Covid Australia live news updates: ‘national emergency’ as NSW vaccine request rejected

7.24pm EDT 19:24

Queensland records zero cases

Queensland has reported no new cases, with over 14,000 test results returned.

7.15pm EDT 19:15

Daniel Hurst

The prosecution of whistleblowing former spy Witness K and his lawyer, Bernard Collaery, has now cost the Australian government $3.7m, new figures reveal.

The government’s external legal costs in connection with the high-profile cases have risen significantly since mid last year, when the tally was $2m.

The latest figures have prompted the independent senator Rex Patrick to describe the prosecution as “unjust” and “hugely costly”.

6.58pm EDT 18:58

There’s also another anti-lockdown protest planned for today, AAP reports.

Police say they are concerned about “entitled” protesters planning to mass in Melbourne on Saturday.

They say the gatherings have the potential to thwart the state’s efforts to emerge from its fifth lockdown.

A rally involving a few hundred people could involve flares and the blocking of an inner-city bridge, chief commissioner of police Shane Patton said on Friday.

“Where you have the vast majority of Victorians doing the right thing, sitting at home, it’s such a sense of entitlement to say ‘I can go out and protest just because I disagree’ and potentially breach all of the CHO guidelines and spread the virus,” he told 3AW.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews labelled the idea of protesting against lockdown “ridiculous”.

“Protest against this virus by staying at home, following the rules and getting out of lockdown,” he said.

Updated at 7.06pm EDT

6.51pm EDT 18:51

NSW to reportedly get more Pfizer from national stockpile

AAP is reporting NSW will get an additional 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine from the national stockpile after the other states on Friday refused to allow their own vaccine supplies be redirected.

The commonwealth will send the jabs from the national stockpile after other states and territories rebuffed the NSW government’s plea for more vaccines on Friday.

The prime minister’s office told AAP that the extra vaccines are in addition to 150,000 Pfizer doses already sent to NSW, and are expected to arrive within a week.

“Where there is potential to put more vaccines into NSW, even beyond what we are doing, of course we will seek to do that,” Scott Morrison said following a meeting with state and territory leaders on Friday.

“But we’re not going to disrupt the vaccination program around the rest of the country.”

His comments followed NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian’s appeal for extra Pfizer doses to vaccinate residents in the worst-hit local government areas.

Berejiklian’s request came as the state recorded 136 locally acquired cases on Friday and chief health officer Kerry Chant declared the situation a national emergency.

NSW was given an additional 150,000 doses of Pfizer and the same amount of AstraZeneca earlier in the month as the disease began to grip Sydney.

Other states would have had to redirect highly sought-after Pfizer supplies to meet the premier’s request.

Victoria, WA and Tasmania indicated they would not sacrifice their own state’s vaccine rollout.

Updated at 7.07pm EDT

6.37pm EDT 18:37

12 new cases in Victoria, all linked

There were 12 new cases recorded in Victoria overnight, all linked to the current outbreak.

Pleasingly, 10 of the 12 were quarantining throughout their infectious period.

Updated at 6.43pm EDT

6.35pm EDT 18:35

I have a story up this morning on how WhatsApp is trying to combat misinformation being spread through private messaging.

It’s harder than say, Facebook or Twitter because the messages aren’t public, but WhatsApp says it is now indicating when messages are being sent from contacts you don’t know, and limiting the amount of groups the messages can be sent to.

6.27pm EDT 18:27

Australia shouldn’t be singled out in reef danger declaration, Ley says

In non-Covid news, the environment minister, Sussan Ley, has been on ABC News Breakfast this morning to discuss the World Heritage Committee’s decision overnight not to put the Great Barrier Reef on the “in danger” list.

She said the Australian government has been given a deadline of February next year to report back on “what policies will be in place to help the reef recover”:

Remember that the technical advising bodies to Unesco have not visited and, if you like, inspected our reef and the brilliant management of $3bn of investment and all of the work that we are doing since 2012, nor have they looked at the latest science, some of which is very positive. So that mission is important and I welcome them as soon as they can arrive, and I welcome the showcasing of the wonderful work that our reef managers are doing.

