest areas in NSW," he said. 

Four areas in the LGA are among the most disadvantaged 20 per cent in Australia, and two are among the most affluent..... 

Rents are also high, and Cr Richardson said he has seen more people couch surfing after losing their jobs. A shopkeeper said his landlord wanted to restore rents to pre-COVID levels after providing discounts earlier: "In this time, we can't afford the full rent for the premises ... because there are 60 to 40 per cent fewer tourists." 

Taylor Fry's principal Alan Greenfield said without JobKeeper he was nervous about the future of regional tourist towns, especially if restrictions on travel continued. "If locals can't see a future where they live, they might be inclined to move away." 

Simon Westaway, the executive director of the Australian Tourism Industry Council, said the impact of COVID-19 on his 10,000 members had been "diabolical". Unlike other industries, it had been hard for tourist operators to "pivot" to other business. 

Even if people could travel, the impact of continuing uncertainty over jobs and rising mortgage stress – estimated to grow to $200 billion from $60 billon now – meant visitors were not necessarily buying the most expensive "smoothie". 

"You put all these figures together, and you go wowie kazowie, who is in a mindset to have a decent holiday? Let alone if you are allowed out [by governments]. " 

Although business was down now, surf school director and founder of Let's Go Surfing Brenda Miley said Byron was an aspirational place that will bounce back. "Everyone wants to go there. It is well worn trek from Bondi to Byron, and that all came together last school holidays." 

 She thinks it will be booked out next summer if government restrictions on travel aren't in place. "People who were planning to go skiing in Colorado or France are so happy to go to Byron and surf for a week or two," she said.

Percentage of NSW Northern Rivers Businesses relying on JobKeeper Payments by Local Government Area - as of 22 July 2020 

  • Byron 60.39%
  • Tweed 47.79%
  • Ballina 39.56%
  • Clarence Valley 34.52%
  • Lismore 35.05%
  • Richmond Valley 27.45%
  • Kyogle 21.3%

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Climate change denier Ian Plimer in the news again


YouTube GWPF video snapshot
Former mining geologist Ian Plimer (left) is nothing if not persistent. 

North Coast Voices has been noting his biased, inaccurate & frequently irrational opinions since December 2008.


This was the fall-out from one of his articles published nine months ago.

The Guardian, 24 July 2020:

An op-ed by Prof Ian Plimer in the Australian, which was condemned as blatantly false by climate scientists, has been found to have breached standards by the Australian Press Council. In November, his column titled “Let’s not pollute minds with carbon fears” argued that there “are no carbon emissions. If there were, we could not see because most carbon is black. Such terms are deliberately misleading, as are many claims.”

The article also referred to the “fraudulent changing of past weather records” and “unsubstantiated claims polar ice is melting”, as well as “the ignoring of data that shows Pacific islands and the Maldives are growing rather than being inundated”.

Despite a chorus of criticism at the time, the former editor John Lehmann defended Plimer’s article, saying “his voice is one of many which are important in the mix”.

In a lengthy adjudication the Oz was forced to publish on page two on Friday, the press council said the article contained inaccurate and misleading material in its claims that the Bureau of Meteorology had fraudulently changed weather records and that Plimer’s claims that there was no evidence polar ice was melting were misleading.

The newspaper breached two of the general principles of reporting: ensuring factual material is accurate (principle 1) and ensuring facts are presented with reasonable fairness and balance and opinion is based on fact (principle 3).

The council found that while it would have preferred Plimer’s links to the mining industry were disclosed in the column, the Australian did not breach guidelines in not disclosing because Plimer’s “past or present directorships of mining companies and advocacy in the debate around climate change were so well known” that it was not required.

Plimer is a professor of geology and well-known climate change denier who has served as a director of a number of mining firms, including Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill Holdings and Queensland Coal Investments.

In reviewing the article last November, University of New South Wales professor Katrin Meissner wrote: “This article is an impressive collation of the well known, scientifically wrong, and overused denier arguments. It is ideologically motivated and, frankly, utter nonsense.”….

A musing on the "guilty"


There was a book written by three journalists in 1940 under the pseudonym "Cato" which accused fifteen prominent men of the appeasement of Adolf Hitler and the failure of British government to rearm in between wars.

