Are you sick & tired of the misinformation being aired by the Morrison Government and numerous COVID-19 conspiracy theorists? Well it seems the Australian Medical Association just might be

Australian Medical Association, media release, 6 September 2020:

AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid said extending COVID-19 restrictions across Victoria will help that State and the nation ultimately recover from the pandemic sooner. 

In response to Premier Daniel Andrew’s extension today of Victoria’s physical isolation measures, Dr Khorshid said the extended restrictions will also help quicken the path to economic recovery. 

“The Victorian Government has made necessary decisions based on sound medical advice, in the best interests of the nation’s health and the nation’s economy,” Dr Khorshid said. 

“The Victorian Government modelling shows what doctors already knew. If restrictions were lifted this week, the State would see infections rise again. 

“Some business leaders campaigning against isolation measures are ignoring medical evidence that easing restrictions too soon risks a third wave surge in further infections. 

“The fall in daily infections in Victoria proves current restrictions are working. Extending these restrictions best positions the economy for a sustainable long-term recovery. 

“Every Australian wants to see Victoria succeed in halting COVID-19, both for the health of us all and the long-term recovery of our economy. 

“The Premier has also flagged some changes to the curfew and extending the ability for outdoor exercise. These modest changes are sensible, but recognise the needs of social interaction for people living alone.” 

Dr Khorshid welcomed the further decline in infection of Victorian health care workers, and the benefit the extended restrictions will have in preventing health care worker infections. 

“Front line doctors, nurses, and aged carers have been working to keep Victorians alive as the pandemic has reached across the State,” Dr Khorshid said. 

“The extended restrictions will both help prevent further illness, and also take pressure off the strained Victorian hospital and aged care system,” Dr Khorshid concluded.

Brooms Head Bowling Club makes decision to implement COVID-19 restrictions on entry into the club

Brooms Head Bowling & Recreation Club
IMAGE: Byron and Beyond - Steve Otton

Clarence Valley Independent, 1 September 2020:

In an effort to protect the elderly residents of their small village, the Brooms Head Bowling Club have made the decision to implement restrictions on entry to the club. 

Brooms Head is a popular tourist destination and the small village attracts visitors from around the state and interstate staying at the caravan park, Airbnbs, National Park camping grounds and other holiday rentals. With the closure of the Victorian border and clusters of COVID-19 cases on the rise around Sydney, the Bowling Club said that they are committed in doing their best to keep the club COVID-19 safe during this time. 

Office manager Robyn Mehrten said that they have had a lot of visitors to the club that they have had to turn away, due to having come from or reside in a COVID hot spot. 

“Most people are pretty good, but some haven’t been and the reason we’ve done it is because we want to protect our community and our elderly patrons who come here,” Robyn said. 

“It was a decision made by the management and board as well as the staff, to look after our community. 

“We come under Clubs NSW and the board are entitled to determine who can or can’t enter the club. Members are allowed to come in as long as they haven’t been to a (COVID) hot spot......

COVID-19 didn't stop successful annual production sale at one of the oldest Santa Gertrudis studs in Australia

The Land, 5 September 2020, p. :

Queensland graziers and studs dominated the bidding at Friday's Yulgilbar production sale with 92 Santa Gertrudis bulls, all of them on offer, selling to a top of $45,000 and averaging $9097. 

Bill Speed, Brigadoon Cattle Company at Wondoan paid top money for the rising two year old heterozygous poll Yulgilbar Parramatta P130, by Ideal Neptune N78, saying his phenotype impressed. 

"He was a very correct bull," said Mr Speed, who noted Yulgilbar Parramatta will be used to produce commercial bulls for the expansive company that runs cattle on properties in Queensland and the Northern Territory, selling grain finished cattle to Kilcoy Global Foods and JBS for export. 

Queenslanders now allowed to come south of the border for essential bull buying continued to dominate the bids, although Covid had delivered some restrictions - particularly the ban on aircraft coming direct to the Clarence River property. 

To fill the void both AuctionsPlus and Elite Livestock online streaming services delivered a number of bids all the way from Western and South Australia to Central Queensland to auctioneer Innes Fahey with only a couple of line drop-outs......

