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Key events
Queensland records 18 Covid deaths and 305 people in hospital
There were 1,852 new cases in the last reporting period, and 14 people are in intensive care.
Shaquille O’Neal to attend press conference with Albanese and Burney shortly
The prime minister Anthony Albanese will hold a press conference with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and the minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, in Sydney at 11.25 this morning.
O’Neal arrived in Australia on Tuesday for a speaking tour, according to News.com.
Kids capable of Covid self-testing, study finds
School-aged children can test themselves for Covid-19 with almost as much accuracy as healthcare workers, AAP reports.
All it takes is some simple instructions, according to a US study, with participants aged between four and 14 given guidance through a video and handouts.
The study included nearly 200 children and of the self-collected positive results, 97.8% matched up with positive results taken by healthcare workers.
Children who self-tested as negative saw their results match those reported by healthcare workers in 98.1% of cases, according to the Emory University School of Medicine findings published in JAMA.
The study noted each child was supervised while self-testing and all of them were symptomatic. The study said:
Additionally, the results support the potential for non-traditional testing schemes for children, and future studies should investigate unsupervised self-collection and sample drop-off at schools, prior to events, and testing at home.
Fog in the east expected to lift throughout the day
Many people across eastern Aus woke to #fog and low cloud on Saturday morning as shown on the satellite loop 🛰️☁️
Visibility dropped to below 500m around many locations including #Melbourne, #Canberra and western #Sydney.
Fog and low cloud will gradually lift through the day. pic.twitter.com/1y9esFjm54
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) August 26, 2022
Gender pay gap at heart of government plan to overhaul Fair Work Act
The minister for employment and workplace relations, Tony Burke spoke to Channel Nine this morning, saying there is “a lot” government can do to help close the gender pay gap.
Burke said there is currently a 14% difference between what men and women are paid, which amounts to $250/week.
He highlights one measure Labor has already started on is supporting the wage increase claim of aged care workers – a predominantly female industry – before the fair work commission.
He says the government wants the fair work commission to have to take into account the difference between what men and women are paid in every decision they make.
Burke says the government also wants to get rid of clauses in job contracts which don’t allow employees to tell each other what their pay.
It’s a really common ploy in workplaces where women are being paid less than men. We want to get rid of those clauses.
He says helping women close the gender pay gap comes as part of the broad effort to get wages moving.
Legal battle between vaccine big dogs
Australians now know the names of Moderna and Pfizer like the back of their hand after the different varieties of jabs from pharmaceutical companies became a topic of conversation like never before due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But now, Moderna is suing its US pharmaceutical rival Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech for patent infringement in the development of the first Covid-19 vaccine approved in the United States, alleging they copied technology that Moderna developed years before the pandemic, Reuters reports.
Sophie Torney named as independent candidate in Victorian seat of Kew
The seat of Kew is located almost entirely within the federal seat of Kooyong, which of course saw the former treasurer Josh Frydenberg lose to Independent Monique Ryan at the May election.
The Kew Independents, an offshoot of the Voices of Kooyong movement that saw Ryan elected, today unveiled Sophie Torney would run as their candidate for the state seat.
Torney says she is running on a platform of action on climate change, healthy communities and integrity in politics.
The Liberal sitting member for Kew, Tim Smith, won’t contest the November election in what he described as a “forced retirement”. As my colleagues Tamsin Rose and Benita Kovolos reported:
Smith was told not to run at the next state poll after last year crashing his Jaguar into a parked car and then into a home in Hawthorn. He returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.131 and resigned from the front bench.
Addressing his constituents last year after the crash, Smith apologised, and vowed not to drink again while in public office.
Torney is running against Liberal candidate Jess Wilson, a former director at the Business Council of Australia, and Labor’s Lucy Skelton, the 20-year old founder of national youth advocacy platform the Student Voice Network.
It’s time for a fresh start in Kew.
Our community values integrity in politics, a strong economy and real progress on climate action.
I believe in the importance of true, Independent representation and that’s why I’m standing as Kew’s community candidate.#auspol #Sophie4Kew pic.twitter.com/UxbUZZVQ5y
— Sophie Torney (@Sophie4Kew) August 26, 2022
Victoria records 39 Covid deaths and 377 people in hospital
There were 2,532 new cases in the last reporting period, and 16 people are in intensive care.
NSW records 20 Covid deaths and 1,781 people in hospital
There were 4,738 new cases in the last reporting period, and 39 people are in intensive care.
COVID-19 update – Saturday 27 August 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
– 96.9% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine*
– 95.4% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine* pic.twitter.com/oshTqpj4Vw— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 26, 2022
New fire danger ratings system to be introduced in September
Fire danger ratings will change across Australia in September, with the introduction of a new rating system.