The "guilty men" identified as drawing Britain into the Second World War were: Neville Chamberlain, Sir John Simon, Sir Samuel Hoare, Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin, Lord Halifax, Sir Kingsley Wood, Ernest Brown, David MargessonSir Horace Wilson, Sir Thomas Inskip, Leslie Burgin, James Earl Stanhope, W. S. Morrison, and Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith.

If one were to lay the blame for where the world stands right now who would we decide to blame for the retreat of democracy, increased social & economic inequality, widespread environmental degradation, global pandemics, endless small wars, a rogue banking & finance industry, an untrustworthy fourth estate, world-wide climate change and a plethora of crazy conspiracy theories on any subject imaginable?

There is a cast of thousands to chose from across these categories.

My own list of "guilty" individuals would be much longer than Cato's and from a personal perspective begin but not end with: Queen Elizabeth IISir John Kerr, John Malcolm Fraser, John Winston Howard, Richard Milhous NixonFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand, William Jefferson 'Bill' ClintonGeorge Herbert Walker BushGeorge Walker Bush, Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin LadenAnthony Charles Lynton 'Tony' BlairMargaret Hilda ThatcherKeith Rupert Murdoch, Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, Johannes Bejlke Petersen, Anthony John 'Tony' AbbottGeorge PellDavid & Charles Koch, Mark Zuckerberg, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Donald John TrumpAlexander Boris de Pfeffel JohnsonScott John MorrisonLiberal Party of Australia, U.S. Republican Party and the U.K. Conservative Party.


Monday, 27 July 2020

Supreme Court removes authorised status from a planned protest march from Sydney Town Hall to NSW Parliament House & rally calling for justice for Indigenous man David Dungay Jr. who died in police custody in 2015


NSW Police, Latest News, 26 July 2020:

NSW Police Force statement on Supreme Court decision  


The NSW Supreme Court has prohibited a public assembly planned for Sydney on Tuesday (28 July 2020) due to health and safety concerns associated with COVID-19. 

The protest is now unauthorised. 

Those thinking of attending – despite the Supreme Court decision and health advice – are strongly urged to reconsider their plans. 

While the NSW Police Force recognises and supports the rights of individuals to exercise their right to free speech, large-scale events, such as these, are currently subject to restrictions under the Public Health Act. 

As such, police will not hesitate to take the appropriate action, if required.

The NSW Supreme Court case in question was Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Force v Padraic Gibson (OBO Dungay Family) - 2020/00213575.

A Northern Region NSW Police officer charged over alleged neglect of duty with regard to a domestic violence incident


Destroy The Joint: Counting Dead Women, 15 July 2020






NSW Police, Latest News, 22 July 2020:

A police officer has been charged following an investigation into alleged neglect of duty. 

In January 2020, an investigation was commenced by officers from a northern region police district after an officer allegedly failed to appropriately investigate a reported domestic violence incident. 

Following inquiries, a male senior constable was issued a Future Court Attendance Notice yesterday (Tuesday 21 July 2020), for neglect of duty. 

He is due to appear before Newcastle Local Court on Thursday 3 September 2020. 

The officer is currently suspended with pay.

Sunday, 26 July 2020

Byron Central Hospital fever clinic has confirmed two new positive COVID-19 cases following testing of a couple aged in their 60s who presented on 24 July 2020


Northern NSW Local Health District, media release, 25 July 2020:

Byron Central Hospital fever clinic has confirmed two new positive COVID-19 cases following testing of a couple aged in their 60s who presented yesterday. 

The couple had recently returned from Sydney and their cases have been associated with a series of funeral gatherings and a church service attended by a woman in her 40s from the Fairfield area, in Sydney. 

NSW Public Health Unit is conducting relevant interviews and contact tracing to ensure all steps are being taken to manage the risk. The couple are currently self isolating at home. 

This now brings the total number of cases in Northern NSW to 58.

NNSWLHD cases by likely source of infection: 

Source                                                                                                 
Overseas or interstate acquired  53 
Locally acquired – contact of a confirmed case or in a known cluster 4 Locally acquired- source not identified 1 
Under investigation 0 
Total 58 

We encourage anyone with even the mildest of symptoms to come forward for testing to help contain community spread of COVID-19. 

The symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, loss of smell and taste. 

Even if minor symptoms develop, please seek testing and self-isolate. 

Clinics are located at The Tweed Hospital, Byron Central Hospital, Lismore Base Hospital and Grafton Base Hospital, or other GP or pop up clinics in the region. 

