You can also receive an AstraZeneca vaccination at selected pharmacies, which you can check here .
Updated at 12.17am BST
Facebook Twitter 12.10am BST 00:10
Anthony Albanese came out in strong defence of his western Australian and Queensland colleagues a little earlier this morning, when asked about their concerns with opening up while NSW case numbers are so high (he was speaking to the ABC).
Mark McGowan has kept Western Australians safe.Mark McGowan agreed with the national plan.It does provide for safeguards in that national plan.And I find it quite extraordinary that the prime minister has basically described Western Australians and Queenslanders as somehow being cave people wanting to stay in the cave.
The reason why there are restrictions is because of the prime minister’s failure to secure enough vaccines, including for Western Australians and Queenslanders, and a failure to build purpose-built quarantine.
Premier Palaszczuk proposed the Wellcamp site last October, 10 months ago.We could have had purpose-built quarantine operating for the whole of this year in Queensland at that site.In Western Australia, there were proposals, for example, at Exmouth.
I know that the Western Australian minister, Minister MacTiernan, has spoken to me about the need for quarantine facilities for ag workers and for others.The fact is that the reason why there are restrictions today is because the prime minister failed on those two fundamental jobs – quarantine and vaccines.
Updated at 12.13am BST
Facebook Twitter 12.06am BST 00:06
The Victorian vaccination site is still crashing – anyone over 16 can now book an appointment.
The only advice at the moment is to keep trying.
You can access AstraZeneca by talking to a doctor.
Anyone with an existing AstraZeneca appointment in a Victorian vaccination hub will be offered Pfizer at their appointment today – you don’t have to change anything, just turn up
Facebook Twitter 11.59pm BST 23:59
Lt General John Frewen , who is in charge of the vaccination rollout, was asked by the ABC this morning whether he shared the prime minister’s optimism the country would be reunited by Christmas (obviously the international border will still be closed, so there will still be a lot of people missing from the table).
He didn’t answer the question:
Look, vaccination is a really important part of our plan out of this thing.We’ve got the supplies, we’ve got the distribution networks.It really is now about people continuing to come forward, so I just really encourage everybody if you haven’t had a dose yet, to get booked and get your jabs.If you have had your jabs, it is fantastic, but start encouraging your other friends and family to get along and get vaccinated.That is how we will get to the high rate this year.
Updated at 12.01am BST
Facebook Twitter 11.54pm BST 23:54
Here is the latest Victorian data:
Victorian Covid cases by isolation status Trend in local and overseas-related transmission of Covid-19 in Victoria Facebook Twitter 11.52pm BST 23:52
Chris Knaus reports a Senate committee wants to look at the awarding of federal gas exploration grants in the Beetaloo Basin:
Senate committee wants Beetaloo gas grants investigated as Labor refers matter to auditor general Read more
Empire Energy’s “close financial and personal relationships” with the Liberal party warrant an investigation into the government’s decision to award it $21m in federal gas exploration grants, a Senate inquiry has found.
The finding on Tuesday came as Labor referred the grants to the auditor general, citing the same potential conflicts, but declined to support a move to block money from the $50m Beetaloo Cooperative Drilling grant program going to gas companies for exploratory drilling in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin.
Updated at 11.59pm BST
Facebook Twitter 11.47pm BST 23:47
Amanda Meade
The public broadcaster will launch a Covid-19 vaccine campaign today, debunking vaccine myths and encouraging everyone to get vaccinated.
The in-house advertising campaign across TV, radio and online is based on frequently asked questions from ABC audiences which include:
Can I get Covid-19 from the vaccines? Will the vaccines work against new Covid-19 variants? Do the vaccines contain animal products? Were the vaccines rushed into circulation? Can I still get Covid-19 after being vaccinated? What is “long Covid”? Some social media posts will include subtitles in Arabic, Vietnamese and Mandarin to reach those in Covid-19 hotspots in Sydney’s south and west.
Doctors Norman Swan, Preeya Alexander and Karl Kruszelnicki will tackle the myths about Covid-19 and ABC presenters Shaun Micallef, Lisa Millar, Tony Armstrong, Wil Anderson, Nazeem Hussain, Craig Reucassel, Michael Rowland, Sammy J, Jeremy Fernandez, Namila Benson, Jan Fran and Courtney Act will appeal to ABC viewers to make an appointment for the vaccine.
