MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is hopeful Victoria’s lockdown will not be required for a full week as the state works to fight a growing outbreak. The prime minister stressed cooperation in the face of the nation’s latest coronavirus scare would put Victoria on track to reopen as soon as possible. “We are very mindful of the distress and the difficulty this will impose upon people right across Victoria as a result of what has been described rightly by the acting premier as a circuit-breaking lockdown,” Morrison said in Canberra on May 27. “A lockdown for seven days,…
Author: zenger.news
PERTH, Australia — Western Australia will reintroduce a hard border with Victoria after a cluster of 26 coronavirus cases was detected in Melbourne’s north. Victoria will enter a seven-day lockdown from midnight on May 27 in a bid to contain the outbreak which includes 79 exposure sites. The Government of Victoria is the administrative authority of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Victoria first gained the right to responsible government. From 10 am Perth time, Victoria will be designated a “medium-risk” jurisdiction under Western Australia’s controlled border regime.…
BRISBANE, Australia — A report on the Queensland government’s response to last year’s Fraser Island bushfires highlights the need for better consultation with traditional owners. Issued by Fire and Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan in parliament on May 27, the review finds opportunities for the Queensland Fire and Emergency services and Parks and Wildlife Service to better engage with relevant stakeholders and better prepare for disasters. The government says it supports all 38 of the report’s recommendations. These recommendations evaluate the effectiveness of disaster management arrangements in Queensland, particularly management of Fraser Island following the two-month bushfire in late 2020. The blaze…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s national broadcaster, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, will more than double its spend on cybersecurity measures in the wake of an attack on the Nine Network. Australian Broadcasting Corporation managing director David Anderson has revealed the broadcaster’s cybersecurity costs would increase from AU$1.7 million ($1.3 million) this financial year to AU$3.9 million ($3.02 million) next financial year. “It is something that, frankly, for any media organization you have to invest in to stand still,” he told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on May 26. “The sophistication of the attacks that you see, or that I see certainly on…
CANBERRA, Australia — New figures are expected to give weight to the federal government’s claim its policies are driving up business investment. The Australian Bureau of Statistics will on May 27 release private capital spending data for the March quarter and new figures on business investment intentions. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament on May 26, lower taxes and investment incentives were flowing through as part of the government’s recovery plan. St. George chief economist Besa Deda says so far, and consumers have been the engine room behind Australia’s faster than anticipated recovery. “Businesses have been reluctant to enter the engine room, but this is starting to…
SYDNEY — Another woman has been promoted to the New South Wales government ministry in a cabinet reshuffle to fill gaps left by two men sidelined by misconduct allegations. Upper House Member of Legislative Council Natalie Ward was on May 26 appointed as Minister for Sport, Multiculturalism, Seniors, and Veterans, taking over from acting minister Geoff Lee. Lee, who is the minister for skills and tertiary education, took on the extra responsibilities in 2019 when then sports minister John Sidoti stood aside while the corruption watchdog mulled launching an investigation into his property interests. Sidoti formally resigned from cabinet in March, when…
BRISBANE, Australia — Containing Covid-19 has been Australia’s North-eastern state, Queensland’s priority during the pandemic, and now the state will investigate how lockdown and limits on visitors affected mental health. Social isolation and loneliness are the subjects of a parliamentary Inquiry amid a pandemic in which one of the most effective weapons has been limiting contact between family and friends. “In 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the personal stressor most experienced by Australians during the Covid-19 pandemic was loneliness,” Communities Minister Leeanne Enoch said on May 27. “One in five Australians reported feelings of loneliness and social isolation as a result of…
SYDNEY — A group of young Australians are on the brink of discovering if their Federal Court bid to stop the extension of a New South Wales coal mine has been successful. The eight students, then aged between 13 and 17, sought an injunction in September 2020 to prevent Environment Minister Sussan Ley from finally approving the Vickery coal mine extension project in northeast New South Wales. The judgment is due to be handed down on May 27 morning in Melbourne. The teenagers from four different states are supported by Sister Brigid Arthur, an 86-year-old Catholic nun connected to the Brigidine…
CHENNAI, India — WhatsApp sued the Indian government on May 25 over its new Information Technology rules, saying the demand for traceability of messages “undermines people’s right to privacy” and violates human rights. WhatsApp, which filed the suit in the capital city’s Delhi High Court, is the first major tech company to try and block the new rules. The Facebook-owned firm has based its argument on a 2017 ruling from India’s Supreme Court, which upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right. The right to privacy is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. WhatsApp’s move escalates an increasingly tense relationship…
The successful adoption of electric vehicles depends on attractive pricing, batteries with a long range and lightweight motors and parts. Israeli companies like StoreDot are working on better batteries, while REE has developed an all-in-one “skateboard” chassis. Now, EVR Motors has announced a new electric motor that is less than half the size of existing models — about the length of a smartphone. EVR’s motor is based on a topology it calls TSRF, or Trapezoidal Stator Radial Flux. It is designed to replace RFPM (radial flux permanent magnet) motors with similar power. The company has developed a prototype and plans…