To all Pubsters, their family and friends, and to all people in Australia in lockdown, or dealing with any effects of the Covid19 Pandemic, we send our best wishes for the best in these times.
Please stick to the rules of your Lockdown, follow medical advice. Wear your masks, do your social distancing, your handwashing and sanitising.
Stay home as directed. It is better to be bored than sick. Use your common sense: if in doubt stay home.
I have some suggestions to help spark ideas to pass the time at home. Do you have other ideas to share?
With the internet you can learn a new hobby, or a language, or listen to podcasts, music, jokes, explore art or sport or anything. You can go online to Berkeley College, USA, for example. Every lecture in every course is available to watch, for free. Play online (non gambling) games. Talk to others in your household.
Live cams from all over the world let you see other places from home. My favourite is Africacam at the waterholes to see wild animals gather to drink.
Get the kids to make their own board-games or invent new or rediscover old playroom games.
You could start to gather your family history from your elders, by phone.
Use the phone instead of a visit.
Lockdown gives you time to do such home-based projects that you wanted to do, but could not fit into your schedules. Protecting mental health is very important. Phone friends!
Think back to WW2, when restrictions were drastic in many countries. If they could do it, you can.
Maybe keep a diary, and/or a family scrapbook, so future generations can read about your experiences of these times.
If you have been ill, or know someone affected by Covid19, we wish for a rapid recovery.
For all who have suffered grief from Covid19, we give you our sincere sympathy.
We hope we can keep ourselves and each other safe.
Remember, consult your doctor, follow medical advice on vaccinations (not internet rumours or human gossip) and other health issues, follow Lockdown restrictions (including mask-wearing and staying home), and err on the side of caution.
Our leaders are limited in dealing with this pandemic by their abilities and beliefs. Some do well, others less so, as is clear from the data.
We can only try to influence our leaders, but we have control over ourselves.
So what are our areas of direct control?
- Our conduct.
- Our choices.
- Our decisions.
- Our understanding and patience with ourselves and others.
- Our words.
It is up to each one of us to act for the good of all, because what is good for us all is good for each of us.
Thank you to all you front line workers, volunteers, health staff, welfare staff and others keeping vital services running, often at risk to yourselves.
For example, my friend received free delivered meals from a group of volunteers from the Indian community. Thank you to that group.
Thank you to everyone doing the right thing to keep us safe.
Drop into The Pub, if you want!
THE PUB 
I would like to add a ‘Go to top of page’ function but I can’t find it.
Hit Ctrl and Home keys together.
There are plugins that will do it but you have to “upgrade your WordPress business plan” to use plugins.
The Prime Ministerial OAF was being his offensive self at Pacific Islands Forum today
Ugh!
Why didn’t he eat before the meeting began?
He doesn’t care, they are not his type of people
Well very few people are, but his minders usually stop him offending the Australian electorate
This man represents our country?
I get the 5&5 in my inbox but can’t find a link to post it here so I’m just going to copy and paste.
If someone knows how to link it, it would be appreciated.
1. Labor MPs whose electorates have been directly affected by lockdowns led the charge. Pat Conroy and Emma McBride asked Mr Morrison why there weren’t enough vaccines for the Hunter Valley and Central Coast. Meryl Swanson asked why the appointment of one of her constituents was cancelled even though she was regularly in contact with immunocompromised kids. Anika Wells, Michelle Rowland and Chris Bowen – themselves stuck in lockdowns – used the videolink to press Mr Morrison over the failures that led us here. His response was not to lead but rather to lie. Straight out lie. Find a lot more on that in the “worst” section.
PIC: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
2. “This Prime Minister never accepts responsibility, always blames someone else, says something different from day to day and thinks that people won’t remember, never wants to be held to account, never wants to provide transparency and never wants to provide leadership.” That was Anthony Albanese’s withering assessment of Mr Morrison during a fiery speech on Tuesday. Have a watch here. I was the next Labor speaker and explained what was happening in my part of Sydney.
3. Labor’s Anne Stanley also gave an impassioned speech about the unfair demonisation of her community. Watch here.
4. It wasn’t all COVID. We also kept the pressure on the government to answer questions about their endless rorts. We returned to the Leppington Triangle scandal after a new document emerged showing the government’s Paul Fletcher signed off on the deal to pay $30 million for a parcel of land worth $3 million with the handwritten note: “Seems perfectly sensible to me”. We also questioned Fletcher and Alan Tudge over the government’s carpark rorts. It’s not hard to work out why the Liberals and Nationals are resisting Labor’s call for an Anti-Corruption Commission.
5. Anthony delivered an extraordinary speech on the release of this year’s Closing the Gap Report. Watch to the end for a beautiful reference to the Southern Cross.
