NSW Police launch a criminal investigation into the "Ruby Princess" COVID-19 disembarkation incident

NSW Police Public Site - News, 5 April 2020:

Police investigation launched into actions surrounding Ruby Princess
Sunday, 05 April 2020 05:42:00 PM 

The NSW Police Force has commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the docking and disembarking of the Ruby Princess last month. 

After being tasked by the NSW Premier to conduct initial investigations, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller today (Sunday 5 April 2020) announced that a criminal investigation is now underway to fully examine the communications, actions, and other circumstances that led to the docking and disembarking of the vessel at Sydney Harbour on Thursday 19 March 2020. 

The investigation is being led by the Homicide Squad’s Detective Chief Inspector Jason Dickinson, who is experienced in complex and protracted investigations, with oversight from the NSW Coroner. 

It is expected the investigation will involve interviewing thousands of witnesses, including the Ruby Princess’ captain and doctors, the crew and passengers; and staff from various Commonwealth and NSW Government offices and agencies. 

Commissioner Fuller said his initial assessment of the vessel’s pratique left questions about the transparency in conceptualising the health conditions of passengers and crew in relation to COVID-19. 

“I’ve examined a number of phone calls between NSW Ambulance, Port Authority of NSW and NSW Police that stemmed from the initial 17-minute Triple Zero call from the ship to NSW Ambulance on 18 March,” the Commissioner said. 

“There appears to have been an exceptional amount of effort put in by Ports to determine the true nature of the conditions on board – and even delayed the vessels arrival until they were provided additional information. 

“After reviewing the information at hand, the only way I can determine whether our national biosecurity laws or our state laws were broken is through a criminal investigation.” 

The Commissioner added that investigators will examine the actions of everyone involved – whether from the cruise company or government agencies. 

“This is a complex issue and we will need information from many witnesses to answer all the questions about how this ship ended up docking last month,” the Commissioner said. 

“We are mindful that some of the key information we need will also come from passengers, so I urge those who were on-board to reach out to us – please contact Crime Stoppers as soon as possible.” 

Anyone who was on-board the Ruby Princess and has information relevant to the investigation, including details of symptoms, illness, or medical advice during the journey is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. 

Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages. 

Aspen Medical are continuing to assess the health of the crew on board the Ruby Princess and have developed a plan in conjunction with NSW Health, the NSW Police Force’s Marine Area Command, and Australian Border Force to manage their welfare until they can depart Australian waters.

Police have been advised that up to 200 of the 1040 crew members currently on board the vessel are displaying symptoms, while 16 crew members are confirmed to have returned positive results for COVID-19.

The cruise ship "Ruby Princess" is currently in Port Kembla harbour, having arrived there on the morning of 6 April 2020.

It is believed the vessel is in port to allow medical access to ill crew members and may remain in place for up to 10 days. However, the crew will not disembark unless in an emergency and approved by the NSW Police Commissioner. She will also be refuelling and restocking provisions, as required for her home journey.

The Berejiklian Government needs to close the NSW-Queensland border to non-essential travellers today

This antisocial behaviour within the 4WD community is beneath contempt during a pandemic.

I understand that NSW Police and Ballina Council rangers had a busy afternoon.

The Northern Star, 6 April 2020, p.3:

Lennox residents are up in arms about around 50 4WDs parked on the beach at Lennox Head.

According to Cr Keith Williams, locals have identified these as mostly Queensland-plated vehicles. 

“I’ve received about 20-30 emails this morning (Sunday) from concerned residents,” said Cr Williams. 

“With Easter just around the corner, people are really fearful that large numbers of day-trippers from Queensland are going to be heading down for the long weekend. 

“It significantly increases the risk for our community if people are continuing to go in and out.” 

“If this starts bringing cases into our area, we’ve also got to worry about how our hospital systems will cope.” 

Cr Williams also said that locals are concerned that this may lead to the whole beach being closed off to public access, which will stop residents from being able to enjoy the beach for their daily exercise. 