Authorities are giving people a sneak preview of the new design, which is supposed to offer an improved and simplified system to make it easier for you to stay safe.
The new rating system has four fire danger rating levels, each with a distinct title, colour and key message (or ‘call to action’).
Newspoll predicts Victorian Labor win in November
Victorian premier Daniels Andrews looks to be on track to win a third term for Labor in the state election according to a Newspoll conducted exclusively for The Weekend Australian.
The poll shows Labor’s primary vote is only slightly below the 2018 election, but dissatisfaction with Liberal opposition leader Matthew Guy has grown.
Three months out from the election, discontent with Guy’s performance has risen seven points since voter sentiment was tested in November last year.
The dissatisfaction with the Liberal party at the state level comes off the back of the party losing prized federal seats across Melbourne’s inner east to independents Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniels in the May election.
There are suggestions independents will stand in key state seats after the success in the federal election. The Newspoll says statewide support for “others” is 10%.
Labor holds a 56-44% two-party preferred lead in the latest poll taken between Monday and Thursday, compared with the 58-42% lead Labor held in the previous Newspoll.
At 41%, Victorian Labor’s primary vote is equal to or higher than at any time before the 2014 or 2018 elections.
Andrews’ satisfaction rating of 54% is higher than at any time before the previous two elections. His dissatisfaction rating is 41%.
Only 32% of voters were satisfied with Guy’s performance compared with 49% dissatisfied.
The Greens have increased their primary vote support to 13%.
– with AAP
Greens call for immediate pay rises for minimum wage earners
Josh Butler
Greens leader Adam Bandt says he wants to see next week’s jobs summit lead to immediate pay rises for those on the minimum wage and in women-dominated industries, warning his party wouldn’t be a “rubber stamp” for Labor.
The government will hold its jobs and skills summit on Thursday and Friday next week. Bandt, who accepted an invitation and will appear with employment spokesperson Barbara Pocock, said the Greens wanted to see a “greater role for government in setting wages across the board” through the Fair Work Act.
Bandt said the Greens would seek to amend any legislation coming out of the summit to include an immediate lift to wages, through several amendments to the Fair Work Act.
One would set the minimum wage at 60% of the median adult wage, or $23.76 per hour; the other would mandate annual wage rises at least 0.5% above the inflation rate for wages in women dominated industries like the care sector. Bandt said his party would make moves to that effect in the Senate.
Bandt:
Government must lift wages now. Not in three years, not when there have been skills reforms, but now.
If and when any proposals from the jobs summit hit the Senate, the Greens will push to change the law to guarantee wage rises.
Pocock said the Greens still wanted to see an end to the stage 3 tax cuts, due to come into effect in 2024, noting they would disproportionately benefit men as higher income earners. She said:
We need pay increases in the fast expanding care and services economy. We need targeted access for women to the expanding skilled jobs sector as the energy transition unfolds across Australia.
If the test is making working people’s lives better, the summit is doomed to fail unless it lifts low wages now and provides immediate cost of living relief. Instead of the unfair stage 3 tax cuts, the government should fund free childcare, get dental into Medicare and build affordable housing, giving households real cost living relief immediately.
Sydney records over two metres of rain for first time since 1963
As I blog with the rain falling outside, the drops add to 2,000mm fallen so far this year in Sydney.
Meteorologist Ben Domensino revealed late last night it’s the first time the city has exceeded two metres of rain since 1963 and by far the earliest date to do so since 1859.
#BREAKING – #Sydney has just surpassed 2,000 mm of rainfall so far this year. This is the city’s first two-metre year since 1963, and by far its earliest date to exceed two metres in annual records dating back to 1859. pic.twitter.com/YNFIXvz4vb
— Ben Domensino (@Ben_Domensino) August 26, 2022
Good morning!
And welcome to this Saturday morning Guardian blog.
The Greens are calling for immediate pay rises for those on the minimum wage and in women dominated industries to come out of the government’s jobs summit.
The Greens leader Adam Bandt and employment spokesperson Barbara Pocock, say they want to see a “greater role for government in setting wages across the board” through the Fair Work Act. We’ll bring you more on their proposals shortly.
With 90 days to go until the Victorian state election is held, a Newspoll conducted exclusively for The Weekend Australian shows premier Daniel Andrews is on track to win a third term for Labor.
The poll shows Labor’s primary vote has fallen only slightly since the 2018 election while dissatisfaction with opposition leader Matthew Guy’s performance has risen seven points since voter sentiment was last tested.
What are you up to this Saturday? If you’re seeing or hearing something interesting, you can ping me @natasha__may on Twitter or send an email to natasha.may@theguardian.com.
Let’s get going!
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