Tag: Sydney

COVID-19

Covid-hit Coral Princess cruise ship docks in Sydney | Health | The Guardian

The Covid-hit Coral Princess docks at Circular Quay in Sydney on Wednesday morning

At the same time RAT tests are being reported to be inaccurate in 4 out of 10 cases and the subsidy on the tests is being dropped nevertheless passengers are being allowed to leave. Are we witnessing the repeat of the Ruby Princess time-bomb?

After departing Eden on the New South Wales south coast with more than 2,300 people onboard, the Coral Princess berthed at Circular Quay just before dawn on Wednesday, where it will remain for a day before returning to its home port of Brisbane.

Passengers will have to record a negative result on a rapid antigen test before disembarking but the crew will have to remain.

Source: Covid-hit Coral Princess cruise ship docks in Sydney | Health | The Guardian

Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison defends trip back to Sydney over Father’s Day during COVID lockdowns – ABC News

scott morrison fathers day

Morrison has always thought he was “special” and has a history of doing what others wouldn’t and trying to make out it’s “normal”. It’s the character of the man who claims to be a PM that excuses him of being like us. This Scott Morrison is what’s called a very “a cheap shot”

“It’s not that he doesn’t deserve to see his kids, but so does every other Australian, and I think when your people are doing it tough, you’ve got to do it tough too,” he said. “You can’t have one rule for Mr Morrison and another rule for everyone else. I just think it’s appalling judgement.”

Source: Scott Morrison defends trip back to Sydney over Father’s Day during COVID lockdowns – ABC News

Julian Hill MP
I don’t normally post things from Scott Morrison’s page, but this needs to be called out. It’s horrible.
The Prime Minister’s fake Father’s Day photo was actually from a remembrance event, for four deceased children.
Mr Morrison has now shamelessly turned this photo into a tribute to himself as a father figure.
Poor judgement is an understatement. There is something seriously wrong with this bloke and his character.
 
May be an image of 4 people, people standing and text that says 'THIS PHOTO scottmorrisonmp 13,123 likes scottmorrisonmp Being Dad special gift that we are given life. great blessing our lives. Onthe this photo was takeno our family togethe arlier this year was reminded of ust how precious that gift is. ©AAPIMAGE Prime minister Scott Morrison NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian family elease dovesi honour drunk driver year ago during the the aunch fi4give The Calyx, Royal Botanic Gardens ...WAS TAKEN AT THIS EVENT.'
Julian Hill MP 
 

COVID-19

Nation at risk without ‘ring of steel’ around Sydney, epidemiologists warn

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. So far, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have both rejected calls to ring-fence Sydney.

Source: Nation at risk without ‘ring of steel’ around Sydney, epidemiologists warn

Scott Morrison

The NSW COVID outbreak shows the pandemic is morphing in many ways — politically, too – ABC News

Side by side photos of Glayds Berejiklian and Scott Morrison at press conferences

The ‘gold standard’ state is in crisis We get so many COVID-related numbers thrown at us these days it can be eye-glazing. But these numbers demonstrated better than any others how the nature of the pandemic has morphed as much as the virus itself in the last couple of months. It’s no longer just about protecting old and vulnerable people. The chances that you will catch it from a casual contact are much higher. It’s a disease that is hitting people of every age, and hard. It’s not just a race to vaccinate the vulnerable groups — it’s a race to vaccinate everyone. Politically, too, it is morphing. The all-too-easy politics that seemed to flow from Victoria’s woes last year — the implicit message that it all came down to various forms of incompetence in one state — are also a thing of the past now that the “gold standard” state is in such a crisis. This isn’t just a shot at the fact the Prime Minister has put so much store on NSW Premier Gladys Berijiklean’s handling of the pandemic in her state until now. It is that so many more variables than tracing systems and hotel quarantine are now open to question, and set different political hares running. It is vaccine supplies and

Source: The NSW COVID outbreak shows the pandemic is morphing in many ways — politically, too – ABC News

Humour

Sydney To Open Lockdown-Themed Amusement Park For New Zealanders Who Want The Full Melbourne Experience | The Shovel

Saying they were concerned about the high number of Kiwis entering Sydney but then immediately departing for Melbourne, Tourism NSW announced today that it will build a Melbourne-style lockdown amusement park, in an attempt to keep valuable tourism dollars in the state.

Sydney To Open Lockdown-Themed Amusement Park For New Zealanders Who Want The Full Melbourne Experience | The Shovel
Climate Change, Uncategorized

Sydney declares a climate emergency – what does that mean in practice?

Screenshot_2019-06-27 Sydney declares a climate emergency – what does that mean in practice .pngSydney join a variety of local and national governments around the world, in a movement that is increasingly gaining momentum. In total, some 658 local governments around the world have made the same declaration, with the UK and Canada committing their national governments to the global movement in just the past two months.

via Sydney declares a climate emergency – what does that mean in practice?

Climate Change

Sydney weather breaks new record with summer the hottest on record – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Sydneysiders have endured their hottest summer since records began, with official data revealing records across the city were smashed during the 2016-17 season.

Source: Sydney weather breaks new record with summer the hottest on record – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Prosperity, Uncategorized

Chinese heavyweights buy $7.5 million Keepers Cottage in Vaucluse during Golden Week – Domain

Powerful Chinese conglomerate Nanshan Group and one of Virgin Australia’s majority shareholders continues to make waves in Australia, this time buying up a piece of Australian history and heritage.