BACKGROUND


Yulgilbar Pastoral Company: 

Located in Baryulgil, Northern NSW and covering 35,000 acres, Yulgilbar has a long history in Australian agriculture. Yulgilbar is the 3rd oldest Santa Gertrudis stud in Australia. Started in 1954 it is also the largest Santa Gertrudis stud cattle operation in NSW. Yulgilbar prides itself on having an extensive Santa Gertrudis gene pool including sourcing some of the best genetics globally. Yulgilbar has Santa Gertrudis bulls and semen available for sale year-round. The Annual Production Sale is held the first Friday in September and an industry field day is held tri-annually. The sale sees up to 100 bulls, stud females and commercial breeders up for auction.

Last Friday Scott Morrison pushed state and territory leaders to urgently ease border restrictions. He had mixed success.

This was Australian Prime Minster & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison on his feet in the House of Representatives on Thursday, 3 September 2020:

“Australia was not meant to be closed. Australia was meant to be open. Australians want to see Australia become open, as the founding members of this place ensured it was from the outset, and Australia must become whole again. This is the way—that's what success looks like…...We need to ensure that we are clear with Australians that we will seek to make Australia whole again by Christmas this year” [Hansard, 3 September 2020, p.6]

The very next day he pushed state and territory leaders to urgently ease border restrictions. 

He had mixed success. West Australia refused to march to Morrison's drum, Tasmania said it would go its own way and the other states and territories agreed to consider coming to an agreement at some time in the coming months. None would consider opening their borders quickly. Nor have they yet agreed with Morrison's national definition of a COVID-19 "hot spot".

When it came to easing restrictions on cross-border travel for agricultural workers, Queensland, West Australia & Tasmania refused to participate in the model Morrison put forward, but agreed to observe how matters play out in the three other states to date which will have committed to participating in that scheme.

In response to the refusal to open borders quickly and refusal to agree to containment of affected populations within a state/territory based on area lockdowns instead of state/territory borders, Morrison informed the premiers and chief ministers that the National Cabinet would no longer be a consensus forum.

This is reportedly being interpreted by the states that he intends to change how the national cabinet operates. A case of 'I'm changing the rules so I don't get rolled' and giving himself permission to publicly attack those states or territories which disagree with him during national cabinet meetings.

Revising recent history, Morrison then told the world that there have been times during this pandemic he feared Australia would "break apart". Perhaps intending to raise fear levels in order to drive the national electorate towards agreement with whatever he has planned in the next few months.

Easing border restrictions is important to 'Scotty From Marketing' because he needs to brag about future increases in trade and consumption ahead of the October budget announcement in order to buttress his claim he has found a way out of the first recession in 29 years.

Because as it now stands the national figures below indicate October budget projections will likely be dismal.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, Jun 2020, Contribution to GDP growth, seasonally adjusted:

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has suffered its worst fall on record, household consumption, private capital formation exports are down, along with a terms of trade increase best described as slight.

While general government consumption is not looking that healthy either and appears an inadequate response in the current situation and, workers share of the national income is at a 61 year low.

The June Quarter 2020 GDP breakdown is:

Graph: ABC News, Stephen Letts

Interestingly, from March 2020 to June 2020 the states and territories showing the smallest falls in seasonally adjusted state final demand (combined consumption expenditure, public & private gross fixed capital formation) were those with the strongest border restrictions.

In other words, community confidence appears relatively higher in those populations behind strong borders.

For some reason Morrison appears to believe that if he bullies state premiers and territory chief ministers into opening borders before community transmission is contained, that any ensuing drawn-out increase in the national number of COVID-19 infections and deaths won't hold the Australian economy back.

He can't make it any clearer that he is willing to sacrifice lives in the mistaken belief that this will improve his own government's 2020 budget projections.

Even though government economic experts in Treasury and the Reserve Bank have on more than one occasion pointed out that stronger economic recovery is possible if faster progress in controlling the virus is achieved in the near term. 

It is only after faster progress is made in suppressing or eliminating the virus that a faster unwinding of activity restrictions and greater confidence will potentially lead to a faster recovery in consumption, investment and employment. 

