Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan will need to “properly explain” the rationale behind locking millions of people down over just one coronavirus case.
Following a quarantine breach in Western Australia, greater metropolitan Perth, the Peel region, and the South West regions have been forced into a five-day lockdown.
Under the new hard lockdown, there are only four reasons to leave one’s home which include essential shopping, medical or healthcare needs – including compassionate requirements – exercise for only one hour with one other person, and work if you cannot work at home.
Mr Dutton acknowledged “WA has taken a very stern approach to their border arrangements from the start”.
However, he said it was important for premiers to outline the “thinking behind” locking over a million people down for the sake of business owners who will be impacted.
“It makes it difficult of course for businesses and for people who ar
The sole case of COVID-19 which forced two million people in Western Australia into a five day lockdown is now at the centre of two investigations.
The man had been working as a ride share driver and WA Premier Mark McGowan is reportedly looking into increasing the pay of those employed in hotel quarantine to discourage them from seeking a second job.
LIVE UPDATES:
COVID-19 lockdown signage is seen on Canning Highway on February 01, 2021 in Perth.(Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Almost deserted on an otherwise perfect beach day in Perth: playgrounds were yesterday shut and streets cleared on day one of a lockdown prompted by the single coronavirus case.
Kevin Andrews toppled in preselection battle for Menzies
Weâre sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
Dismiss
Save
Normal text size
Advertisement
Veteran Liberal MP Kevin Andrews, a former defence minister and the longest continuously serving member of Federal Parliament, has become the first federal Liberal since 1990 to be unseated in a party preselection in Victoria.
Former special forces captain and Cambridge-educated barrister Keith Wolahan toppled the 65-year-old social conservative in a vote to decide the partyâs candidate for the blue-ribbon Melbourne seat of Menzies on Sunday.
Keith Wolahan (centre) in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in February 2010.
Medevac refugees detained in Darwin hotel for 12 months, despite requesting return to Nauru
SatSaturday 30
updated
SunSunday 31
JanJanuary 2021 at 4:12am
Abbas Maghames and his family have been detained in a Darwin hotel complex for almost 12 months.
(
Print text only
Cancel
A group of 15 refugees have been detained in a Darwin hotel for almost 12 months, with their lawyers calling their detention illegal and political imprisonment .
Key points:
Some of the refugees held in Darwin have not received the medical treatment they were brought over for
Lawyers for the group say the detention they are in is demeaning
The federal member for Solomon has asked for the group to be released into the community
Share on Twitter
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has condemned right-wing extremists that gathered in rural Victoria over the Australia Day weekend as a “lunatic fringe group.
But critics say the government continues to underplay the threat posed by right-wing extremism in Australia.
Thirty-eight men from a far-right group assembled in the Grampians National Park, where they reportedly burnt a cross, chanted white power and presented Nazi salutes.
READ MORE
Their activity - first reported by the Age and Sydney Morning Herald - drew the attention of local police and intelligence officers from Victoria’s Counter-Terrorism Command.
Labor’s Home Affairs spokesperson Kristina Keneally has questioned whether the government is taking strong enough action to address the concerns.