Ley argued Australia should not be singled out for its climate change policies when it comes to the impact of climate change on the reef:

It was a callout on global not on Australia’s contribution to climate change. There was recognition in the committee last night that Australia cannot control the emissions trajectory of the whole world, but we are playing our part on the reef, and the various interviews by the bodies leading up to this decision clearly called out the global challenge of climate change, and the need, if you like, to showcase our Great Barrier Reef to demonstrate that.

If you read through what they said, they made it very clear: Why single out Australia? There are 82 properties on the World Heritage list that are at risk of high or very high climate change. Only our properties were singled out.

Ley said she has “never stepped away” from climate change being the biggest threat to the reef, but the “in danger” listing would have damaged Australia’s reputation and is usually only reserved after extensive consultation with a country that hasn’t done the things they’re supposed to.

Updated at 6.36pm EDT

6.15pm EDT 18:15

Viral fragments found in Moss Vale

Late on Friday night NSW Health alerted that fragments of Covid-19 had been detected at the sewage treatment plant at Moss Vale in the NSW southern highlands when there were no known cases in this area. The department said this was of “great concern”.

Moss Vale area residents are asked to be vigilant for any symptoms and if they appear to immediately be tested and isolate until a negative result is received.

Updated at 6.18pm EDT

6.12pm EDT 18:12

The Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, has blasted a group of Victorian travellers for allegedly lying on their border entry forms so they could attend a wedding, AAP reports.

The six people, aged between 29 and 31, left Victoria – a declared hotspot – on 15 July and travelled into South Australia before arriving in Darwin on Tuesday.

“I’m furious that six wankers from Melbourne thought they could gamble with Territory lives for a holiday and a wedding,” Gunner said in a statement after NT police released a statement about the group’s alleged actions.

Officers found the group was staying at the Winnellie Hotel in a Darwin industrial area.

They have since been moved to the Centre for Nations Resilience quarantine facility where they will “spend the majority of their time in the Territory”.

“They’re now in Howard Springs and are collectively going to be about $30,000 poorer,” Gunner said.

“Our message is simple – don’t lie. Don’t come here if you’ve been in a hotspot. Don’t put Territorians at risk.”

Police issued each of the two men and four women with a $5056 infringement notice for failing to abide by the NT Chief Health Officer’s directions.

It will be alleged the group was travelling together and provided false information to border entry personnel on arrival in Darwin.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable that these people were willing to put the rest of our community at risk by their selfish actions,” police commander Hege Burns said.

Updated at 6.24pm EDT

5.51pm EDT 17:51

Good morning and welcome to the live blog for Saturday. I’m Josh Taylor and will be taking you through the news of the day for Saturday.

New South Wales health officials will be spending this weekend developing a roadmap out of lockdown after the state recorded 136 cases of Covid-19 on Friday, with 53 of them not isolating during their infectious period.

Divisions are emerging in the federation, particularly between NSW and Victoria, after NSW sought more first doses of Pfizer, particularly focused on essential workers in south-west Sydney.

NSW was rejected by national cabinet, with the prime minister, Scott Morrison, confirming no Pfizer would be taken away from other states to meet this need:

We’re not going to disrupt the vaccination program around the rest of the country. That vaccination program is going and is hitting its marks and we want that to continue.”

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews was the most vocal against any redistribution of the vaccine. He has called on the state to put a “ring of steel” around greater Sydney, and argued he does not want vaccines redirected from Victoria to New South Wales while Victoria is also in lockdown.

National cabinet agreed to extend the wait period for second doses of Pfizer out to up to six weeks to maximise the supply of first doses in NSW, and the prime minister urged younger Australians to speak to their GP about getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Eyes will also be on Victoria and South Australia, which also remain in lockdown, reporting 14 and two new cases on Friday, respectively.