The school holidays have begun in Queensland, and travel restrictions are in place for non-Queensland residents wanting to cross into the Sunshine State amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

While the NSW border is open to Queenslanders, the Federal Government advice is that Australians must “avoid all non-essential domestic travel”.

“Social distancing is slowing the spread of coronavirus and it’s important that this continue at Easter,” the Federal Department of Health’s website says.“Australians should stay at home this Easter and not undertake holiday travel.”

Meanwhile elsewhere police were also busy......

NSW Police Public Site - News, 5 April 2020:

A total of 18 new Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) have been issued in relation to alleged breaches of the Public Health Act: 

 - About 2.30pm on Friday 3 April 2020, officers from Murrumbidgee Police District were called to Benerembah Lane, Griffith, following reports of an intoxicated person. A 55-year-old man was spoken to and moved on from the area. At 4pm the same day, officers returned after the man was seen again in that location and could not provide a legitimate reason for being there. Police were also made aware that he had been warned to obey social distancing regulations on Tuesday 31 March 2020. The man was issued a penalty infringement notice (PIN). 

 - About 5pm Friday 3 April 2020, police attached to New England Police District attended a licensed premise in Tenterfield Street, Deepwater. They spoke to a 27-year-old man, who was sitting with a group of patrons drinking. He was issued with a PIN as he had been spoken to by police the previous day about social-distancing and issued with a warning. 

 - A 37-year-old Newtown man has been issued with a PIN after officers from Inner West PAC spoke with him twice on Friday night about breaching the Public Health Act. Police spoke with the man on Federation Road about 8.30pm on Friday 3 April 2020, where he was warned about associating with four other adults. About two hours later, the same man was stopped on King Street, Newtown, and was then issued with a PIN. 

 - About 8.30pm Friday 3 April 2020, officers from Bankstown Police Area Command noticed a car double parked in Restwell Street, Bankstown. Officers pulled over the car and spoke to the 20-year-old female driver and her 21-year-old female passenger. The pair were unable to provide a valid reason for driving around. The passenger provided incorrect identification information to the police and become argumentative. She was issued with a PIN. The driver was issued with an official move on direction. 

 - Just after 10.30pm on Friday 3 April 2020, officers from Liverpool City Police Area Command were patrolling San Cristobal Drive, Green Valley, when they saw three men – one aged 36 and two 18-year-olds – not obeying social distancing regulations. The men were spoken to and could not provide a legitimate reason for being there. Two of the men had allegedly exited a vehicle believed to have been stolen. All three were issued PINs. Investigations regarding the vehicle are continuing. 

 - At 1.15am Saturday 4 April 2020, officers from Bankstown Police Area Command pulled over a car after it had allegedly accelerated away after seeing police on Edgar Street, Bankstown. The 30-year-old driver was spoken to by police about his reason for driving. He was unable to provide a valid reason and changed his version several times and continued to be argumentative with police. He was issued with a PIN. 

 - A passenger in a car being driven by a food delivery driver has been issued with a PIN by officers from Quakers Hill Police Area Command. Police stopped the vehicle about midday yesterday (Saturday 4 April 2020) and spoke with two people in the car. The driver was employed delivering food; however, police allege the 33-year-old woman from Toongabbie, who was the front-seat passenger, was only there because she said she was bored being at home. 

 - A 38-year-old woman has been issued with a PIN after she was found drinking with six people in Jonson Street, Byron Bay, just before 6pm yesterday, in breach of the Public Health Act. Officers from Tweed/Byron Police District had issued a warning to the woman earlier in the day. 

 - Police investigating an alleged assault at a home in Goulburn last night have issued two men with PINs for breaching the Public Health Act. Officers from The Hume Police District were called to the home in Teece Place about 9.20pm (Saturday 4 April 2020), after a 34-year-old man sustained a cut above his eye. He was treated at Goulburn Hospital and released. Police later issued him and his 24-year-old friend with a PIN; inquiries are continuing into the alleged assault. 

