Category: Australia

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Australia News World

Australia states allow New Year celebrations despite Covid surge

Australia’s three most populated states, currently battling the country’s largest Covid-19 outbreaks, have allowed New Year celebrations with slightly modified versions of their traditional fireworks displays…reports Asian Lite News

On Thursday, the most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) reported 12,226 new cases, 746 hospitalized patients and one related death, reports Xinhua news agency.

Despite the escalating infections, the NSW government’s overall message is that residents, having endured months of lockdowns this year, must now use more “personal responsibility” as they “learn to live” with Covid-19.

As such, crowds are expected to pack the Sydney Harbour foreshores on Friday to watch fireworks light up the night skies in the capital city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Asked whether people should reconsider going out to celebrate, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said: “No, what I would say is, take personal responsibility, socially distance and follow the rules that are in place.”

However, there will be concessions made to hopefully contain a potential super-spreader event.

Spectators, for example, will need to book a ticket for most of the city’s viewing areas. Previously huge crowds would have freely gathered.

Victoria, the second most populated state, also has the nation’s second-largest Covid-19 outbreak, recording 5,137 new cases, 395 hospitalizations, and 13 deaths on Thursday.

Victoria authorities are urging people to remain cautious as they welcome in 2022.

The state’s capital Melbourne will stage fireworks on Friday across four private “Celebration Zones” in an effort to reduce crowds and keep track of all attendees.

“These Celebration Zones will allow smaller crowds to gather in a controlled setting at different ends of the city, ensuring the safest possible event,” Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp told the national broadcaster ABC.

Queensland recorded 2,222 new cases on Thursday, a jump of 633 over the previous day’s figures of 1,589.

Last year, the capital city of Brisbane cancelled its fireworks due to the pandemic.

ALSO READ: Europe to Tame New Year Parties

The event will return this Friday with authorities saying spectators won’t have to be vaccinated but will need to check in with an app at the main viewing location.

There were a record of more than 21,000 new cases recorded across Australia on Thursday, meaning the country has reported more cases in the last two days than it did for the entirety of 2020.

The new caseload has thus increased to 362,691.

Australia also reported 15 deaths from Covid-19 on Thursday, the highest figure in recent days, taking the country’s overall toll to 2,225.

Till date, 94.3 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over had received one vaccine dose and 91.3 per cent were fully inoculated, according to the Department of Health.

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Australia News World

Protestors set fire to Australia’s Old Parliament House

Protesters on Thursday set fire to the Old Parliament House in Australia’s capital city of Canberra, which badly damaged the front entrance of the building…reports Asian Lite News

Firefighters were called to the site at about 11.30 a.m. (local time), reports Xinhua news agency.

Video footage by local media showed protesters at the front of the building.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the Old Parliament House, which now houses the Museum of Australian Democracy, was forced to close last week when protesters started a fire at the door, which was later believed to be a ceremonial blaze.

The building was evacuated as a precaution and crews extinguished the blaze, said 7 News Australia.

Social media footage showed police dragging protesters away from the front steps of the building, as well as a large fire burning on the doors.

ACT Policing confirmed Thursay’s incident as continuation of a series of recent protests.

“Old Parliament House was evacuated earlier today after protesters started a fire at the front doors of the building – this was quickly extinguished by ACT Fire and Rescue,” 7 News Australia quoted a spokesperson said.

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“There has been ongoing protest activity at the front of Old Parliament House throughout the past fortnight.”

Reacting to the incident, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said it was “an absolute disgrace”.

Old Parliament House was the seat of Australia’s federal politics from 1927 until 1988, and is now listed on the National Heritage Register.

The building houses the Museum of Australian Democracy.

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Australia COVID-19 World

Australian PM: Urges people to get booster vaccination

Australian PM: Urges people to get booster vaccination

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged people to “stay calm and get boosted” amid surging coronavirus infections…reports Asian Lite News

Morrison on Wednesday met state and territory leaders to discuss the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in Australia, Xinhua news agency reported.

Following the meeting, he announced that one-quarter of the state-run vaccination hubs that closed after Australia got 80 per cent of its population fully vaccinated against Covid will reopen to encourage booster shot uptake.

Australian PM: Urges people to get booster vaccination

“Omicron, we all agree, presents another new challenge, but we have faced so many challenges already during the course of this pandemic,” Morrison told reporters.