A full list of testing clinics can be found at: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/clinics.aspx

Big Ted talks about the ABC, Australia's public broadcaster


https://youtu.be/d9WFjJqdLYM

Australian governments receive yet another warning that mass extinction events are getting closer


All three tiers of Australian governments - federal, state and local - need to turn and face this reality.

Nature, Ecology & Evolution magazine, 20 July 2020:

Impact of 2019–2020 mega-fires on Australian fauna habitat 


Michelle Ward, Ayesha I. T. Tulloch, James Q. Radford, Brooke A. Williams, April E. Reside, Stewart L. Macdonald, Helen J. Mayfield, Martine Maron, Hugh P. Possingham, Samantha J. Vine, James L. O’Connor, Emily J. Massingham, Aaron C. Greenville, John C. Z. Woinarski, Stephen T. Garnett, Mark Lintermans, Ben C. Scheele, Josie Carwardine, Dale G. Nimmo, David B. Lindenmayer, Robert M. Kooyman, Jeremy S. Simmonds, Laura J. Sonter & James E. M. Watson 

Abstract 

Australia’s 2019–2020 mega-fires were exacerbated by drought, anthropogenic climate change and existing land-use management. 
Here, using a combination of remotely sensed data and species distribution models, we found these fires burnt ~97,000 km2 of vegetation across southern and eastern Australia, which is considered habitat for 832 species of native vertebrate fauna. 

Seventy taxa had a substantial proportion (>30%) of habitat impacted; 21 of these were already listed as threatened with extinction. 
To avoid further species declines, Australia must urgently reassess the extinction vulnerability of fire-impacted species and assist the recovery of populations in both burnt and unburnt areas. 

Population recovery requires multipronged strategies aimed at ameliorating current and fire-induced threats, including proactively protecting unburnt habitats. [my yellow highlighting]

The Guardian, 21 July 2020: 

The publication of the peer-reviewed study in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution followed the Morrison government on Monday releasing an independent review of the laws, known as the Environment Protection and Conservation Biodiversity (EPBC) Act. 

The interim review led by Graeme Samuel, a former competition watchdog head, found Australia’s environment was in an unsustainable state of decline and the laws were not fit to address current and future environmental challenges. 

Samuel recommended the introduction of national environmental standards that set clear rules for conservation protection while allowing sustainable development, and the establishment of an independent environmental regulator to monitor and enforce compliance. 

The environment minister, Sussan Ley, agreed to develop environmental standards, but rejected the call for an independent regulator and said she would immediately start work on an accreditation process to devolve responsibility for most environmental approvals to the states and territories. 

One of the Nature Ecology study’s authors, Prof James Watson, said the laws could be effective but only if protections were enforced. 

The act, which has been widely criticised for failing to stem a developing extinction crisis, largely leaves decisions to the discretion of the environment minister of the day.....

Saturday, 25 July 2020

Australia 2020: and now for some economic bad news


On 23 July 2020 Australian Treasurer and Liberal MP for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg delivered a national economic and fiscal update.

He dutifully posted an upbeat media release and published the official update documents.


Here is a preliminary takeaway from this update*:

  • total federal government payments have increased by $58.0 billion in 2019-20 and increased by $187.5 billion over the two years to 2020-21. The net impact of policy decisions since the 2019-20 MYEFO has increased payments by $58.0 billion in 2019-20 and $113.7 billion in 2020-21.
  • declines in taxation receipts were $31.7 billion in 2019-20 and are expected to be $63.9 billion in 2020-21;
  • the underlying cash balance is expected to decrease to an $85.8 billion deficit in 2019-20 and an $184.5 billion deficit in 2020-21. This is a a deterioration of $281.4 billion over these two years since the 2019-20 MYEFO;
  • as a percentage of GDP the underlying cash balance is expected to be -9.7 per cent in 2020-21;
  • debt levels have increased significantly. Gross debt was $546 billion (28.1 per cent of GDP) at 30 June 2019 and $684.3 billion (34.4 per cent of GDP) at 30 June 2020 and is expected to be $851.9 billion (45.0 per cent of GDP) at 30 June 2021. With net debt at 30 June 2019 standing at 373.5 billion (19.2 per cent of GDP), expected to be $488.2 billion (24.6 per cent of GDP) at 30 June 2020 and increase to $677.1 billion (35.7 per cent of GDP) at 30 June 2021;
  • on a calendar-year basis real GDP fell by 3.75 per cent;
  • real GDP is forecast to have fallen sharply in the June quarter 2020 by 7 per cent;
  • nominal GDP is expected to be -4.75 per cent in 2020-21;
  • nationally 709,000 jobs were lost in the June quarter 2020;
  • the unemployment rate in June 2020 was 7.4 per cent and is expected to peak at around 9.25 per cent in the December quarter 2020 and is forecast to be at 8.75 per cent in 2020-21;
  • Treasury has predicted that immigration will fall to 31,000 individuals in 2020-21 which is likely to affect the national budget bottom line; and
  • the Morrison Government's go-to remedy for the poor economic outlook is to (i) consider reducing the federal government's taxation income even further by est. $143 billion in personal income tax receipts over 10 years commencing in 2021-22, (ii) reduce welfare spending by further limiting eligibility and reducing payment levels for JobSeeker and JobKeeper recipients from 25 September 2020 with the Coronavirus Supplement due to be removed completely by 31 December 2020, (iii) incease the level of casual and insecure work via industrial relations 'reform', and (iv) encourage women to have more babies to compensate for the current moribund population growth rate.
NOTE

