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| Australia Covid live news update: WA to close to NT and Tasmania; PM says masks ‘highly recommended’; NSW records 3,763 new cases | Australia Covid live news update: WA to close to NT and Tasmania; PM says masks ‘highly recommended’; NSW records 3,763 new cases |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Follow all the day’s news | Follow all the day’s news |
| That’s it for the blog - Thursday turned out to be quite busy! | |
| Here’s the main news: | |
| Confidence in interstate travel plummeted over Omicron uncertainty | |
| International doctors called for immediate release of Julian Assange | |
| AMA called for the reintroduction of some restrictions “given the uncertainty” of Omicron | |
| Victoria recorded 1,503 new cases, NSW 3,763, Tasmania 12, the ACT 58, Queensland 186, and SA 198 new Covid infections | |
| South Australian premier says boosters should be brought forward | |
| New Zealand recorded 56 new community cases | |
| Queensland to increase mask requirements for cinemas, theatres and hospitality staff | |
| Pharmacists called for urgent reinstatement of mask mandate | |
| In NSW 1,364 healthcare workers are in isolation | |
| Morrison said government won’t mandate masks after national cabinet meeting | |
| WA announced it will close its border to TAS and NT and mandate booster shots for some workers | |
| Lockdown extended in Tennant Creek | |
| And that is it! I am going to risk it all for a last minute Christmas shopping trip in town now - wish me luck. | |
| After a big day of pressers, things have really quietened down tonight. | After a big day of pressers, things have really quietened down tonight. |
| I thought some of you would enjoy this quite incredible fact: | |
| For those interested, you can read the Nat-Cab statement here: | For those interested, you can read the Nat-Cab statement here: |
| From AAP: | From AAP: |
| Ballarat’s Catholic diocese has been found liable for the sexual abuse of a young boy by one of its priests. | Ballarat’s Catholic diocese has been found liable for the sexual abuse of a young boy by one of its priests. |
| The decision, believed to be an Australian first, was handed down by Victoria’s supreme court on Wednesday. | The decision, believed to be an Australian first, was handed down by Victoria’s supreme court on Wednesday. |
| The diocese and its current bishop, Paul Bird, were sued by a man who said he was sexually assaulted by Father Bryan Coffey at his parents’ home in Port Fairy in 1971. | The diocese and its current bishop, Paul Bird, were sued by a man who said he was sexually assaulted by Father Bryan Coffey at his parents’ home in Port Fairy in 1971. |
| He was five years old. | He was five years old. |
| Coffey received a three-year suspended sentence in 1999 after being convicted of charges including indecent assaults of males and females under 16 and false imprisonment. | Coffey received a three-year suspended sentence in 1999 after being convicted of charges including indecent assaults of males and females under 16 and false imprisonment. |
| The man, known as DP in court documents, didn’t tell anyone except for his partner about the assault until 2018. | The man, known as DP in court documents, didn’t tell anyone except for his partner about the assault until 2018. |
| He made a claim for more than $1.5 million for loss of earnings as a result of the assaults, a figure described by Justice Jack Forrest as “bold”. | He made a claim for more than $1.5 million for loss of earnings as a result of the assaults, a figure described by Justice Jack Forrest as “bold”. |
| The judge instead made an order for DP to receive $200,000 in damages for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life as well as $10,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 in other damages. | The judge instead made an order for DP to receive $200,000 in damages for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life as well as $10,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 in other damages. |
| Residents in Weilmoringle Sth, NSW, are also being asked to evacuate. | Residents in Weilmoringle Sth, NSW, are also being asked to evacuate. |
| From AAP: | From AAP: |
| Dozens of children are likely to spend Christmas behind bars in the Northern Territory’s infamous Don Dale youth detention centre, four years after the government agreed to close it. | Dozens of children are likely to spend Christmas behind bars in the Northern Territory’s infamous Don Dale youth detention centre, four years after the government agreed to close it. |