 - A man has been issued with a PIN after being stopped at the Sydney Opera House about 10.15pm yesterday. Officers from Sydney City PAC had already issued the man last Wednesday (1 April 2020), with a warning about breaching the Public Health Act.

 - Two people were given PINs and three people received cautions after gathering for a barbeque in the state’s north. Yesterday (Saturday 4 April 2020), about 11pm, officers attached to New England Police District responded to a noise complaint at a caravan park on Rouse Street, Tenterfield. Five people were in the bungalow; breaching ministerial orders related to the congregation of more than two people. A 23-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl were identified as people who had previously received cautions for not complying with ministerial directions and were fined $1000. The three others were issued with cautions. 

 - Just after midnight (Sunday 5 April 2020), officers from Sutherland Shire Police Area Command attended the Lilli Pilli Baths, in Lilli Pilli, following reports of a gathering of people not adhering to social distancing regulations. Police attended and spoke with four men – aged 22, 24, 19 and 19 – who were drinking and having a barbeque. Officers reminded them of their requirements under the Public Health Act and asked them to move on; however, the men became argumentative and refused to leave. All three men were issued infringement notices.

Two posts featuring Scott Morrison disappeared from Bible Society Australia & Vision Christian Radio websites in March 2020

A similar article to the below one quietly disappeared from a Bible Society Australia website, Eternity News, along with a video.

Vision Christian Radio:

PM Joins COVID-19 Prayer Effort
Tuesday, March 31st, 2020

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has joined Christian leaders and believers online to pray for Australia as we battle the COVID-19 outbreak.

The prayer session was coordinated by the Australian Prayer Network, the Canberra Declaration and Pastor Margaret Court.

The Toowoomba Regional Prayer Network reports, the Prime Minister prayed through two Scriptures: Psalm 34:17-19 and Isaiah 58:11-12.

The first Scripture speaks of the Lord hearing the cry of the righteous and delivering them from trouble and the second tells of the Lord’s guidance and restoration from the ruins.

More than 600 people took part in the national Zoom call over a period of 25 hours with Pastor Margaret Court overseeing the final hour of prayer.

The Prime Minister’s participation was reported by Molly Joshi, national representative of the Toowoomba Regional Prayer Network.

She says it was the church at its finest, ministering together without walls.

Photo credit: Kristy Robinson / Commonwealth of Australia [CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)]

This article has also disappeared from view.


The reason these articles and a video were removed?  Perhaps Morrison decided his prayer had only been meant to be heard by the 600 people taking part in that prayer session or he may have thought his Christian prayer might not be well received by every voter who heard it.

However, little actually disappears completely from the Internet and this YouTube video of the prayer session was posted by Queensland Parents For Secular State Schools on 31 March 2020.



https://youtu.be/khANQLVfttc

Morrison begins to quote the bible at 2:45 minutes and offers his personal prayer at 3:40 minutes.

The times are not kind to the elderly living alone

The Daily Examiner, 3 April 2020:

Elderly Clarence residents without internet access and mobile phones have been left to fend for themselves, one Coutts Crossing resident claims.

“Lola”, 64, says elderly people have been forgotten as the community sets up systems to navigate enforced coronavirus disruptions.

Without internet or a mobile phone, Lola has found it difficult to access many services set up to help during the crisis.

A telling encounter was a call to a major supermarket to find out options for setting up a home delivery service.

“I don’t want to go shopping for food,” she said.

“I have medical reasons and they’re asking us to self-isolate.” Lola called the company’s helpline but found it less than helpful. “They put me on hold for so long the battery in my landline handset went flat,” she said.

“When it recharged I rang again and eventually I got a recorded message to email my request to the company.” Lola said she did not have family or friends in the region and had found going shopping a nightmare.

“There’s nothing on the shelves,” she said.....

“Last time I went shopping in Grafton I had to go to four different supermarkets and I still couldn’t find everything I needed.” The rules designed to discourage hoarders had not helped.

“I want to buy enough so I don’t have to go shopping again for at least two weeks,” she said.