“As the country moves past 80 per cent, then we did see the demand at state-based clinics decline. And as a result, some of those facilities were withdrawn.”

“They now need to be ramped up again.”

State and territory leaders have pushed for the interval between the second and third vaccine doses to be reduced from five months, but Morrison said the final decision would be made by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

The national cabinet also agreed to reconsider testing requirements for interstate travel, with testing sites across the country swamped in the lead-up to the Christmas period, and to agree on a common definition of a “casual contact” of a positive case.

ALSO READ: No lockdown for Australia: Morrison

Australia on Wednesday reported a record of more than 5,700 new locally acquired COVID-19 infections and eight deaths.

The daily number of new cases kept rising in New South Wales to 3,763 on Wednesday, which is the highest number of daily COVID-19 infections recorded in the whole country.

The Australian Capital Territory also reported a record of 58 new infections.

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Asia News Australia Business

Aussie energy giant eyes Asian markets

Woodside said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corporation and Japan’s Osaka Gas to conduct a feasibility study into ultimately establishing a “stable supply chain…reports Asian Lite News

Western Australian (WA) oil and gas company Woodside has unveiled long-term plans to potentially supply liquid hydrogen to two major Asian destinations.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Woodside said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corporation and Japan’s Osaka Gas to conduct a feasibility study into ultimately establishing a “stable supply chain of sustainable liquid hydrogen (LH2)” from WA to those companies’ home markets.

The MoU followed the October announcement of Woodside’s proposed gas facility, H2Perth, which will be created to supply international consumers, Xinhua news agency reported.

Woodside Chief Executive Officer Meg O’Neill said the 1-billion- Australian-dollar ($720 million) plant in the WA capital of Perth would be “ideally located” for shipping to Singapore and Japan, and noted that the site was “close to gas, power, water and port infrastructure, as well as a skilled local workforce.”

The H2Perth hub, which is due to be built in 2024, would have a target of 300 tonnes per day of hydrogen production, which could be converted into 600,000 tonnes per annum of ammonia or 110,000 tonnes per annum of LH2.

O’Neill said the MoU with Keppel and Osaka Gas complied with Woodside’s aim to “develop a diversified and scalable portfolio of new energy products to help reduce customers’ emissions.”

Woodside is keen to promote hydrogen because it does not emit carbon dioxide during combustion and is considered a promising next generation, low-carbon fuel that can be used in a range of applications including power generation, town gas and as an industrial feedstock.

The gas can also be liquefied by cooling it to minus 253 degrees Celsius, meaning LH2 takes up far less volume than in its original state, making it easier to be stored and transported.

Woodside’s feasibility study with its Asian partners is expected to take about six months “at which juncture the parties will decide on the next phase of their collaboration”, the statement noted.

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Australia COVID-19 World

Australia imposes restrictions on indigenous communities to protect from Covid

Australia imposes restrictions on indigenous communities to protect from Covid

The Australian government has imposed restrictions to protect remote Indigenous communities from Covid-19, Minister for Health Greg Hunt announced on Tuesday…reports Asian Lite News

In his announcement, Hunt said he has made a determination under the Biosecurity Act banning people from entering or exiting the community of Ali Curung in the Northern Territory (NT), reports Xinhua news agency.

The announcement came after Australia reported more than 4,000 Covid cases on Tuesday morning.

Australia imposes restrictions on indigenous communities to protect from Covid

The intervention was requested by the NT government after Ali Curung, 378 km north of Alice Springs in the Barkly Region of central Australia, was placed under lockdown after a resident tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.

“These measures are based on the medical advice from the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly and will help to contain the current outbreak by restricting entry into and exit from these communities,” Hunt said in a statement.

“This will assist in preventing the spread of the disease, including to neighbouring remote communities in the Northern Territory.”

Both Ali Curung and the nearby town of Tennant Creek will remain in lockdown until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest.

The face mask mandate in the wider Barkly Region has also been extended until Wednesday.

However, a leading Aboriginal health clinic has called for a hard lockdown across the vast region, citing the low vaccination rate among Indigenous Australians.

ALSO READ: No lockdown for Australia: Morrison

Till date, only 34 per cent of Ali Curung residents were fully vaccinated against the virus.

Barb Shaw, CEO of the Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation, said a hard region-wide lockdown was the only guaranteed way to restrict movement.