“As the nation’s most trusted media organisation, we are proud to help Australians get the facts about the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines,” ABC managing director David Anderson said.
“Australians want credible, reliable information to keep themselves and their loved ones safe and well.
The ABC’s ‘Vax Facts’ campaign highlights how Covid-19 vaccinations are essential to saving lives and to helping Australians return to our normal ways of life and work.”
The ABC media blitz follows the Arm Yourself campaign launched by the federal government last month.The News Corp papers have also supported the vaccine push, including the Daily Telegraph’s partnership with the NRL.
Updated at 11.50pm BST
Facebook Twitter 11.46pm BST 23:46
Victoria records 45 new cases Seventeen were in quarantine for their entire infectious period.
VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) Reported yesterday: 45 new local cases and no new cases acquired overseas.
– 31,629 vaccine doses were administered
– 53,321 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W #COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/9r4LdG2c1T
August 24, 2021 VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) Of the 45 local cases, 36 are linked to current outbreaks and 17 have been in quarantine throughout their infectious period.[2/2]
August 24, 2021 Updated at 11.51pm BST
Facebook Twitter 11.45pm BST 23:45
Turns out the treasurer is so impressed at using a microwave and two men washing dishes, he repeated himself on the Seven network, about an hour later
Sunrise (@sunriseon7) Treasurer @JoshFrydenberg says he and Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP have been enjoying microwaveable meals together after moving into The Lodge 😆 pic.twitter.com/S8NghZnx2E
August 24, 2021 Facebook Twitter 11.42pm BST 23:42
And Josh Frydenberg said he has been enjoying his stay at the Lodge (he is staying in the prime minister’s residence at the moment)
Frydenberg:
We have been, actually, and it is just the two of us, so he has been on the scrubbing brush, I’ve been using the microwave, we’ve both been cooking up our bolognaise and chicken schnitzel.It has been quite entertaining, he has been good company and we are doing that because we can’t live our lives normally with the ACT in lockdown and it has been a good opportunity to to talk a lot of shop as well.
How lovely for them.
Facebook Twitter 11.39pm BST 23:39
And after Mark McGowan got upset at the prime minister’s Croods reference, which the WA premier took to mean Scott Morrison was referring to Western Australians as living in a cave, because of the border lockdown, Josh Frydenberg used the old “it was a joke” defence:
Look, he was making a light-hearted point about what is a serious issue, namely that we need to stick to the plan that was agreed at national cabinet.
Now, that plan, as agreed, is at a 70% and 80% vaccination.We start to see the transmissibility of the virus reduce, the number of people who get serious illness reduce and therefore we can safely reopen.
We’ve heard from the head of the Doherty Institute themselves saying whether you start at 30 cases or 800 cases*, you can reopen safely.
I say to you, if we don’t open up at 70% and 80%, then what is that number?
When do our small businesses reopen? When do our kids go back to school? When do we go to the funerals and weddings of loved ones? When do we move more freely across the country? We need to give people hope and the plan based on the best medical advice possible does give us that hope.
The Doherty Institute does say you can open up with more cases once the vaccination targets are hit – the trade-off, though, is accepting higher hospitalisations and deaths as a result of the transition.
Updated at 11.47pm BST
Facebook Twitter 11.34pm BST 23:34
Twelve to 15-year-olds with underlying health issues are meant to be able to access a vaccination.
But, as Luke Henriques-Gomes reports, it has not been easy (nothing with the vaccination program has been easy, but given the program started in February, surely governments should be on top of it by now).
Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) Zoe’s doctor says she will die if she gets Covid.The 14-year-old’s journey to get a vaccine appointment is just horrible.
It shouldn’t be this hard.https://t.co/SxdxAL7Hdg
August 24, 2021 Updated at 11.36pm BST
Facebook Twitter 11.30pm BST 23:30
Josh Frydenberg was also asked about Sarah Martin and Nick Evershed’s story on aged care staff vaccinations and turned it back on the states, despite aged care being a federal responsibility:
Well, as I understand it, they have been making progress with respect to that particular rollout.
I note that only a few states have actually mandated it under their public health orders.
I think South Australia is one, I think Western Australia was another.It is important that all the states take that action, as agreed at National Cabinet to do so, and that will be obviously important, not just for the aged-care workers’ own health, but of course the people that they seek to support
It was only a few weeks ago that NSW health minister Brad Hazzard said they were waiting to see what the federal government wanted in those health orders
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