* The Economic and Fiscal Update June 2020 is affected by the economic impacts of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and to a lesser extent by the the impacts of the 2019-20 bushfires. 

Componding the situation is the high level of federal government borrowings which regularly occurred after 18 September 2013.

On 30 September 2013 the gross national debt stood at est. $220.67 billion and net national debt was $174.55 billion. At that time net national debt was in the vicinity of 13% of GDP. 

By 2 April 2019 the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government had raised the gross national debt to $534.42 billion. That's more than double the national debt left by the previous Labor federal government. 

On 2 April 2019 Frydenberg was predicting that gross national debt would rise to $627.26 billion by end of June 2019 with net national debt coming in at $373.47 billion and net debt predicted to come in at 19.2% of GDP by end of June. 

By 30 June 2019 the federal government paid est. $18.15 billion in interest on this debt in the 2018-19 financial year. 

The bottom line is that before either the bushfires or the pandemic even began the Morrison Government gross national debt stood at $546 billion or 28.1 per cent of Australia's GDP and net debt stood at 373.5 billion or 19.2 per cent of GDP by 30 June 2019.

Therefore emergency national funding for bushfires and pandemic only accounts for est. 23.5 per cent of the current national debt.

As at 30 May the Morrison Government's total liabilities in 2020 ran to $1,324.95 billion against assets of $700.74 billion according to Australian Government General Government Sector Monthly Financial Statements May 2020.

Memes of the Week



Tweet of the Week



Friday, 24 July 2020

NSW-Victorian border controls tightened due to COVID-19 pandemic


NSW Police, Latest News, 22 July 2020:

The NSW Police Force is reminding the community that new border restrictions are in place and only valid permit holders will be allowed to enter NSW from Victoria. 


The amendment to the Public Health (COVID-19 Border Control) Order 2020, under section 7 of the Public Health Act 2010, directs that as at 12.01am today (Wednesday 22 July 2020), entry into NSW from Victoria is not permitted unless strict exemption criteria can be met. 

All permits approved under the previous order have expired and anyone eligible to travel into NSW must apply for a new permit on the Service NSW website. 

A high-visibility operation remains in place, with police from across NSW working alongside Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel to facilitate safe and lawful crossings along the border. 

Operation Border Closure Commander, Assistant Commissioner Scott Whyte, urged the community to avoid travelling during the morning and afternoon peaks. 

“Since the commencement of this operation, we have been working with the community and industry to minimise delays at checkpoints, and our best advice is not to travel unless it’s essential,” Assistant Commisisoner Whyte said. 

“For those who must travel, they can help reduce overall delays by avoiding peak times, particularly at the major checkpoints.” 

The major checkpoints are located at Albury/Wodonga, Moama/Echuca and Buronga/Mildura. 

Assistant Commissioner Whyte added that being prepared to produce documentation and identification will also assist in reducing individual interaction times at checkpoints. 

“As both police and the community adjust to the new permits, there will be delays in reviewing and clarifying details at checkpoints,” Assistant Commisisoner Whyte said. 

“By having the paperwork ready to go, we can all save valuable time, which will add up if we can save a minute when facilitating each of the hundreds of crossings each hour. 