It can be hard to keep up with all of Scott Morrison’s lies. For this week’s “worst” list I’m just going to list the five biggest lies he told in Parliament this week. It’s by no means an exhaustive list.
1. LIE NUMBER ONE: In his very first answer of the week Mr Morrison claimed Anthony Albanese had cancelled a Monday meeting with General John Frewen, who is coordinating the vaccine rollout. For the record, the meeting was scheduled for – and took place – yesterday.
2. LIE NUMBER TWO: A few minutes before walking into question time Mr Morrison claimed – in an effort to criticise Labor’s vaccine incentive payment proposal – that the “no jab, no pay” vaccine policy he personally introduced was “not an incentive scheme to improve child immunisation rates”. But as Albo asked: “Can the Prime Minister confirm that when he personally introduced the legislation he said the following in the second sentence of his second reading speech: ‘This is an important initiative aimed at boosting child immunisation rates’”.
PIC: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
3. LIE NUMBER THREE: We all know that Mr Morrison repeatedly said the vaccine rollout was “not a race”. He’s on tape saying it over and over. There are videos. There are transcripts. Yet on Tuesday he was seriously trying to claim that these comments were made in relation to vaccine approvals rather than the vaccine rollout. Even though he made the comments months after the vaccines were approved.
4. LIE NUMBER FOUR: On Wednesday it was even more ridiculous. Mr Morrison claimed Labor opposed JobKeeper. The wage subsidy that we first called for. The wage subsidy we kept pushing for even as Mr Morrison was dismissing the idea as “dangerous”. The wage subsidy we voted for in Parliament. The wage subsidy we wanted extended and resurrected but modified so that $13 billion didn’t go to businesses that increased their profits. Seriously.
5. LIE NUMBER FIVE: Then he made the desperate, shrill and baseless claim that Labor wanted to keep Australia locked down until 2023. This is exactly the sort of nonsense he’s going to spout going into the election campaign as he tries to deflect from all his failures. The lies are frustrating. And this week they left his mouth like machine gun fire. But at least remember this. He’s only this desperate because he’s under so much pressure.
Parliament’s back next week. From us you can expect the same three themes: quarantine, vaccines, and exposing government rorts.
I’ll be in touch after that.
Tony
P.S. Song of the week is pretty easy. Here’s British Indie Band The Enemy with It’s a Race.
Obviously pics and links are missing so over to you mods.
Tony Burke used to put these on his own webpage, but he no longer does that.
Albo’s “fiery speech” – excerpt only.
Tony Burke –
Anne Stanley’s video is only available on Facebook – here’s a link anyway.
Albo’s speech –
Song of the week –
I will be interested to know if the Anne Stanley link works for anyone who is not signed up to Facebook.
Woofle dust applied to the best of my ability, CK.
Ta muchly Fiona.
I could see anne Stanley. I did not have Facebook open
Thank you.
I didn’t know if Facebook links would work after being forced onto their latest format, so now I can deluge you all with videos.
It opened for me, normal page not even incognito. I have never had facebook.
Thank you, that’s what I needed to know.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7374818/man-accused-of-raping-brittany-higgins-charged/?cs=14329
Dumped on a Friday night – the government really doesn’t want anyone to realise this has finally happened.
The Chaser’s been having some fun this week.
https://chaser.com.au/general-news/nations-bar-flies-inspired-to-learn-theyre-qualified-to-be-deputy-pm/
https://chaser.com.au/national/barnaby-put-on-cashless-debit-card-after-turning-up-to-work-drunk/
https://chaser.com.au/national/scott-morrison-promotes-christian-porter-to-leader-of-the-boys-club/
I wish all Coalition politicians could be forced onto the CDC.
F.M –
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/06/life-can-be-so-hard-and-every-day-a-grind-the-animals-are-here-to-help-if-we-let-them
Where exactly did Wesley College get this private supply of vaccines????
Did it come from Scovid’s secret stash?
