Coronavirus Australia latest updates: Queensland on Covid alert as Victorian hotel inquiry to hear from travellers – live news

Speaking of Pauline Hanson, she has decided to go in and fight the ‘mandatory’ Covid vaccination, that is not mandatory, and as yet, is not even a vaccination.

Scott Morrison started yesterday by saying he wanted any forthcoming Covid vaccine to be as “mandatory as we can make it” before backing down in the evening to admit it would not be compulsory, but would be actively encouraged.

Once a vaccine is proven, Australia needs about a 95% take up rate for the population to be protected against the virus.

But Hanson, who is no stranger to creating controversy when it comes to vaccinations, despite having her own children vaccinated, knows how to play up to people’s fears and that’s what she’s jumping on here.

Pauline Hanson has cried again

It’s not just returning Australians who want the international arrivals cap lifted – as Elias Visontay reports, hotels are pretty desperate for the business as well:

Australian hotels are “absolutely desperate for more business” and are prepared to participate in quarantine programs to boost capacity for returned travellers if the government eases the strict cap on international passenger arrivals.

Michael Johnson, the chief executive of Tourism Accommodation Australia, a division of the Australian Hotels Association, said that the government had justified the cap as a way to ease pressure on hotel quarantine, but it was “more in place to slow the process, from a security perspective”.

“There has always been this perception that at least quarantine was keeping the hotels full to make up for the loss of tourism. But many hotels in our CBDs are running at under 10% occupancy,” he said.

Parliament is back next week, and the government is pushing ahead with plans to introduce a ‘liquid asset test’ for jobseekers.

Under the legislation, anyone with more than $11,500 in the bank will have to wait 13 weeks to receive income support. During the pandemic, that could be even longer.

As the bill explains:

Amends the: Social Security Act 1991 to: amend the residency requirements for the age pension and the disability support pension by changing certain timeframes which need to be met before claims will be deemed payable to eligible recipients; and increase the maximum liquid assets waiting period for youth allowance, austudy, newstart allowance (or jobseeker payment from 20 March 2020) and sickness allowance from 13 weeks to 26 weeks; proposed New Skilled Regional Visas (Consequential Amendments) Act 2019 to make contingent amendments to a transitional provision; and Social Security Act 1991 and Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 to cease payment of the pension supplement after six weeks temporary absence overseas and immediately for permanent departures.

Labor’s Linda Burney said with 13 jobseekers for every one job vacancy, the measure needed to be delayed.

The Morrison Government wants Australians who have lost work to eat through their savings before they can receive help,” she said.

If people are forced to run down every last dollar, they will have no buffer for bills and emergencies like a broken car or fridge – making it harder for people to get back on their feet.”

The aged care response continues to plague the federal government.

Yesterday, Scott Morrison attempted to put responsibility back on the states, in this instance, Victoria, for what he said had become a public health response.

Today, the SMH and the Age report the federal government was warned about potential staff shortages in aged care homes in April, following the Dorothy Henderson Lodge outbreak in NSW.

The Victorian hotel quarantine inquiry resumes today and will hear from returned travellers, as Australian hotels lobby to increase the international arrivals cap, to allow more hotels to take part in the program.

Meanwhile, Queensland Health have issued a public health alert, after Japanese authorities contacted them to let them know a returning traveller has tested positive for Covid.

The woman had travelled back to Japan via Brisbane and Sydney. She had arrived in Sydney in mid-July and completed her two weeks quarantine so she was able to enter Brisbane without having to isolate again. Two Covid tests taken during isolation came back negative.

But on her return to Japan this week, she tested positive.

NSW Health is working with Qld Health to alert anyone who was on the VA962 Brisbane to Sydney flight on August 17.

Anyone who was at the South Brisbane cafe, The Jam Pantry on August 16 between 9.45 and 11am is also being told to go into isolation and get tested

We’ll cover all the day’s news and more – you have Amy Remeikis with you for most of the day.

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