| Inmate numbers climbed to 44 in recent months after the NT government toughened youth bail laws earlier in the year. | Inmate numbers climbed to 44 in recent months after the NT government toughened youth bail laws earlier in the year. |
| Darwin lawyer John B Lawrence SC is representing an 11-year-old Indigenous boy on remand in the former men’s prison. | Darwin lawyer John B Lawrence SC is representing an 11-year-old Indigenous boy on remand in the former men’s prison. |
| “It’s disgusting that a child so young is in custody and away from his family over the holidays,” he told AAP on Wednesday. | “It’s disgusting that a child so young is in custody and away from his family over the holidays,” he told AAP on Wednesday. |
| “But it’s a fact and it’s appalling that we accept and let this happen in Australia”. | “But it’s a fact and it’s appalling that we accept and let this happen in Australia”. |
| Mr Lawrence said the facility was “dystopian and derelict” and his client was locked in a cell alone most of the day without activities. | Mr Lawrence said the facility was “dystopian and derelict” and his client was locked in a cell alone most of the day without activities. |
| In 2017, the NT government accepted recommendations from the NT juvenile justice royal commission to shut down and replace Don Dale. | In 2017, the NT government accepted recommendations from the NT juvenile justice royal commission to shut down and replace Don Dale. |
| But four years on, a new facility is not complete. | But four years on, a new facility is not complete. |
| Most of the alleged child offenders the NT justice system deals with are Aboriginal. | Most of the alleged child offenders the NT justice system deals with are Aboriginal. |
| A NSW coroner has recommended bassinets be banned in childcare centres after finding a series of failures contributed to the death of a seven-month-old baby at a Sydney facility. | A NSW coroner has recommended bassinets be banned in childcare centres after finding a series of failures contributed to the death of a seven-month-old baby at a Sydney facility. |
| Jack Loh was found unresponsive after being put to sleep in a bassinet in March 2019. It was just his fourth visit to the family childcare provider in Randwick. | Jack Loh was found unresponsive after being put to sleep in a bassinet in March 2019. It was just his fourth visit to the family childcare provider in Randwick. |
| Following an inquest earlier this year, deputy state coroner Derek Lee on Wednesday found undiagnosed pulmonary hypertension caused Jack’s death on 4 March at the Rhythm and Rhyme Centre but that “unsafe” sleeping conditions contributed to it. | Following an inquest earlier this year, deputy state coroner Derek Lee on Wednesday found undiagnosed pulmonary hypertension caused Jack’s death on 4 March at the Rhythm and Rhyme Centre but that “unsafe” sleeping conditions contributed to it. |
| A man linked to a website which appeared to generate fake vaccination certificates in an email to his employer that was meant to contain proof he had received the jab, according to a ruling of the Fair Work Commission. | A man linked to a website which appeared to generate fake vaccination certificates in an email to his employer that was meant to contain proof he had received the jab, according to a ruling of the Fair Work Commission. |
| The incident was revealed in a 20 December decision discontinuing his claim of having been unlawfully stood down, handed down by commission deputy president Richard Clancy. | The incident was revealed in a 20 December decision discontinuing his claim of having been unlawfully stood down, handed down by commission deputy president Richard Clancy. |
| The Victorian worker had taken his fight to the workplace tribunal after he stopped getting shifts with O&M Pty Ltd, a construction and maintenance company based in Gippsland, Victoria, earlier this year. | The Victorian worker had taken his fight to the workplace tribunal after he stopped getting shifts with O&M Pty Ltd, a construction and maintenance company based in Gippsland, Victoria, earlier this year. |
| Masks will be made mandatory in cinemas and theatres in QLD from 5 am tomorrow. | Masks will be made mandatory in cinemas and theatres in QLD from 5 am tomorrow. |
| Hospitality workers across the state will also have to wear masks. | Hospitality workers across the state will also have to wear masks. |