Private schools to start vaccinating their staff on-site
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/private-schools-to-start-vaccinating-their-staff-on-site-20210803-p58fdt.html
Sammy J –
Good morning Dawn Patrollers
The COVID crisis is burning across Australia, and someone needs to grab and hold the hose, says Laura Tingle.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-07/covid-crisis-australia-someone-needs-to-grab-hold-the-hose/100356994
Peter Hartcher compares the government’s handling of Closing the Gap and managing the pandemic to show us Australia at its best and its worst.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-at-its-best-and-worst-20210806-p58gkb.html
Katherine Murphy writes that as some Coalition MPs court constituents who think the pandemic is a beat-up, Scott Morrison remains elastic. She says that at some point, the cohort of Australians willing to be vaccinated will top out, and the prime minister will need to turn the vaccine-hesitant into conscripts. A worthwhile read.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/06/as-some-coalition-mps-court-constituents-who-think-the-pandemic-is-a-beat-up-scott-morrison-remains-elastic
Paul Kelly sets out to unmask the truth about the path to freedom. He concludes with, “Morrison’s message is that while the suppression phase lasts, it is the premiers who will take the decisions and carry the responsibility for lockdowns – yet nobody will forget it’s all still a function of the delayed vaccine rollout.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/unmasking-the-truth-about-the-path-to-freedom/news-story/cd3cf92ed6d0de9d381b39d0adf75306
Rick Morton explains why Morrison’s figures do not predict an end to lockdowns.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/07/morrisons-figures-do-not-predict-end-lockdowns/162825840012220
Paul Bongiorno writes that few, if anyone, in the government party room think even the miracle-working Morrison can win the next election if the vaccination rollout hasn’t hit 80 per cent before Australians vote. He concludes with, “What is certain is that if the rollout doesn’t pick up pace, no one will be surprised at what a desperate Morrison would do to save his bacon.”
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2021/08/07/morrison-plays-the-other-race-card/162825840012224
And The Australian’s Dennis Shanahan says, “The time has come for Scott Morrison to step out of the federal collective and step up as Prime Minister. There is a national interest, a policy imperative and a political advantage for Morrison to break with his “management” style of the past 18 months and provide the “leadership” people are crying out for, even if they don’t understand the constraints of the system and don’t even know what they want or mean.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/time-to-lead-mr-morrison/news-story/cc2fbdd39a0fd143d8580771c7cd820a
Michael Pascoe tells us why he thinks Australia’s next post-lockdown bounce back won’t score gold.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2021/08/07/michael-pascoe-lockdown-economy/
Peter van Onselen begins this contribution with, “The next election is likely to highlight just how bereft of ideas both our major parties really are. Timid, unwilling or unable to set Australia up for a prosperous post-pandemic future. Both Labor and the Coalition lack the lateral thinking and political courage to ascribe the policy settings we need to lock in the stability future generations deserve in the wake of this pandemic.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/covid-reveals-how-our-political-class-is-failing-us/news-story/e25787eed0ed0d757c45ed42fa14f873
Shane Wright writes about the death of accountability, one car park space at a time.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/death-of-accountability-one-car-park-space-at-a-time-20210806-p58gee.html
Karen Middleton explains how new documents show how the government came to pay ten times the market value for the Leppington Triangle in Western Sydney.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/07/buying-the-leppington-triangle/162825840012230
More from Middleton who reveals that the Morrison government has held talks with major gambling company Tabcorp on designing a lottery open only to those vaccinated against Covid-19.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/07/morrison-approached-tabcorp-covid-19-lottery/162825840012227
A scathing Dennis Atkins writes, “Has it come to this? A prosperous and generous country finds itself led by someone who has clustered a completely avoidable, expensive and painful failure in getting COVID-19 vaccines into the community by responding with the mind-numbingly empty two word slogan “COVID Shield”.” He says Australia needs a political reckoning.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2021/08/07/atkins-morrison-political-reckoning/
Mike Seccombe tells us all about Bridget McKenzie and bushfire recovery grants. It’s not complimentary.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2021/08/07/bridget-mckenzie-and-bushfire-recovery-grants/162825840012229
Gladys is now winding back her covid targets which seemed now to have morphed into aspirations.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/premier-says-nsw-must-learn-to-live-with-covid-as-cmo-calls-for-circuit-breaker-20210806-p58gm6.html
New South Wales “urgently” needs to implement a “ring of steel” around Sydney to stop the Delta variant spreading across the country, epidemiologists have warned.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2021/08/07/sydney-ring-of-steel/
Vaccination rates in NSW are speeding up, but the way forward is still plagued by logistics, messaging, hesitancy and reach of the program into hotspot areas, explain Deborah Snow and Lucy Carroll.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-premier-s-gambit-nsw-looks-to-vaccine-escape-hatch-20210805-p58g8u.html
Benjamin Preiss tells us how Bendigo is really setting the pace for vaccination.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/they-re-pro-vaccine-bendigo-goes-for-gold-with-inoculations-20210804-p58ftk.html
The editorial in The Saturday Paper says that there are two overriding beliefs that guide Scott Morrison as prime minister: the first is a belief in secrecy, and his right to it when making decisions; the second is Morrison’s belief that his saying something makes it true.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/editorial/2021/08/07/you-call-that-cabinet/162825840012226
The SMH editorial urges NSW to not give up and says they should dig in to defeat the pandemic.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-must-not-give-up-let-s-dig-in-to-defeat-this-pandemic-20210806-p58gld.html
The Age warns that medical experts are saying the dual threats of Sydney’s worsening outbreak and the infectiousness of the Delta variant mean Victorians are likely to spend a large portion of 2021 in rolling lockdowns.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victorians-warned-to-expect-months-of-rolling-lockdowns-20210806-p58gdz.html
Anne Twomey explains what this week’s AAT judgement means for the national cabinet.