“Anyinginyi is right behind AMSANT (Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory) with its call to lock down the major communities throughout the Barkly, and absolutely agree this is the only way to move to contain people movement,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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-Top News Australia

No lockdown for Australia: Morrison

Morrison said the time for “heavy-handed” government intervention to keep case numbers down was over…reports Asian Lite News

 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday declared that the country will not return to lockdowns despite record Covid-19 infections.

Morrison said the time for “heavy-handed” government intervention to keep case numbers down was over, reports Xinhua news agency.

“We’re not going back to lockdowns,” he said. “We’re not going back to shutting down peoples’ lives.”

“There will be other variants beyond Omicron, and we have to ensure, as a country, and as leaders around the country, we have put in place measures that Australians can live with,” he said.

His remarks came ahead of an emergency meeting with state and territory leaders on Wednesday to discuss the surge in cases across Australia.

Australia hits 80% vaccination milestone

Morrison said the meeting would focus on how Australians can continue to live with the virus “with common sense and responsibility” but that he would present “strong recommendations” for indoor mask use to continue.

Australia on Tuesday reported more than 4,500 new locally-acquired coronavirus infections — the most since the start of the pandemic.

New South Wales alone reported 3,057 cases, the highest daily infection number among all states during the pandemic, while Victoria recorded 1,245. South Australia, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Tasmania reported 154, 86, 16, 14 and four new cases.

Leaders will also on Wednesday discuss whether Australians will require a third booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The leaders of Australia’s two biggest states — Victoria and New South Wales — on Tuesday confirmed they would push for shortening the interval between second and third vaccine doses to combat the spread of the Omicron variant.

ALSO READ: Britain and Australia sign trade deal

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-Top News Australia Environment and WIldlife

New South Wales announces wetland as globally protected

The convention, to which Australia has already signed 67 sites, is designed to promote the conservation of wetlands, and establish nature reserves in areas important for biological diversity…reports Asian Lite News.

The government of New South Wales (NSW) on Sunday announced that a large wetland area in the Australian state’s northwest would be listed as an internationally important wetland.

The proposed listing of Caryapundy Swamp is Australia’s latest addition to the global 1971 Ramsar Convention agreement, and would add approximately 700 square km of protected wetlands in NSW, bringing the country’s total listed area to over 8.37 million hectares, reports Xinhua news agency.

The convention, to which Australia has already signed 67 sites, is designed to promote the conservation of wetlands, and establish nature reserves in areas important for biological diversity.

Australia’s Minister for Environment Sussan Ley said the site would play “a critical role for species like the Australasian Shoveler, Grey Teal and Red-necked Avocet which use the site as a drought refuge”.

The swamp is situated in a major basin which captures floodwaters from across a basin in the state’s northwest, and during times of flood more than 100,000 birds have been known to flock to the wetlands surrounding Caryapundy.

Floods represent an important factor in the life cycle of wetlands, and many Australian bird species require substantial flooding in order to trigger large-scale breeding events.

The wetlands are also an important stop-off point for migratory shorebirds that fly to southern Australia during the winter.

The status would prevent these waters from being rerouted to reservoirs or for use in agriculture.

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean said it was the first site that has been nominated by the state government in over a decade.

“This application is the result of close collaboration between NSW and the Commonwealth, as well as consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders and traditional owners on the significant cultural values the region has,” said Kean.

“This convention is the global gold standard for wetland conservation and will shine an international spotlight on the area driving economic opportunities, including tourism, for the local community.”

The listing coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention.

Kean said that there are a total of 2,400 wetlands listed worldwide, which protects over 254.6 million hectares of critical waterbird habitat.

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-Top News Australia UK News

Britain and Australia sign trade deal

The deal is expected to unlock £10.4 billion of additional trade, boosting our economy and increasing wages across the UK, while eliminating tariffs on 100% of UK exports…reports Asian Lite News.

Britain has signed an historic trade agreement with Australia, our first from scratch since leaving the EU, setting new global standards in digital and services and creating new work and travel opportunities for Brits and Aussies.

The deal was agreed in principle by the Prime Minister and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in London in June, and negotiators have now finalised all chapters of the agreement.

The final deal was signed in a virtual ceremony by International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan on Thursday night, and will now be laid in Parliament for a period of scrutiny.

