Australia news live: major NSW flood warning for Singleton; Omicron-targeted Pfizer vaccines pass first step to TGA approval; 44 Covid deaths | Australia news

Caitlin Cassidy

Major flooding likely at Singleton this afternoon

As the New South Wales floods move north, parts of the Hunter are bracing for wild weather while others are crossing their fingers they remain in the safe zone.

Maurice Collison is the mayor of the Upper Hunter Shire, a council covering Murrurundi, Scone, Aberdeen and Merriwa. They’ve been saved from rainfall this time around, with all eyes on the Lower Hunter.

Head south-east of Merriwa, and you’ll hit the New England highway, currently shut off at Singleton due to rising flood waters.

The BoM has warned major flooding is likely at Singleton from this afternoon, with river levels forecast to be well above the March 2022 flood level of 13.15 metres.

“We’re lucky we’re on the edge of it,” Collison said.

In the whole shire we only have one road out west that’s closed … the rest are all open. We’re very very lucky, but our neighbours aren’t.

We’ve offered assistance if that’s needed. We certainly wish them all the best in getting over this flood event, we’ve had our fair share over the years.

Water is a very dangerous thing … we have to be cautious and take orders from SES and the police.

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NAB joins CBA and ANZ in passing on rate rise

National Australia Bank is the third of the big four banks to pass on the interest rate rise.

NAB said the standard variable home loan interest rate will increase by 0.5% per annum effective from 15 July 2022.

For savers, the reward saver bonus rate will increase by 0.5% from the same date, while the rate on 12-month term deposit accounts will increase to 2.5% per annum.

NAB group executive personal banking Rachel Slade said customers “are in a good position with many ahead on their repayments”.

As the rain begins to ease across the Greater Sydney area, #NSWRFS crews are beginning the clean-up process. A strike team is currently working at the Camden RSL and Showground, removing mud and debris from the buildings and equipment. pic.twitter.com/w9PkvRCAXe

— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) July 6, 2022

Change the Record has slammed the WA government decision to send 20 children from the Banksia youth detention facility to an adult prison in Western Australia, after cells were damaged.

National director Sophie Trevitt said:

Children do not belong in prison, they do not belong in maximum security adult prisons, and they should not be punished for the failures of adults to keep them safe.

Change the Record is appalled by the decision of the WA government to send First Nations children to a maximum security adult prison instead of addressing the ‘cruel, inhumane and degrading’ treatment of children in Banksia Hill youth detention centre. It is these conditions, and government failure to rectify them, that has driven an alarming spike in the number of children attempting suicide and self-harm in that facility over the last two years.

There’s going to be a rugby league-themed hotel in Brisbane, for some reason.

You can read more about this idea below.

Nationals call for airport foot dips to prevent foot and mouth disease entering Australia

The Nationals have joined farmers in calling for increased biosecurity efforts to stop foot and mouth disease entering Australia, after the discovery of the livestock disease in Bali, AAP reports.

Nationals leader David Littleproud has called for the government to introduce foot dips for travellers returning from Indonesia to stop the chance of FMD entering Australia.

“Bali is a popular destination for Australians and because the disease is highly transmissible, it could be brought into our country on clothing and footwear which means there should be new biosecurity measures in place at our airports,” Littleproud said.

“There should be foot dips for all travellers returning from Bali so that any trace of the disease on the bottom of shoes is stopped at the border.”

Indonesian authorities confirmed on Tuesday an outbreak of foot and mouth disease had spread to Bali.

Australia’s department of agriculture said frontline biosecurity officers had been operating with increased vigilance across all flights arriving from Indonesia as a result of FMD being detected on the archipelago in May.

“All flights from Indonesia operate with biosecurity profiles automatically flagging higher risk passengers for biosecurity screening.”

“Any passengers identified as higher risk (through questioning or the presence of post-arrival indicators) are referred for biosecurity intervention (including baggage inspections),” a department spokesperson told AAP.

President of the farmers’ federation Fiona Simson also called for Australia’s biosecurity efforts to be stepped up earlier this week.

The news that FMD has reached Bali has sent a shiver up the spine of Australian farmers, as the risk of it reaching our shores has undoubtedly grown.

The Australian government must undertake rapid risk analysis to ensure our prevention measures are equal to this new level of risk.

Benita Kolovos

New OH&S regulations allow Victorian employers to check vaccination status of workers

The Victorian government has made changes to its occupational health and safety regulations to allow employers to collect the vaccination status of workers.

Minister for workplace safety, Ingrid Stitt, on Wednesday announced the updated regulations, following the chief health officer’s advice to remove mandates in some settings.

Stitt says the regulations do not require workers to be vaccinated but ensure employers have the information they need to make decisions on necessary control measures at their workplace, which may include vaccination.

Under the OHS Act employers must identify whether there is a risk to the health of their workers from exposure to Covid-19 at their workplace. If identified, employers are required to eliminate risks as far as reasonably practicable and when elimination is not possible, employers are required to implement measures to reduce risks.

The regulations will be in place for 12 months from 12 July.

Stitt said in a statement:

These regulations will mean individual employers can choose to implement their own vaccination policies, to collect and hold Covid-19 vaccination information of their workers.

It’s important workplaces continue to mitigate against the risks associated with Covid-19 to keep their workers safe – especially as we move through the winter months.

Under the state’s pandemic legislation, the requirement for workers in high-risk settings such as healthcare to be vaccinated remains.