“Finally, if you don’t have a permit, don’t come to the border. You will be turned around and if you don’t comply, we will take action.” 

More information about the restrictions is available at: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/what-you-can-and-cant-do-under-rules/border-restrictions. 

The Public Health Act 2010 (NSW) provides police with the power to enforce Public Helath Orders. It is an offence for a person to fail to comply with an order, and severe penalties apply, which include a maximum penalty of up to $11,000 and/or six months imprisonment for individuals. 

The standard penalty will be a $1000 fine by way of a Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN). It is an offence to provide false information when applying for exemptions, with a maximum penalty of up to $22,000 and/or two years imprisonment for individuals. 

Police continue to appeal to the community to report suspected breaches of any ministerial direction or behaviour which may impact on the health and safety of the community. 

Anyone who has information regarding individuals or businesses in contravention of a COVID-19-related ministerial direction is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 
https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au or 1800 333 000. 
Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.

Claims being made that people denied entry into Queensland are not moving out of northern NSW


Northern Rivers residents from the Clarence Valley up to the NSW-Queensland border are reporting a high incidence of 'visitors' from Victoria and Sydney who appear to be settling in for a prolonged stay.

Although it has been over 70 days since there was any local COVID-19 transmission, with interstate sourced infection again being reported in the Northern Rivers region some local residents are understandably becoming slightly nervous.

Northern NSW Local Heath District has advised that; Anyone who is unable to practise physical distancing should wear a mask and NSW Health has urged people to avoid non-essential travel and social gatherings.

Queensland Police have recorded attempts to cross the border by seven Victorians from banned areas & two Sydney men.


Queensland Police, media release excerpts, July 2020:

* A 27-year-old Victorian man has been fined after attempting to enter Queensland at Texas after allegedly claiming not to have been in Victoria within 14 days. Police intercepted his vehicle at a state border control checkpoint on Inglewood Texas Road around 3.30pm on Thursday [16 July 2020]. Officers will allege the man, who had been refused entry to Queensland twice previously, had been in Melbourne after receiving information from Victoria Police. 

 * Six Victorian travellers have been fined for trying to enter the state with false border declarations on the Gold Coast over the weekend [11-12 July. Police intercepted a minivan on Saturday night where all six occupants were refused entry at the M1 border control check point. On Sunday, officers intercepted the same van on Stuart Street in Coolangatta around 2pm. After speaking with the 19-year-old male driver, it will be alleged the same group were attempting to cross with border with declarations falsely claiming they had not been in Victoria in the previous 14 days. All six people, including two 19-year-old women and four men aged 18, 19, 23 and 28 years old, were fined $4,003 for failing to comply with the Covid-19 Border Direction. They were again refused entry. 

* Around 11am [8 July 2020], officers at the Griffith Street border control check point intercepted a bus and spoke with a 43-year-old male passenger to verify his border pass. His declaration indicated he was travelling from New South Wales to Queensland for essential medical treatment. Police will allege the Sydney man was in possession of false identification, did not require medical treatment and had completed the border declaration fraudulently. The man was refused entry to Queensland and issued with an infringement of $4,003 for failing to comply with the Covid-19 Border Direction.

* A New South Wales man has been fined after trying to enter Queensland in the boot of a vehicle at Wallangarra. Officers intercepted the vehicle on Border Street around 6.45pm on Sunday night [19 July 2020] and while conducting a search, located the 41-year-old man hiding in the boot. The man was fined $4,003 for attempting to enter Queensland without a Border Declaration Pass, in breach of the Queensland COVID-19 Border Direction. Two women, aged 28 and 29, were also in the vehicle at the time. All three people were refused entry to Queensland.


Sydney Morning Herald, 18 July 2020:

Queensland Police yesterday erected a 700-metre barricade on the Gold Coast in an attempt to stop people from known hotspots illegally crossing the NSW border.

ABC News, 19 July 2020:

Dozens of Australian Defence Force personnel have been deployed to Queensland's border crossing on the Gold Coast to help deal with lengthy delays. Queensland police said 600,000 border passes were issued last week.

Sydney Morning Herald, 18 July 2020:

...the risk of spread by travellers from Victoria is dangerously high. Cases of infection have been reported in greater Sydney but also in Ballina on the North Coast and Merimbula on the South Coast. NSW Police say 150,000 vehicles have been allowed to enter the state even after the border was closed last week.