https://theconversation.com/nowhere-to-hide-the-significance-of-national-cabinet-not-being-a-cabinet-165671
“An unintended consequence of asset booms is that the gap between the haves and the have nots widens, increasing the likelihood of social unrest. Throw lockdowns, which hit low-income workers harder, into the mix and the gap gets even wider”, writes Adele Ferguson in a grim assessment of where we might be heading.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/a-dark-scenario-an-invisible-enemy-paranoia-and-isolationism-20210806-p58glg.html
Dave Donavan argues why the Right give the top jobs to the wrong people.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/why-the-right-give-thetop-jobs-to-the-wrong-people,15372
Thomas Keneally writes that the closing of state borders in the Covid crisis has raised old quarrels surrounding the federation. He is ashamed to admit that the old serpent of NSW schadenfreude re-awoke in him.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/06/a-fractured-federation-how-the-closing-of-state-borders-in-the-covid-crisis-has-raised-old-quarrels
Perhaps the extraordinary levels of altruism shown by healthcare workers and others in this pandemic make the selfishness of the few all the more obvious. The freedom marches were breathtaking in their selfish stupidity, but they’re not the only ones, says Elizabeth Knight who concludes her contribution with “Selfishness does not hold the key to survival. Like it or not, we’re a herd. No-one is safe until we’re all safe.”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fortress-me-selfishness-like-the-virus-can-become-endemic-20210805-p58g93.html
Cassandra Goldie provides us with what she sees as the true story of Morrison’s tax cuts for the rich.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2021/08/07/the-true-story-morrisons-tax-cuts-the-rich/162825840012222
“Where was the broadcasting regulator when Sky News Australia was airing misinformation about Covid-19?”, asks Dennis Muller.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/07/where-was-the-broadcasting-regulator-when-sky-news-australia-was-airing-misinformation-about-covid-19
In this week’s review of media matters Amanda Meade contrasts News Lt’s handling of Victorian and NSW lockdowns. The difference is stark.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/aug/06/after-dictator-dan-tele-goes-all-warm-and-fuzzy-for-gladyss-lockdown-in-sydney
Here’s the weekly whine from Gerard Henderson who wants to know why the militant left hates religion.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/why-does-the-militant-left-hate-religion/news-story/68059c27dfd1c8a248769977dab6366c
Ross Gittins argues that it’s time to stop assuming all deficits are bad and all surpluses good.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/our-dealings-with-the-world-have-reversed-but-don-t-get-the-wrong-idea-20210805-p58ga1.html
Tax is good. The fact that such a statement will raise eyebrows signals just how feeble Australia’s political debate on revenue has become, writes Ben Oquist who says our nation’s public sector will inevitably waste away if we maintain our fiscally reckless addiction to tax cuts.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7375159/tax-is-not-a-dirty-word-far-from-it/?cs=14264
Rachel Clun writes that, according to the CMO and Morrison, any adult under the age of 60 can have a conversation with any vaccine provider about getting the AstraZeneca vaccine amid confusion about the rules on who can get it.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/people-under-60-can-get-informed-consent-for-astrazeneca-from-any-vaccine-provider-20210806-p58gme.html
Nick Bonyhady tells us that high risk businesses in coronavirus hotspots are set to get the green light to order mandatory vaccinations for their staff in an update to federal advice being worked on by the workplace regulator.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/high-risk-businesses-in-covid-19-hotspots-to-get-mandatory-vax-backing-20210806-p58gjk.html
David Crowe reports that police have charged a 26-year-old man with raping former government adviser Brittany Higgins in Parliament House two years ago. The man’s lawyers say he would defend the charge and denied any form of sexual activity took place.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/man-summonsed-to-appear-in-court-over-brittany-higgins-rape-allegation-20210806-p58gk0.html
Economists are divided on the future of immigration when international borders are re-opened with some warning more new arrivals will lead to lower wages and fewer job opportunities for locals as others want population growth to bolster the nation’s pandemic recovery.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/experts-split-on-whether-boosting-migration-helps-or-hinders-economy-20210805-p58g2f.html
The board of megachurch Hillsong has written to followers after founder Brian Houston was charged by police, offering comfort and criticising media reporting of the pastor’s handling of his late father’s sexual abuse of children. Apparently, God is in control.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/god-is-in-control-hillsong-comforts-the-flock-after-founder-charged-by-police-20210806-p58gjb.html
Jonathan Freedland posits that Trump may be fading away, but Trumpism is now in the American bloodstream.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/06/trump-trumpism-american-presidential-run-republican
Cartoon Corner
David Pope
Alan Moir
David Rowe
Andrew Dyson
Mark David
Matt Golding
Jon Kudelka
Mark Knight
Glen Le Lievre
Tom Jellett
John Shakespeare
Michael Leunig
Matt Davidson
Effing Leak
From the US
“The COVID crisis is burning across Australia, and someone needs to grab and hold the hose, says Laura Tingle.”