“The two-pack limit is no help to me at all.” She has been less than impressed with other shoppers, who appear to pay no attention to social distancing rules.....

Even for the elderly with Internet connections life is increasingly difficult.

Coles does not home deliver to anyone except those already registered with NDIS, Red Kite or My Aged Care - in other words predominately people who already have home care packages or other forms of assistance.

Woolies doesn't deliver to the Lower Clarence but will supply by Australia Post an $80 basics box of mainly low nutrition/ high sugar & salt canned and packaged food of its own non-negotable choice and again, people have to already be registered with the same three agencies. Although proof of eligibility may be widening so it might be wise to contact customer service to check.

The changing face of livestock sales in the NSW Northern River region

The Daily Examiner, 3 April 2020:

For the first time, online bidding of cattle took place at the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange this week.

Using StockLive, buyers could bid for weaners through the online portal in the comfort of their own home. The timing couldn’t be better.

NRLX operations manager Brad Willis confirmed livestock sales would continue at the Casino saleyards with only essential staff, agents and registered buyers permitted on-site.

He said he was actively working to ensure the continuity of business while taking into account the public health consequences of the COVID-19 situation.

Victoria has cancelled live cattle sales but NRLX has no plan to follow suit. Mr Willis said it would stay open as long as it complied with the rules.

“The NRLX is a vital cog in the food supply chain and we need everyone’s co-operation to ensure the facility can operate for as long as possible,” Mr Willis said.

“If everyone uses common sense, we’ll get through.”There were 258 viewers and 27 registered buyers online for the sale.

ABC News, 2 April 2020:

The Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange has reported its highest sale week in its history, with nearly $8.29 million in sales generated at the saleyards in Casino last week.

A total of 7,784 head of cattle were sold across three days of operations — the prime sale and the annual weaner sales — up from around 3,000 head last year totalling just under $3 million in sales for the same week.

The prolonged drought resulted in the tough market last year, but this year coronavirus delivered a different challenge with NRLX using StockLive to host an online auction for the first time since its $14 million upgrade.

Australian-led team proves that as a species we are older than we thought

The Guardian, 3 April 2020:

Homo erectus cranium outline. The earliest known skull of Homo erectus has been unearthed by an Australian-led team in South Africa. 
Photograph: Supplied by La Trobe University

The earliest known skull of Homo erectus has been unearthed by an Australian-led team of researchers who have dated the fossil at two million years old, showing the first of our ancestors existed up to 200,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The lead researcher Prof Andy Herries said the skull was pieced together from more than 150 fragments uncovered at the Drimolen Main Quarry, located about 40km north of Johannesburg in South Africa. It was likely aged between two and three years old when it died.

Herries, a geochronologist and head of archaeology at Melbourne’s La Trobe University, said he “could not stress how rare it is” to find find enough fragments to piece together an intact brain case, especially given juvenile skulls are thin and fragile.

“At this age they are so susceptible to damage,” he said. “It’s so exciting, because our fascination with human evolution is because it’s the story of us, and when we go back this far with a discovery like this, it’s the story of every person living on the planet.

“The group this two or three-year-old was a part of could have been the origin of everyone alive today.”

He said while there was a lot of disagreement of opinion in the field of archaeology and human evolution, one of the reasons Homo erectus is significant is because everyone agreed: “This is the beginning of us, this is the beginning of our genus.”...... 

Herries said the finding was particularly special because in 1924 the Australian anatomist Raymond Dart identified the the first fossil ever found of Australopithecus africanus, an extinct hominin closely related to humans and discovered in South Africa. 

“Nobody believed him at the time because they thought the origin of humans would be in Europe,” Herries said. “And now, 100 years later, DMH 134 will go sit in the same room as that child he identified, further proving what he found. It’s a testament to the work of Australians on human evolution.”.....

State of Play COVID-19: NSW Northern Rivers Region by 3 April 2020

A visual reckoning......

Physical area the first two graphs cover.....