The deal is expected to unlock £10.4 billion of additional trade, boosting our economy and increasing wages across the UK, while eliminating tariffs on 100% of UK exports.

It is a deal tailored to the UK economy, with cutting-edge agreements in areas where Britain is a world leader, including in digital and tech, along with increased access to Australia for the UK’s powerhouse service sectors.

This agreement will help create new opportunities for businesses in both the UK and Australia.

It gives UK firms guaranteed access to bid for an additional £10 billion worth of Australian public sector contracts per year.

It will allow young people to work and travel in Australia for up to three years at a time, removing previous visa conditions.

For the first time UK service suppliers including architects, scientists, researchers, lawyers and accountants will have access to visas to work in Australia without being subject to Australia’s changing skilled occupation list. This is more than Australia has ever offered any other country in a free trade agreement.

The deal removes tariffs on all UK exports, making it cheaper to sell iconic products like cars, Scotch whisky and UK fashion to Australia, while making Australian favourites like Jacob’s Creek and Hardys wines, Tim Tams and surfboards more accessible for British consumers.

The deal is also a gateway into the fast-growing Indo-Pacific region and will boost our bid to join CPTPP, one of the largest free trade areas in the world, covering £8.4 trillion of GDP and 11 Pacific nations from Australia to Mexico.

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said, “Our UK-Australia trade deal is a landmark moment in the historic and vital relationship between our two Commonwealth nations. This agreement is tailored to the UK’s strengths, and delivers for businesses, families, and consumers in every part of the UK – helping us to level up. We will continue to work together in addressing shared challenges in global trade, climate change and technological changes in the years ahead.”

RenewableUK’s CEO Dan McGrail said, “Australia has the potential to be a clean energy powerhouse, able to provide all its electricity needs using just 1% of its offshore wind potential. This free trade agreement will make it easier for UK and Australian companies to export green technologies and expertise, speeding up the transition of both countries to our net zero goals. We look forward to seeing even more UK companies out in Australia, ensuring they maximise all the economic benefits we’ve seen flow from our low-cost wind energy and green hydrogen developments.”

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-Top News Australia

Heatwave set to sweep Australia’s east coast

The dryer, hotter weather combined with strong winds prompted the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) to issue a fire warning for NSW on Wednesday….reports Asian Lite News

The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has braced itself for its first summer-like weather of the season, as temperatures were forecast on Wednesday to soar into the 40s in some parts of the state.

Due to a La Nina weather event, Australia’s east coast has thus far experienced an atypical summer with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and flooding throughout many inland areas, Xinhua news agency reported.

The dryer, hotter weather combined with strong winds prompted the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) to issue a fire warning for NSW on Wednesday.

BoM forecaster David Wilkie said the temperature increase would likely continue before reaching a max over the weekend.

“When this next front moves through on Saturday, it’s going to drag the heat across the entire state… There’s also the risk that we could see some elevated fire dangers,” Wilkie said on Wednesday.

The BoM also issued a warning of severe thunderstorms before the weekend in the state’s southeast.

On Saturday, parts of inland NSW are expected to reach up to 45 degrees Celsius, while Sydney and coastal areas are expected to see temperatures hovering in the low 30s.

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-Top News Australia Environment

Australian East Coast Prepares For Heat Wave

The dryer, hotter weather combined with strong winds prompted the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) to issue a fire warning for NSW on Wednesday…reports Asian Lite News.

The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has braced itself for its first summer-like weather of the season, as temperatures were forecast on Wednesday to soar into the 40s in some parts of the state.

Due to a La Nina weather event, Australia’s east coast has thus far experienced an atypical summer with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and flooding throughout many inland areas, Xinhua news agency reported.

The dryer, hotter weather combined with strong winds prompted the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) to issue a fire warning for NSW on Wednesday.

BoM forecaster David Wilkie said the temperature increase would likely continue before reaching a max over the weekend.

“When this next front moves through on Saturday, it’s going to drag the heat across the entire state… There’s also the risk that we could see some elevated fire dangers,” Wilkie said on Wednesday.

The BoM also issued a warning of severe thunderstorms before the weekend in the state’s southeast.

On Saturday, parts of inland NSW are expected to reach up to 45 degrees Celsius, while Sydney and coastal areas are expected to see temperatures hovering in the low 30s.

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