Is this what Scovid meant when he said he would “burn for us”?
Laura says –
Exactly!
All over social media there are daily gripes and even cries of anguish from people who have tried to get vaccinated and cannot make an appointment for at least three months or who have managed to get an appointment only to have a GP say they cannot get AZ (all that is available) because they are too young, or have had their appointments cancelled because GladBag stole their vaccine for high school students in Sydney.
Yet every day Gladys and Co urge us to get vaccinated. How are we supposed to do that when appointments are impossible to get, doctors stick to the ATAGI advice and won’t give the only vaccine available to anyone under 60 or there are just no supplies available?
Easy for politicians to say “get the jab” when they have all had their shots. Do any members of the federal and NSW governments actually understand what is going on outside their cosy offices?
Thank you BK.
Re Laura Tingle’s article and interview with Dr Fauci.
Whenever I read or hear anything from her, without exaggeration I think how much better our society could be over the long term, if more journalists used a similar professional approach.
Not being obliged to stick to the boss’s agenda. Not needing to use an interview to show how tough she is. She can ask ‘difficult’ questions without seeming to use gotchas or lay traps.
She asks questions to provide information relevant to the matter in hand. She listens to what is being said, and follows up or moves on.
Helen
.
First there was this excellent plan-
Then this happened.
What the …….!
This, I assume, is the result of having a government dominated by cultists who see any deviation from straight male/straight female as a sin.
Go the bat!
Awww, a Dr Seuss ending- The Bat in the Cat.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/300377193/bat-flies-recordbreaking-2000km-from-uk-lands-in-russia-eaten-by-cat
Victorian press conference, commentary minutes 52 to 55 is very interesting
Bill Maher – (new rules 44:40)
Chris Hayes –
Anderson Cooper –
Brian Tyler Cohen –
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/05/many-terrorists-abuse-women-research-extremist-attackers-violent-misogyny
Research has backed up what we knew. Extremists of all types hate and control women.
The key to enlightenment, prosperity and a decent society is equal power to all genders.
No wonder The Plague is spreading in Sydney!
Looks like the Army is patrolling the wrong part of Sydney.
Michael West –
Well, this is cheerful!
‘It’s not a matter of if, but when we get COVID’: NSW doctor’s dire predictions about COVID
https://www.begadistrictnews.com.au/story/7375402/unfortunately-were-all-going-to-get-covid-says-australian-doctor/?cs=17267
Well, after the Rapture …
BK on the PB site
“This is not good enough, Dawn Patrollers! I have had an exceptionally long sleep in this morning.
I think I’ll give the Patrol a miss today – after all it is Slow Sunday.
The animals are waiting for me to appear with their food.”
A well deserved day off.
Must be the day for sleeping in – I did too.
Thank you to the moderator who gave Dr Fauci his correct name in my post yesterday. I didn’t see the published comment for a while after I sent it – when I did see it my mistake was immediately obvious. 😦
I had my first AZ vax yesterday afternoon, with no side effects so far, but I’m expecting that could change over the next few days.
Helen
If you are lucky nothing will happen. I had no side effects at all from AZ except an achy arm after the second, easily fixed with painkillers.
I got my second AZ shot on Thursday at a local vaxx centre in Melbourne, 11 weeks and 5 days after the first one. So far, nothing but a bit of a sore arm for a couple of days. Glad to have it over and done with! When I got the first one, it was in that period in May when people in their 50s could just walk up and get one, no real queue and people had been starting to think it was all over with.
How dumb can these so-called “patriots” get?
The REAL Commissioner Shane Murphy, late of the AFP, died in 1999.
https://www.australianpolice.com.au/shane-david-murphy/
That didn’t stop these loons accepting whoever was using this name as a real police commissioner. These idiots will believe any nonsense, any conspiracy theory but will never believe the truth..
I would be very wary of any “patriots” organisation using the title “Commissioner” – it reeks of Nazism.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-08/queensland-coronavirus-cases-lockdown-update/100359358
South-east Queensland’s lockdown will lift from 4:00pm after the state recorded nine new community cases of COVID-19.
Seven are linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster, one case is under investigation on the Gold Coast, and one case of concern is in Cairns, with the person infectious in the community for 10 days.
The lockdown for 11 LGAs in south-east Queensland will ease from 4:00pm, with restrictions to remain, but the Cairns and Yarrabah communities will be locked down for the next three days.
I am so sick of this government’s blatant lies.
