Australia news LIVE Victoria records 1471 new local COVID-19 cases four deaths NSW records 135 new cases four deaths as regular international travel resumes in Sydney and Melbourne
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Victorian TAFE students will return to face-to-face learning from today, putting an end to 19 months of disruptions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
TAFE campuses and other adult education facilities will reopen their doors to the fully vaccinated in line with government health advice.
About 55,700 students are expected to graduate from their course this year, following a 25 per cent increase in enrolments among unemployed, Indigenous, and culturally and linguistically diverse Victorians during the pandemic.
Also represented in the uptick were women and people with a disability.
“Our TAFE and training system has continued delivering high-quality learning opportunities to Victorians despite the challenges of the pandemic â€" it is truly world-class,†Training and Skills Minister Gayle Tierney said.
“Victorians have done an incredible job throughout the pandemic and I’m excited to start seeing campuses roar back to life as students return across the state.â€
Annual house value growth in Sydney has topped 30 per cent while Canberra has become the second most expensive capital in the country for a house as signs emerge the nation’s runaway property market may be starting to cool.
Data from CoreLogic today showed dwelling values nationally lifted by another 1.5 per cent in October to be up by 4.6 per cent over the quarter and by 21.6 per cent over the past 12 months.
The median value of a Sydney house has climbed by more than 30 per cent over the past year, but there are signs the market may be about to cool.
In Sydney, house values increased by 1.6 per cent, with the median value now at a record $1.33 million. Over the past 12 months, Sydney’s median house value has climbed by 30.4 per cent.
Melbourne values lifted by 1 per cent with the median value at an all-time high of $972,659, a lift of 19.5 per cent over the past year.
But the median value of a house in Canberra climbed by 1.9 per cent last month to reach a record $985,000. Canberra’s median house value has now soared by 29 per cent since October 2020.
Read the full story here.
An anti-corruption commission examining whether Victorian Labor MPs and staff misused taxpayer funds and grants will resume at 2pm today following a one-week break.
Two different electorate officers are set to be questioned today and tomorrow.
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) is investigating allegations of corrupt conduct involving Victorian public officers, including members of Parliament, and whether taxpayer-funded staff and grants were misused for factional activities, as first revealed by this masthead and 60 Minutes last year.
The probe centres around former Andrews government minister Adem Somyurek and Labor’s moderate faction.
Three people have so far stepped down from their public roles as a result of the IBAC investigation.
Victorian state MP Luke Donnellan resigned as disability minister on the first day of the hearings, federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne resigned as the deputy chair of Parliament’s intelligence committee and Banyule mayor Rick Garotti stepped down as mayor last month.
We’ll have a separate IBAC blog up and running later this afternoon.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has been asked if he is worried people will wait to holiday in Queensland or South Australia when those borders reopen next month rather than travel in their own state.
He is not concerned.
“There’s no point going there because we have the best right here in regional NSW,†the Premier said.
It is not the first time Mr Perrottet has taken a swipe at South Australia â€" asked about the state’s digital driver’s licence as treasurer, he said it was “pretty poor, like most things in Adelaideâ€.
Mr Perrottet said he would also like to see regional residents come to Sydney for holidays.
“I feel incredibly sorry for just the small stores that have been sitting there in Sydney CBD that rely every day on international tourism that hasn’t been there,†he said.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has used one of his predecessor’s pandemic catchphrases in an appearance at Dubbo Airport as regional travel restarts across the state.
From this morning, people in regional NSW may travel into Greater Sydney and Sydneysiders are able to travel anywhere the state.
The easing of restrictions came as the first quarantine-free international flights landed at Sydney Airport.
Borrowing one of former premier Gladys Berejiklian’s favourite lines, Mr Perrottet said NSW would not “go backwards†as it reopened for tourism.
“Let’s not underestimate what today means for our state ... it’s the start of a new journey,†he said.
“As we open up, we won’t go backwards, we will start to rejoin the world â€" and that’s going to be great for the state.â€
Dubbo, in the central west, was hard-hit by a coronavirus outbreak in August, which spread into a number of neighbouring towns including Indigenous communities.
After taking the first flight from Sydney this morning, the Premier admitted it had been an unpopular decision to push the restart of regional travel â€" originally slated to occur at the 80 per cent stage of the road map â€" back a fortnight.
Mr Perrottet said the reopening of travel across the state was a step towards “living with the virusâ€.
“It’s really been the efforts that people have made across our state that have enabled us to be able to open up safely and today, we’ll see many people being able to travel to regional NSW and hopefully this is the pathway to the future,†he said.
“I think NSW is leading the nation out of the pandemic.â€
Victoria’s daily coronavirus numbers are in.
The state has recorded 1471 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths. Today’s tally is up from yesterday’s 1036 cases.
There are now 21,959 active cases of coronavirus across the state.
Today’s numbers are off the back of yesterday’s 46,065 coronavirus tests.
There are 699 coronavirus patients in Victorian hospitals. Of those, 136 are in intensive care and 86 are ventilated.
In terms of vaccinations, 81 per cent of Victorian residents aged 16 and over are now fully vaccinated.
More than 24,000 homes across Victoria remain in the dark after heavy winds brought down trees and power lines late last week.
The majority of affected properties are in Melbourne’s outer north and east, as well as north-eastern Victoria.
Just over 7400 affected properties are in south-east Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula, and 1450 are scattered across the city’s west and central and western Victoria.
The unusual weather pattern, which ripped roofs off homes and caused trees to fall on parked cars, left 520,000 properties without power on Friday morning.
Most had their supply restored by 8pm that day.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is due to hold a press conference at 9.15am AEDT.
He will be joined by Deputy Premier Paul Toole. The pair are in Dubbo, in regional NSW, and will talk about travel resuming between Greater Sydney and the regions.
Watch live below.
NSW has reported 135 new local coronavirus cases, the state’s lowest daily figure since July 22 when 124 cases were recorded.
Four people have died from the virus since yesterday’s update.
The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in the state is now at 349. There are 77 virus patients in intensive care.
Of the state’s population aged 16 years and over, 87.7 per cent are fully vaccinated and 93.6 per cent have received at least one dose.
There were 62,857 tests conducted in the 24 hours to 8pm last night and zero new overseas cases.
Testing numbers are usually lower on Mondays and Tuesdays as they reflect tests collected on the weekend.
Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has arrived at the Independent Commission Against Corruption for her second day in the witness box.
On Friday, Ms Berejiklian said she had not disclosed her relationship with former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire to her ministerial colleagues because she didn’t think it “was of sufficient standard or sufficient significance in order to do thatâ€.
My colleague Michaela Whitbourn is once again blogging proceedings. It’s all due to kick-off at 9am AEDT. Follow all the coverage, including the livestream, here.
Meanwhile, current NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was on Sunrise earlier this morning where there was this exchange with co-host Natalie Barr (it has been edited for concision and clarity):
Barr: Your predecessor Gladys Berejiklian of course has given evidence at the ICAC enquiry. In an exchange between her and Daryl Maguire, she said: “Dom does whatever I tell him to.†Were those comments a surprise to you?
Perrottet: Not at all. Gladys and I have a great relationship. As premier and treasurer you work very closely together.
Barr: So you didn’t do whatever she said?
Perrottet: We always had a very strong and robust relationship. As any premier and treasurer do have. I am sure I will have [the same] with my new treasure in NSW.
Barr: I understand your wife had something to say about that comment?
Perrottet: I wasn’t watching the proceedings, but she texted me in the morning, “Why do you do what Gladys does ... not what I ask you to do?â€
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