Source: Chinese heavyweights buy $7.5 million Keepers Cottage in Vaucluse during Golden Week – Domain

Humour

Cool New Little ‘For Lease’ Signs Popping Up All Over Kings Cross

By on February 16, 2016

for lease kings cross

Sydney’s entertainment precinct King’s Cross is undergoing a revival, with a wave of hip new ‘For Lease’ and ‘Closed’ signs setting up in the area. 

Experimenting with new colours and modern typefaces, the new signs are redefining what Sydneysiders expect from a real estate message.

“It’s about doing something different,” trend expert Ben McDonald said. “Just yesterday I saw this quaint new little sign down an alleyway. It was tiny, handwritten – couldn’t have been more than 20cm x 20cm. But it just had such a great feel to it”.

He said it was great to see local creativity embraced. “I think what we’re seeing is a mix of influences. Taking inspiration from ‘For Lease’ signs in places like New York, and London and Berlin, but then adding a distinctly Sydney feel to it”.

Sydney Government spokesperson John Petrois said the new signs were injecting a new type of buzz into the area. “You don’t even need a licence to put up a sign, and you can put one up whenever you want – even after 10pm if you like. So we’re really encouraging local businesses to try new things,” he said.

Local musician Veronica Carlise said it was an exciting time to be in Kings Cross. “It seems you turn your back for a minute and there’s another great new ‘For Lease’ or ‘Closing Down’ sign that’s popped up somewhere. It’s a word of mouth thing too. I’m off to check out a new sign that my friend told me about last night. It’s been put up at an angle apparently, which is kinda kooky”.

Melbourne man Peter Marsden, however, said the Sydney boom was being overhyped. “Over here when somewhere goes out of business they don’t even put up a ‘For Lease’ sign. It’s more a discovery thing where you work it out for yourself”.

Iraq

Two teen brothers en route to Middle East conflict zones stopped at Sydney Airport, Customs says Updated about an hour ago

The Federal Government has praised the work of Customs officers who intercepted two Sydney teenage brothers, believed to be travelling to conflict zones in the Middle East.

The 16 and 17-year-olds came to the attention of Customs officers at Sydney Airport on Friday.

They had return tickets to an undisclosed destination in the Middle East and a search of their luggage raised further suspicions of their intent.

Customs officers determined that they were intending to travel without the knowledge of their parents.

The brothers were later allowed to leave the airport with their parents and were issued court attendance notices.

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said the teenagers were stopped on their way to a potentially very dangerous situation.

“These two young men, aged 16 and 17, are kids, not killers, and they shouldn’t be allowed to go to a foreign land to fight and to come back to our shores eventually more radicalised,” he said.

“In some cases, these young people who are going off to fight in areas like Syria will be killed themselves, and that’s a tragedy for their families, for their communities, and for our country.

“We have to be absolutely determined to stare down this ever increasing threat.”

The Foreign Fighters Bill passed by Parliament last October makes it illegal to travel to areas declared as terrorist zones, without a specific humanitarian or family purpose.

Under the bill, Customs officers are allowed to detain people at the airport if they believe they may be travelling to one of the prohibited areas.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has listed both the province of Al-Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq as off-limits.

Australians found to be illegally visiting the regions could face up to 10 years’ prison.

Related Story: Australians banned from travelling to IS-stronghold of Mosul
Related Story: Bishop declares it an offence for Australians to visit Syrian province
Hostage, Lindt, Siege

Sydney siege: What we do and don’t know about hostage situation in Martin Place

Hostage runs towards police officer outside Lindt cafe

Rumours are swirling around Sydney and across social media about the siege underway in a central Sydney cafe. Here’s what we do and don’t know.

What we do know

  • An armed offender has been holding an unknown number of hostages inside the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Martin Place since about 9.45am on Monday.
  • New South Wales police know the identity of the hostage-taker, and he is known to police.
  • Police have been in direct contact with the hostage-taker, and are conducting negotiations.
  • A number of hostages have been seen with their hands pressed up against the glass of the cafe windows.
  • Five people have fled the cafe since the siege began, but it is not clear if they escaped or were freed.
  • So far there are no known injuries to hostages; “I understand no-one has been injured, and we are grateful,” Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said.
  • The hostage-taker is “claiming political motivation”, according to Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
  • The hostage-taker wants to be associated with Islam, as a black flag with an Islamic creed written on it in Arabic has been displayed in the windows.
  • The flag is not the one used by Islamic State.
  • The hostage-taker has been described as middle-aged with a beard, and wearing a headband.
  • Martin Place, the Sydney Opera House, the State Library and all CBD court houses have been evacuated.
  • The National Security Committee of Cabinet has convened twice; Mr Abbott described the incident as “deeply concerning” and offered NSW all assistance possible.
  • NSW Health has confirmed that one of the hostages to emerge from the Lindt cafe siege is being treated in hospital. The man has been taken to St Vincent’s Hospital where he is described as being in a satisfactory and stable condition.
  • Hostages have contacted a number of media outlets, including the ABC, during the day. Police have asked the media not to reveal the contents of the calls.
  • Airspace over Sydney’s CBD was not shut down, despite reports to the contrary.
  • People who have information about the situation should call the National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400.
  • People who want further information about the situation should call the Public Information Inquiry Centre on 1800 227 228.

What we don’t know

  • Precisely how many hostages remain in the cafe. A Lindt Australia executive said about 10 staff and up to 30 customers were inside, but police said the total number was not more than 30. A Seven journalist who said he had a view into the cafe said he saw about 15 hostages.
  • The details of the motivation or aims of the hostage-taker, except Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s statement that he is “claiming political motivation”.
  • Whether the incident is related to terrorism – although NSW Police are “operating according to our counter-terrorism protocols”.
  • Exactly what weapons or explosives the hostage-taker may have access to.
  • Whether those people who left the building escaped or were set free.