Grunt was at it again this morning on Insiders.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2021/aug/08/australia-covid-live-news-update-nsw-delta-outbreak-spreads-into-regions-victoria-numbers-jump?page=with:block-610f30ca8f0811859fec1252#liveblog-navigation
That is not what Albert Bourla said in this interview last week. Bourla says he told countries to place their orders last year. The reason Australia missed out is because we didn’t order when he said to .
https://lemonadamedia.com/podcast/exclusive-pfizer-ceo-albert-bourla-on-vaccinating-kids-and-the-world-part-2/
Is anyone having trouble doing the Census online? I filled in the census number, fluffed the password, did it again, made another mistake, did it very slowly the third time, double triple checked, it told me to go away as I had tried too many times. I am not going to fill out the paper form! Will I get into trouble.
It was easy, once I had logged in.
Yes, you will get into trouble Apparently you will get a reminder letter and a visit from Census staff who will demand you fill in the form.
You can just start to fill in the form online and you will be sent a new census number and temporary password.
https://www.census.abs.gov.au/doing/online-form/login_password_help
This will mean you probably still get a visit because they have a record of where paper forms were sent, but it’s easy to explain.
OR – there is an enquiry form you can fill in if you cannot log in.
https://form.census.abs.gov.au/self-service/contact-us/technical-enquiry
Hi 2gravel,
I did the census online within an hour of receiving it. I didn’t actually have a problem, but the alphanumeric soup of the password was complicated enough that I needed a second attempt.
You might have done this already, but I’ve found that being told to go away via an automatic response isn’t usually permanent. It varies, but I’ve succeeded by waiting for 15 minutes or so, then trying again.
I hope all is well in your household.
I’m in Brisbane and our lockdown ended this afternoon. There goes my opportunity to catch up with housework 🙂
Helen
But but but Scotty said that is insulting to Strayans.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-covid-live-updates-nsw-records-262-new-case-and-one-death-as-queensland-lockdown-lifts-victoria-records-11-new-cases-20210807-p58gpx.html
That was just Gladys waffling. Lord knows what “incentives” she will offer. You can bet there will be conditions attached.
Fascinating that it is known which might be the most questionable pages that needed to be removed!
Leone
Thanks for those links, it is too late for me to faff around tonight, will try them in the morning.
Helenzilva
Thanks, I have tried a couple of more times today, will try again in the morning and if I have trouble I will check out the links Leone left.
I think so too. Probably done at Scovid’s urging.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/newspoll-delta-debacle-drives-scott-morrisons-ratings-to-new-low/news-story/213477b7f111f4333a5e46c89fc43e3d
Newspoll: Delta debacle drives Scott Morrison’s ratings to new low
Simon Benson
Political Editor
5 minutes ago August 8, 2021
Scott Morrison’s personal approval ratings have plunged into negative territory and the government faces its worst electoral position since the Black Summer fires amid growing frustration over the vaccine rollout and lockdowns across the three most populous states.
An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian also shows a further erosion of confidence in the federal government’s management of the pandemic as the NSW, Victoria and Queensland state governments battle to stem the spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant.
The once-strong support for Mr Morrison’s handling of the crisis has almost halved over the course of a year from a high of 85 per cent in April last year, during the peak of the first wave, to just 48 per cent in the latest survey.
The Morrison government has forced Monty Python to withdraw their apology.
.
.
Good morning Dawn Patrollers. Well, it seems the punters are waking up to Morrison and Labor’s “He only had two jobs” mantra might be biting.
The New Daily examines last night’s Newspoll.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2021/08/08/scott-morrison-newspoll-2/
Shane Wright and Jennifer Duke report that leading economists are expecting interest rates to start increasing before wages growth and inflation meet the Reserve Bank’s targets and are confident the country will bounce back from coronavirus-related lockdowns.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/rates-tipped-to-start-rising-before-wages-growth-and-inflation-accelerate-20210805-p58g0x.html
Michael Keating explains why Morrison’s culture of secrecy is so damaging.
https://johnmenadue.com/why-morrisons-culture-of-secrecy-is-so-damaging/
Sean Kelly is sick and tired of the mixed and confusing messaging coming from our political leaders about the pandemic.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/locking-in-a-bleak-few-months-20210808-p58gx2.html
David Crowe reports that company chiefs are venting their frustration over federal and state rules that prevent them from using rapid antigen tests across their workplaces to help track and trace the deadly coronavirus variant.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/use-all-options-employer-frustration-over-vaccination-testing-20210808-p58gv5.html
Bioethics professor, Peter Singer, argues the case for making covid vaccinations compulsory.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/why-vaccination-should-be-compulsory-20210808-p58gtk.html
When it comes to mandatory vaccination against COVID-19, Australian governments seem determined to make businesses face the thicket of regulatory risks and court challenges themselves with little official protection or guidance.
