Cartoon of the Week

 

David Pope

Mark Knight

Tweet of the Week

 

When Parliament resumes next week, the Government is threatening to deregister charities that campaign against the Coalition. | @vanOnselenP #auspol pic.twitter.com/Ow8eEHssNI

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) June 12, 2021

 

A statement from some of the health experts who first told Australians that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (ChAdOx1-S) was perfectly safe to administer to all adults, then 'modified' that assurance to safe for all adults 50 years of age & older and now announces that it is only safe for those adults 60 years of age and older

 

Australian Technical Advisory Group, statement excerpts,,

17 June 2021:

A statement from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) on the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in response to new vaccine safety concerns.

Summary

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) recommends the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine (Comirnaty) as the preferred vaccine for those aged 16 to under 60 years. This updates the previous preferential recommendation for Comirnaty over COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca in those aged 16 to under 50 years. The recommendation is revised due to a higher risk and observed severity of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) related to the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine observed in Australia in the 50-59 year old age group than reported internationally and initially estimated in Australia.

For those aged 60 years and above, the individual benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine are greater than in younger people. The risks of severe outcomes with COVID-19 increase with age and are particularly high in older unvaccinated individuals. The benefit of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca outweighs the risk of TTS in this age group and underpins its ongoing use in this age group.

People of any age without contraindications who have had their first dose of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca without any serious adverse events should receive a second dose of the same vaccine. This is supported by data indicating a substantially lower rate of TTS following a second COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca dose in the United Kingdom (UK).

Background

The Australian COVID-19 vaccination program has the overarching goal of protecting all people in Australia from the harm caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

On 8 April 2021, ATAGI recommended that Comirnaty was the preferred vaccine for people under the age of 50 years due to local and international reports of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) following COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.

Based on available international data at that time, the estimated risk of TTS was 4-6 per million cases following a first dose of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. Given the ongoing risk of COVID-19 outbreaks, low vaccine coverage, and increasing rate of severe COVID-19 outcomes in older individuals, it was considered that the benefits of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca outweighed the risk in those over 50 years. As such, no preferential recommendation for either vaccine was made in this age group. This advice was reinforced on 23 April 2021 and has been reviewed weekly by ATAGI since then.

Principles underpinning the revised recommendations

In making the decision to revise the previous recommendation, ATAGI has considered several factors that have been monitored closely, including:

• The potential risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 over the coming months

• Minimising harms to people due to adverse events following immunisation

• Australian data on the age-specific risks and severity of TTS following COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca

• The expected vaccine supply over the months ahead

• The impacts of any change in recommendation on the COVID-19 vaccine program……

The risks of TTS after COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca

From early April to 16 June 2021, 60 cases of confirmed or probable TTS have been reported in Australia. This includes an additional seven cases reported in the past week in people between 50-59 years, increasing the rate in this age group from 1.9 to 2.7 per 100,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses. The revised estimates of risk associated with first doses of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca are listed in the table below.

TTS is a serious condition in a proportion of individuals who develop it. The overall case fatality rate in Australia (3%; 2 deaths among 60 cases) is lower than has been reported internationally. This is likely to reflect increased detection due to heightened awareness, as well as early diagnosis and treatment. A spectrum of severity of illness has been reported in Australia, from fatal cases and those with significant morbidity, to relatively milder cases. TTS appears to be more severe in younger people.

There are different ways in which the severity of TTS can be measured. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines “tier 1” cases as clots involving unusual sites, such as the veins of the brain (cerebral venous sinus thrombosis) or abdomen (splanchnic thrombosis); these are generally more severe and may potentially lead to long term health complications. In those under 60 years, 52% of TTS episodes are occurring in tier 1 sites compared with 28% in those 60 years and older. Other markers of severity include the requirement for intensive care (33% of TTS in those under 60 years; 15% of TTS cases in those 60 years and older), and fatal cases (both occurring in those < 60 years)……

Second dose recommendations for COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca

ATAGI supports completion of a two-dose schedule with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, based on current evidence. The risk of TTS following a second dose of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is much lower than the risk following a first dose. The UK has reported 23 TTS cases in 15.7 million people after receiving a second dose, an estimated rate of 1.5 per million second doses (compared to a reported risk of 14.2 per million first doses in the UK).

People of any age without contraindications who have had their first dose of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca without any serious adverse events should receive the second dose.

Recommendations

• ATAGI advises that Comirnaty is preferred over COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca from the age of 16 to under 60 years. This is based on recent data regarding TTS cases in Australia and a reassessment of current age-specific risks and benefits of vaccination.

• ATAGI considers the benefit of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca outweighs the risk of TTS in people aged 60 and above. For this age group, the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine are greater than in younger people. The risks of severe outcomes with COVID-19 increase with age and are particularly high in older unvaccinated individuals.

• COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca can be used in adults aged under 60 years for whom Comirnaty is not available, the benefits are likely to outweigh the risks for that individual and the person has made an informed decision based on an understanding of the risks and benefits.