NSW RFS crews have been working to clear and reopen several roads across the Greater Sydney area, including Silverdale Rd in Wallacia. As you can see there was a large amount of debris to remove, but the bridge has now been reopened to the general public. #nswrfs pic.twitter.com/x7H7MMp28v

— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) July 6, 2022

TGA grants provisional determination to Omicron-targeted Pfizer vaccines

Melissa Davey

Australia’s drugs regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), has granted “provisional determination” to pharmaceutical company Pfizer for two vaccines that specifically target the Omicron variant.

While existing vaccines are very effective at preventing hospitalisation and death from Covid, they’re less effective at stopping transmission and symptoms, and the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron are driving a new wave of cases throughout Australia. Premiers have this week warned of increasing hospitalisations and deaths to come.

The surge in cases has put pressure on the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi), which is meeting today to consider whether fourth doses of existing vaccines should be recommended for the wider population as cases surge.

One of the challenges Atagi faces in making its decision is that for healthy people, three vaccine doses are very effective at preventing severe disease and death and this, combined with immunity from Covid-19 infections, may mean approving a fourth dose for everyone is not effective. They will also be considering whether it is worth waiting for better, more targeted vaccines on the horizon, like Pfizer’s.

However, the two vaccines granted provisional determination on Wednesday target the spike protein of the Omicron BA.1 variant of concern. Data is still being collected by Pfizer on how effective the vaccines might be against the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of Omicron becoming dominant in Australia.

Provisional determination is an early step in the vaccine approval process. At this stage, the TGA would have wanted to see the nature of preliminary clinical data, and evidence of a plan to submit more comprehensive clinical data down the track. It also would have needed to see a strong argument and evidence for why the drug, in this case vaccines targeting Omicron, are needed.

Now that the TGA has granted provisional determination, the pharmaceutical company can apply for provisional registration of the vaccine. Pfizer now has six months to do this, and will need to submit further data to the TGA from human trials about how the treatment works and its safety.

Once the TGA has scrutinised the data, and if it is satisfied with it, it may grant Pfizer “provisional approval” for the vaccines to be used in Australia. Further data must be collected and given to the TGA even if this occurs.

Nino Bucci

The Bureau of Meteorology expects the Hunter River at Singleton to peak this afternoon at levels higher than the March floods.

The town 70km north-west of Newcastle is likely to be impacted by major flooding, the bureau has warned.

Rainfall data from across the state shows that some weather stations have recorded more than 50mm of rain since 9am, at an average of more than 10mm an hour.

The most rain has been at Kempsey Airport, which recorded 62mm between 9am and 2pm, with 54mm recorded at Taree Airport. A number of stations have not updated data since 9am.

National Covid summary: 44 deaths reported as cases surge

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 44 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 1,477
• In hospital: 135 (with 5 people in ICU)

NSW

• Deaths: 10
• Cases: 13,775
• In hospital: 1,822 (with 64 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

• Deaths: 0
• Cases: 342
• In hospital: 24 (with 1 person in ICU)

Queensland

• Deaths: 4
• Cases: 5,878
• In hospital: 705 (with 18 people in ICU)

South Australia

• Deaths: 5
• Cases: 4,072
• In hospital: 267 (with 11 people in ICU)

Tasmania

• Deaths: 1
• Cases: 1,700
• In hospital: 79 (with 2 people in ICU)

Victoria

• Deaths: 23
• Cases: 10,056
• In hospital: 523 (with 29 people in ICU)

Western Australia

• Deaths: 1
• Cases: 6,296
• In hospital: 226 (with 8 people in ICU)

Rafqa Touma

Government doing ‘everything they can’ to fix visa issues, Dewar says

Two final things to note from the National Press Club today.

On the subject of a review of the Australian Research Council (ARC) after cancellation of research projects relating to climate activism and China under the Morrison government, Universities Australia (UA) chair John Dewar confirmed the UA made a submission to a Senate inquiry into exercise of ministerial veto.

“Whatever decision made, the core of the ARC should be strong, robust peer review,” he said. “If a ministerial veto is to be retained, let it be exercised only with clear criteria and transparency.”

And in addressing a question on visa processing “in shambles,” leaving foreign PHD students “waiting years to get into the country,” Dewar said “it is a concern” that UA has spoken about to minister for education Jason Clare and the department of home affairs.

“The government are aware this is a problem – not just student visas, but across the board,” Dewar said. “If we want the international education industry back up and running, it is vital we get the visa system back up and running.

“We believe the government are doing everything they can to fix it.”

Caitlin Cassidy

Major flooding likely at Singleton this afternoon

As the New South Wales floods move north, parts of the Hunter are bracing for wild weather while others are crossing their fingers they remain in the safe zone.

Maurice Collison is the mayor of the Upper Hunter Shire, a council covering Murrurundi, Scone, Aberdeen and Merriwa. They’ve been saved from rainfall this time around, with all eyes on the Lower Hunter.

Head south-east of Merriwa, and you’ll hit the New England highway, currently shut off at Singleton due to rising flood waters.

The BoM has warned major flooding is likely at Singleton from this afternoon, with river levels forecast to be well above the March 2022 flood level of 13.15 metres.

“We’re lucky we’re on the edge of it,” Collison said.

In the whole shire we only have one road out west that’s closed … the rest are all open. We’re very very lucky, but our neighbours aren’t.

We’ve offered assistance if that’s needed. We certainly wish them all the best in getting over this flood event, we’ve had our fair share over the years.

Water is a very dangerous thing … we have to be cautious and take orders from SES and the police.

The Port Authority of NSW has just tweeted this picture of the cargo ship Portland Bay arriving in safe port under tow after two nights stranded off the coast of Sydney.