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/govt-to-business-we-ll-hold-your-coat-20210808-p58gv3
Vaccination is critical, but it will not alone unlock our freedom, says John Dwyer in a contribution that is well worth absorbing.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/vaccination-is-critical-but-it-will-not-alone-unlock-our-freedom-20210804-p58fmn.html
More from John Dwyer who declares, “Not good enough, Premier Berejiklian”.
https://johnmenadue.com/john-dwyer-not-good-enough-premier-berejiklian/
The Business Council of Australia says state governments, not employers, should step up and mandate vaccinations for some high-risk workers after the prime minister declared last week mandating jabs would be left to business, writes Katherine Murphy who says Morrison has vacated the field.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/09/business-wants-states-to-mandate-covid-jabs-for-staff-after-scott-morrison-vacates-the-field
David Crowe says that there is no way to rewrite history on the mistakes made one year ago when Australia did not sign enough deals to vaccinate its people.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/no-hiding-the-government-s-failures-on-vaccine-supply-20210808-p58gxg.html
Lockdown job losses are not as bad this year, but that’s cold comfort to Australians put to the test again, explains Greg Jericho.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/commentisfree/2021/aug/08/lockdown-job-losses-are-not-as-bad-this-year-but-thats-cold-comfort-to-australians-put-to-the-test-again
Business feeling the pain of NSW’s protracted lockdown have no one to blame but the short-sighted, self-centred voices on their own side, argues Ross Gittins.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/blame-the-lockdown-on-business-urgers-trying-to-wish-the-virus-away-20210807-p58gqm.html
The AFR tells us that research by the Burnet and Doherty Institutes has found a sharp fall in support for the Coalition’s pandemic plan, while Daniel Andrews’ support is steady.
https://www.afr.com/politics/locked-down-victorians-lose-faith-in-morrison-s-covid-19-response-20210806-p58gii
According to Alexandra Smith and Lucy Carroll, Sydney suburbs that do not have COVID-19 cases circulating in the community will be the first to be freed from some lockdown restrictions next month if NSW reaches its target of providing six million jabs. It does beg the question of whether or not a postcode having been freed does pick up a single case will be restored to its previous restrictions.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/restrictions-by-postcode-low-cases-vaccination-key-to-some-freedom-20210808-p58gvy.html
A national taskforce says it cannot yet support the use of new treatment Sotrovimab, of which the federal government recently bought more than 7700 doses.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/not-enough-evidence-key-taskforce-rejects-rollout-of-new-covid-19-drug-20210808-p58guv.html
Doug Dingwall points to a new report that shows public servants are staying silent about cronyism and nepotism in their workplaces supports calls for a federal anti-corruption commission.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7376143/public-servants-staying-silent-on-cronyism-and-nepotism-report-shows/?cs=14329
Zoe Samios tells us that Sky News boss Paul Whittaker has taken his concerns about a seven-day YouTube ban to the top of the video-sharing company, telling global chief executive Susan Wojcicki that the platform’s editorial policies are “inconsistent”.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/profoundly-disappointing-sky-news-boss-paul-whittaker-takes-youtube-suspension-to-global-ceo-20210808-p58gvw.html
“Sky News Regional – a new free-to-air television offering – has just launched in regional areas across Australia with such luminaries as Alan Jones, Andrew Bolt, Cory Bernardi, Paul Murray, Rowan Dean and Peta Credlin hustling to get into our loungerooms, to flood regional airways between Cairns and Kalgoorlie, with anti-immigration rhetoric, climate denialism, conservative claptrap and vaccine misinformation all masquerading as news”, writes Terrence Mills who says that when news is not enough ,we make it up!
https://theaimn.com/when-news-is-not-enough-we-make-it-up/
Peter Hannam writes about a report that shows Australia lags most rich countries in getting off fossil fuels with even the much-touted gains in renewable energy eclipsed by nations less endowed with natural advantages.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/despite-renewables-surge-australian-energy-lags-in-the-dirty-dozen-20210808-p58gtx.html
Nick Toscano writes that Australia’s top miner, BHP, is facing a renewed shareholder push to review its industry groups memberships and quit those deemed out of step with climate action.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/bhp-faces-fresh-calls-to-dump-fossil-fuel-lobby-groups-20210806-p58gfz.html
Social scientists Judith Bessant and Rob Watts write that the recent decision taken by the Albanese led-Labor Party to embrace the third tier of income tax cuts to high-income earners and support negative gearing highlights the current identity crisis the ALP faces.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/don-t-let-labor-waste-a-good-crisis-albanese-20210808-p58gw4.html
Anne Hyland reports on the growing number of Coalition MPs being challenged by cashed up groups seeking to oust them with independents.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/despite-renewables-surge-australian-energy-lags-in-the-dirty-dozen-20210808-p58gtx.html
Crown Resorts is not too big to fail. It has failed already, says Charles Livingstone.