• People of any age without contraindications who have had their first dose of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca without any serious adverse events should receive the second dose.

• ATAGI reinforces the importance of providing clear communications to people who have received or are considering COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, and notes guidance documents for consumers, for primary care and for hospitals are being continually revised to accommodate this new recommendation.....

Read full statement here. 

It is noted that of the 60 cases (29 men and 31 women) to date with confirmed and probable adverse reactions to the AstraZeneca vaccine resulting in thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS):

• the majority of people diagnosed with TTS are over 50 years of age - only 6 people aged under 50 years had a TTS diagnosis; 

• 23 of the 60 individuals listed were diagnosed with the most severe forms of TTS (CDS classification Tier 1);

• 6 of those with the most severe forms of TTS were aged in 60-65 age group through to the 80+ age group; 

• Across all age groups, from under 30 years upwards, it was the 70-79 age grouping which had the highest number of TTS diagnoses at 19 cases (comprising Tier 1, Tier 2 & unclassified), with an est. risk rate of 1.8 TTS cases per 100,000 AstraZeneca first doses; and

• There were 12 new confirmed and probable cases of TTS attributed to the AstraZeneca vaccine in the week of 11-17 June 2021 in Australia, with 5 of those cases being in individuals over 60 years of age and 7 cases in individuals below 60 years of age.

Thus far in 2021 Australia appears to be averaging one woman dying a violent death at the hand of another person every 8.73 days

 

As of 15 June Destroy The Joint's Counting Dead Women project has recorded 19 women violently killed in 2021.

This project relies on media reports for its data and at the moment these 2021 reports show that violent deaths are averaging one every 8.73 days.

On 9 July 2020 the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia covering the calendar year 2019, with data based on police records. This is the latest release available to date. ABS data for 2020 should be released on or about 24 June 2021.

In 2019 there were 416 homicides, manslaughters and attempted murders recorded in Australia. Up 39 victims on 2018 figures.

An est. 125 of these victims were female and the majority of the violent deaths and near deaths appear to have been the result of family and domestic violence.

In that same calendar year Counting Dead Women recorded 61 women who died violently at the hands of another person..

G7 Summit June 2021 confirms aim to eliminate unabated international thermal coal power generation from global power generation mix by 2030

“Recognising that coal power generation is the single biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions, and consistent with this overall approach and our strengthened NDCs, domestically we have committed to rapidly scale-up technologies and policies that further accelerate the transition away from unabated coal capacity, consistent with our 2030 NDCs and net zero commitments. This transition must go hand in hand with policies and support for a just transition for affected workers, and sectors so that no person, group or geographic region is left behind. To accelerate the international transition away from coal, recognising that continued global investment in unabated coal power generation is incompatible with keeping 1.5°C within reach we stress that international investments in unabated coal must stop now and we commit now to an end to new direct government support for unabated international thermal coal power generation by the end of 2021, including through Official Development Assistance, export finance, 14 investment, and financial and trade promotion support. This transition must also be complemented by support to deliver this, including coordinating through the Energy Transition Council. We welcome the work by the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) and donors plan to commit up to $2 billion in the coming year to its Accelerating the Coal Transition and Integrating Renewable Energy programs. These concessional resources are expected to mobilize up to $10 billion in co-financing, including from the private sector, to support renewable energy deployment in developing and emerging economies. We call on other major economies to adopt such commitments and join us in phasing out the most polluting energy sources, and scaling up investment in the technology and infrastructure to facilitate the clean, green transition. More broadly, we reaffirm our existing commitment to eliminating inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, and call on all countries to join us, recognising the substantial financial resource this could unlock globally to support the transition and the need to commit to a clear timeline.” [CARBIS BAY G7 SUMMIT COMMUNIQUÉ, Our Shared Agenda for Global Action to Build Back Better , 13 June 2021, excerpt]

Alleged 70 per cent hazard reduction burn over two days planned for the biodiverse Billinudgel Nature Reserve in June 2021

Echo NetDaily, 11 June 2021:

Local Minjungbal Indigenous leaders are asking the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to consult with them over a planned hazard reduction burn at Billinudgel Nature Reserve but a scheduled meeting was cancelled by NPWS. 

Billinudgel Nature Reserve where the hazard reduction
burn is planned by National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The hazard reduction burn was originally scheduled for the Billinudgel Nature Reserve on 3 June with neighbours being informed by letter on 2 June.

‘We got notification that Billinudgel was going to have a hazard reduction burn which gave me time to get in touch with NPWS to discuss some options and ask them to sit down with traditional owners to look at cultural issues in the reserve,’ said Rachael Cavanagh, a Minjungbal woman and traditional owner that covers the Billinudgel Nature Reserve.

Rachael said a meeting was originally set up but was then cancelled by the NPWS who said that they would only speak to the Tweed Byron Aboriginal Land Council (TB ALC).