A proposition that Morrison seems to find politically unpalatable - he prefers to  trample over the bodies of the coronavirus dead in his pursuit of another term as prime minister.

UPDATE

The verbal attack on Labor states begins on 5 & 6 September 2020 with the Initial Commonwealth response to Victorian Roadmap media release

Australia 2020: a federation doggerel

"Not everyone has to get on the bus for the bus to leave the 

station. But it is important the bus leaves the station",

There were 8 on the bus when Scotty said

Stay with me, but Westralia said no, feck you & they fell 

out,

There were 7 on the bus when Territorians decided they 

didn’t want to travel,

There were 6 on the bus & Anastasia said, Roll over? Never!

so Queensland tumbled through the door,

There were 5 on the bus but it got too hot in spots &

the Wheatfielders & Victorians decided to jump,

There were 2 on the bus when its wheels fell off …. 

Meet COAG mark 2.

With acknowledgement to Costin Heaps who started this turn at doggerel history

Old Harwood Bridge opening for vessels now formalised to provide certainty for road travellers

New Harwood Bridge across the Clarence River with older Harwood Bridge directly behind IMAGE: www.pacifichighway.nsw.gov.au

Clarence Valley Independent, 2 September 2020:

The new Pacific Highway crossing of the Clarence River at Harwood has prompted the regulation of opening times for the original Harwood Bridge.

Transport for NSW Director Region North Anna Zycki said this will allow the community to plan trips around the times the old bridge is open, allowing vessels to pass through and reduce delays experienced by road users.

“The original Harwood Bridge is a two-lane steel truss bridge which carried the Pacific Highway over the Clarence River from 1966 until late last year, when the new four-lane bridge opened,” Ms Zycki said.

“The original bridge has been kept to maintain access to the local road network including Harwood and Chatsworth Islands.

“Formalising the opening times is the next step in providing residents with more certainty about using the old bridge.”

Bridge openings for vessels will not be scheduled between 7am and 10am and between 2pm and 5pm Monday to Friday. This will not apply in times of flooding.

Special consideration will be given to commercial operators to open the bridge and will be managed on a case by case basis for these vessels.

While the bridge is opened for vessels there is no access for vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists.

Skippers are required to contact Harwood Bridge caretaker on 0412 604 748 between the hours of 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday to book an opening time 24 hours in advance.

For further information and advice, please visit www.rms.nsw.gov.au/maritime/using-waterways/bridge-opening-times.html.

For the latest traffic updates download the Live Traffic NSW App, visit livetraffic.com or call 132 701.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese invites Australian voters to "Tell Morrison to fix aged care"

A 31 August 2020 email Opposition Leader and Labor MP for  Anthony Albanese is sending out:

Tell the Morrison Government to fix aged care

Neglect. That’s the legacy of the Morrison Government when it comes to aged care.

People with open sores left unattended. A woman with ants crawling from her open wounds. Aged care residents left hungry, alone in their rooms.

Our most vulnerable Australians are dying without their family by their sides.

Tell the Morrison Government to fix aged care.

You’d think the Government’s response would be to take responsibility?

You’d think the Minister would stick around to answer questions?

But no.

All we see from the Morrison Government is running away, passing the buck, and refusing interviews.

The Morrison Government has no plan to fix the aged care system.

But we do. We want the Government to take these eight steps.

1. Minimum staffing levels in residential aged care
2. Reduce the home care package waiting list so more people can stay in their homes for longer
3. Ensure transparency and accountability of funding to support high quality care
4. Independent measurement and public reporting as recommended by the Royal Commission this week
5. Ensure every residential aged care facility has adequate personal protective equipment
6. Better training for staff, including on infection control
7. A better surge workforce strategy
8. Provide additional resources so the Aged Care Royal Commission can inquire specifically into COVID-19 across the sector while not impacting or delaying the handing down of the final report

Willyou help us call on the Government to fix aged care?

The problems in aged care were around long before the coronavirus. The pandemic has been like an x-ray. It’s shown us what was broken.

Older Australians built this country ­– and they deserve so much better than this.

Thanks and stay safe,

Anthony Albanese

Australian Labor Party 
Authorised by P. Erickson, ALP, Canberra.