https://theconversation.com/crown-resorts-is-not-too-big-to-fail-it-has-failed-already-165659
The nation’s chief statistician, David Gruen, will be watching the results of the 2021 census from an “observation deck” on Tuesday night, hoping for a boring evening, says Shane Wright.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-census-like-no-other-statistician-hopes-for-boring-national-count-20210806-p58gdq.html
As petrochemical giants plan to double new plastics production and the bulk of Australian plastics are tipped into landfill, not recycled, Luke Stacey checks out how other countries are tackling the plastics crisis versus the Coalition Government’s 2025 National Packaging Targets and waste export bans.
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/energy-to-waste-australia-moves-on-plastics-yet-falls-short-in-world-recycling-race/
Reports of bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse have been made by members of SES Victoria in a survey by the volunteers’ association.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/ses-members-report-widespread-bullying-harassment-and-rape-allegation-20210808-p58gwi.html
As coronavirus cases and hospitalisations surged in Alabama, Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene drew cheers from the crowd when mentioning the state’s lowest-in-the-nation vaccination rate at a political fundraiser, in a video posted this week. What hope does America have?
https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/crowds-cheer-republican-conspiracist-over-low-vaccination-rates-as-state-dumps-65-000-doses-20210808-p58gux.html
While Delta spreads, Republicans deflect and resort to Trump demagoguery, writes Robert Reich.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/08/us-covid-delta-republicans-deflect-demagoguery
Cartoon Corner
David Rowe
Peter Broelman
Matt Golding
Mark Knight
Michael Leunig
Joe Benke
Leak
https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/f504603878b95d0e8f8b8ecf0fa92ec7?width=1024#image’jpg
From the US
“A national taskforce says it cannot yet support the use of new treatment Sotrovimab, of which the federal government recently bought more than 7700 doses”
Remember when Grunt bought stacks of hydroxychloroquine because it was thought to be a miracle cure for The Plague? This was based only on “a hunch” Trump had. Those drugs have been sitting in the national stockpile ever since they arrived and were soon found to be totally useless against COVID-19.
April 2020 –
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/coronavirus-australia-to-get-virus-wonder-drug-soon/news-story/e617f96559172b572607794e176bbd30
Now he has fallen for the hype again.
What Australians need is vaccine, but thanks to this government’s lies and bungling we have none.
All we have is announcements, like the one about the Moderna vaccine arriving next month. Believe that if you like, I remain sceptical.
One for the “What could possibly go wrong” department.
The NSW government will borrow $10 billion to gamble on the stock market. This is a brainfart from Dominic Perrottet.
NSW’s ‘risky’ $10b bet on markets
https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/nsw-s-risky-10b-bet-on-markets-20210805-p58g0r
(If you want to read the article use an incognito window and search for the title, not the address.)
Labor’s response – Daniel Mookhey, Shadow Treasurer of NSW.
https://rss.com/podcasts/mpinthemorning/252075/?fbclid=IwAR3XE9BpC7VUQq8ZTY0RFGCuPZCh9BvkjssEwf5Inj6MHskpevbWnM_A9TE
Pete FitzSimons’ article from yesterday, and it’s a cracker!
What an absolute arsehole!
I am fed up with dingbats deciding they need do nothing to avoid infecting others who might just walk past them in a shop or a pub.
I am also way beyond fed up with GladBag’s lies and dithering. The situation in NSW is not improving yet she refuses to go into a proper lockdown.
FYI
@aclennell
the rich idiot who travelled to Northern rivers is refusing to cooperate with police, has been all over the area. He was symptomatic for 8 days up here. His family are as well but he won’t tell them where they are. Why aren’t we in lockdown? Ask Gladys please.
He called ambulance last night when he was too unwell but is refusing to cooperate with contact tracers and has not been using QR code’s because “he didn’t believe in it” he refuses to say where he’s been or where his sick family are.
But you do know where he came from – SYDNEY. He is refusing to cooperate with contact tracers as well .You know this! You know how long he has been infectious up here as well. 8 days. Stop hiding the truth from the community. Why are you waiting to lockdown?
Ed @elcroochio 32m
Contacts in police and health.
Ed @elcroochio·29m
Update: he is on a ventilator now. Wonder if he believes covid is real now? Teenage sons refusing to come forward and are on the run up here.
Possibly hundreds of transmission locations.
What’s more is he is a covidiot who is refusing to say where he’s been, also his family are sick as well but he is refusing to say where they are. Hasn’t used QR code’s and has been symptomatic for 8 days up here. From a cop contact “he’s a complete f-wit”.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2021/08/09/byron-bay-covid-man/