‘They are not the traditional owners,’ Rachael pointed out. ‘Everyone deserves a voice. We are on the Native Title claim for the Five Rivers and the Tweed Bundjalung people. We are the traditional owners who hold the cultural knowledge on the land values. We still have fire law that has been continued in our family,’ she told The Echo. 

Billinudgel Nature Reserve.

‘NPWS legislation states that they need to engage with traditional owners and knowledge holders. By their own legislation they are supposed to meet all registered parties.’

Rachael has been a fire fighter for 20 years with the Queensland National Parks and Forestry Corporation and is engaged with the Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation.

‘I am in a senior leadership team for National Fire Sticks Alliance. We support and build capacity with Indigenous groups nationally to support cultural fire practices and traditional land management for people on country. We look at the whole picture.’

Having been denied the option to meet with NPWS Rachael told The Echo that their lawyer has now sent a letter to NPWS to seek a meeting between the traditional owners and NPWS in relation to the burn.

‘Pretty much our family are fighting to be at the table and be part the discussion,’ she said.

‘They are planning to for a 70 per cent hazard reduction burn over two days which means it will be very hot, raging and overall health of the forest and the cultural values will be at risk, the understory will be and the canopy will be scorched, the animals will have nowhere to go to.

‘Regardless of whether it is Billinudgel or Cudgen. I will be fighting to have a say over the management of Minyungbal Country.’

‘Regardless of whether it is Billinudgel or Cudgen. I will be fighting to have a seat at the table.’…... 

BACKGROUND

Billinudgel Nature Reserve was created in April 1996. It's current size is 789 ha. Approximately 75% of the Reserve is within Byron Shire with the remainder in Tweed Shire in the NSW Northern Rivers region.

The Reserve protects the following features: 

· a large tract of natural lowland coastal vegetation, a significant remnant in an otherwise highly modified environment; 

· an extensive wetland containing Melaleuca swamp forest; 

· a diversity of habitat which supports a wide range of fauna and flora including rare, threatened, significant and migratory species; 

· Aboriginal sites and landscapes of significance; and 

· features of scientific interest. 

In the 2016 Byron Coast Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management the North Byron Koala Management Area encompasses an area of approximately 2,814ha located to the north of the Brunswick River and includes the Billinudgel Nature Reserve along with the localities of South Golden Beach, Ocean Shores and Billinudgel.

localities of South Golden Beach, Ocean Shores and Billinudgel as indicated by Figure 3 of the

Northern Rivers Region Billinudgel, Marshalls Creek, Jinangong, and Brunswick Heads (north) Nature Reserves Fire Management Strategy (Type 2) 2016 at:

https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/-/media/OEH/Corporate-Site/Documents/Parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/Fire-management-strategies/billinudgel-marshalls-creek-jinangong-brunswick-heads-reserves-fire-management-strategy-160705.pdf

Former Australian Attorney-General and current Minister for Industry, Science and Technology & Liberal MP for Pearce Christian Porter's campaign to rehabilitate his reputation

Crikey 7 June 2021:

After months mired in historical rape allegations, Christian Porter is trying to focus on the fight for his political survival. To do so, the senior Coalition minister is spending more money on social media advertising than any other Australian politician.

Since Porter outed himself as the subject of a letter sent to the prime minister and other MPs accusing him of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 1988 — allegations he strenuously denies — attention on him has been through the lens of the accusations.

The sudden end to Porter’s defamation action against the ABC, and NSW Police ruling out reopening the case, means this could be the end of formal proceedings — unless an inquiry into the allegations is called.

But Porter’s not out of the woods yet. His hold on the seat of Pearce is looking less than certain. The once blue-ribbon Liberal seat is set to be redistricted in August, removing many of the traditionally conservative rural voting areas. The ABC’s Antony Green expects this cuts about 2.5% off Porter’s 7.5% margin.

Faced with a reduced margin and months of negative media attention, Porter’s use of social media reveals how he is using digital tools to try win his seat.

Porter has regularly used Facebook advertising to promote Facebook and Instagram posts about his ministerial portfolios and electorate matters. This advertising suddenly stopped on February 28, two days after the letter’s existence was reported.

After a three-month break, just before he entered into mediation with the ABC over the defamation case, the minister’s Facebook began running more than a dozen advertisements.

Last week he was Australia’s eighth largest spender on Facebook ads about social issues, elections or politics. He spent $8627 between March 26 and June 1, more than any other Australian politician or political party. This weekly spend is a third of his total spend on Facebook advertising since it began being recorded in August 2020. Unlike other government ministers advertising on Facebook, each one of Porter’s advertisements were targeted to Western Australian Facebook users — many specifically mention Pearce or policies specific to it.

All but one of the promoted posts don’t feature Porter all. (The sole post depicting him was by far his most promoted, with half the money spent on a video on May 28 featuring him talking about Australian Made Week and his electorate. It cost somewhere between $3500 and $4000 to show the video to more than 90,000 people in WA……

What this shows is that after going to ground, Porter is back with a near singular focus: convincing West Australian voters to vote him back in. And he’s willing to spend like he’s never spent before to change the topic away from allegations that — despite the end of formal proceedings — still haunt him.