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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Donna Lu and Lisa Cox (earlier)

South Australians head to the polls; 24 Covid deaths across Australia – as it happened

South Australian Labor leader Peter Malinauskas with his wife Annabel at Woodville Gardens school in Adelaide on election day
South Australian Labor leader Peter Malinauskas with his wife Annabel on election day. He is hoping to defeat SA premier Steven Marshall. Photograph: Matt Turner/AAP

What we learned today, Saturday 19 March

The time has come to wrap up our blog for the evening, just as the polls are set to close in South Australia. Here’s a recap of the day’s top stories:

  • Voters in South Australia will decide the fate of the first-term Liberal government, led by the premier, Steven Marshall. Recent opinion polls have put Labor in a commanding position, but the opposition leader, Peter Malinauskas, said today he expected the result to be close. Marshall said he was “not that fussed” by polls predicting a Labor win.
  • There were 46,422 new Covid infections and 24 deaths reported across the country today. New case numbers nationally have risen by 37% in the past week, linked to the more transmissible BA.2 Omicron subvariant.
  • The federal opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, said the late senator Kimberley Kitching never raised complaints of bullying with him, and labelled political debate about her death as “not constructive”.
  • Hillsong apologised after internal investigations concluded its founder, Brian Houston, engaged in “inappropriate” behaviour.

Enjoy your night!

Updated

While we’re on the topic of climate change, temperatures in Antarctica are unusually high at the moment. At Concordia station, recorded temperatures have been about 40C above average. Yes, you read that correctly.

Updated

A tweet from Prof Terry Hughes, who this week warned that a sixth mass bleaching event was now unfolding on the reef – on top of events in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017 and 2020.

As Lisa mentioned on the blog earlier, a 10-day UN monitoring mission to the reef is due to start on Monday.

AAP is reporting some sad news out of northern NSW:

NSW police believe a body found in the Tweed River is that of a man who jumped off a boat in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Officers were called at about 2.30am following reports the man had jumped off the boat moored near Chinderah in the state’s north.

A search of the river and foreshore began soon after and a body was found in the water nearby at about 2.40pm.

The body is yet to be identified, but officers believe it is the same man.

An investigation into the circumstances of the incident is under way and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Updated

The Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe was allegedly violent during the arrests of four Aboriginal men or boys who required medical treatment in a two-year period before fatally shooting Kumanjayi Walker.

After three of the incidents he was also alleged to have falsified reports, and on one occasion was accused of asking a fellow officer to scratch him to make it appear as if he had been harmed by an offender during an arrest.

Read the full story here:

Updated

The NSW government is set to spend an extra $4.4m on shark mitigation following an attack at Sydney’s Little Bay last month, the first fatal incident in nearly 60 years.

The minister for agriculture, Dugald Saunders, said:

The tragic event at Little Bay earlier this year was another reminder of the threat posed by sharks and the need to take steps to ensure we can coexist as safely as possible.

We are not only announcing immediate additional response capabilities, including more shark listening stations, Smart drum lines and rapid response vehicles, we’re also committing to ongoing funding for future mitigation to protect our beachgoers for years to come.

AAP has the story:

The announcement follows the death in February of a 35-year-old man after he was attacked by what was believed to be four-and-a-half-metre great white shark at Little Bay.

The immediate package includes a long-range drone trial in partnership with Surf Life Saving NSW and research into wetsuit materials that reduce the impact of attacks.

Also included in the state’s $85.6m shark management program for 2022-26 is the extension of 51 nets currently deployed seasonally and funding for Surfing NSW to provide services like trauma kits during competitions.

Updated

Exhibit A: democracy sausage.

Exhibit B: democracy dog.

Exhibit C: negative pencil review.

Polls in South Australia will be closing in two hours. In the meantime, here’s some analysis from psephologist extraordinaire Antony Green:

Canberrans are being reminded to avoid wild mushrooms after a young child who ingested a death cap mushroom was hospitalised, AAP reports:

Acting ACT chief health officer Dr Vanessa Johnston said the child presented to a hospital emergency department on Friday.

ACT Health could not confirm the child’s condition, but Johnston said it was a reminder for people to be careful around wild mushrooms.

The ACT government undertakes routine site inspections at known, high-yielding sites on a weekly basis between February and June.

Death cap mushrooms were on Friday detected around Canberra and removed.

The deadly mushrooms often grow near established oak trees and can easily be mistaken for edible mushrooms.

Wild mushrooms should not be touched with bare hands, and children and animals should be kept away from them.

People should urgently attend an emergency department if they believe they’ve eaten a wild mushroom. They should also take any remaining mushroom to the hospital for identification.

Wet weather along Australia’s east coast has led to an early bumper season, with experts warning about the risks of poisoning – as Sydney man Jonathan Herrman learned the hard way a few weeks ago. You can read more about that here:

Updated

Thanks Lisa! I’ll be with you in the hot seat into the evening. As always, if you spot anything or have any tips to share, please email Donna.Lu@theguardian.com or tweet me at @donnadlu.

If you haven’t already gotten to it, this piece by our inequality reporter, Stephanie Convery, on the effects of Australia’s rising cost of living, is a really worthwhile read. In it she details the experiences of Julie-Marie Hay, a Perth nurse and single mother of three, who now struggles to make ends meet.

In 2021, workers earning the average income of $68,000 effectively had a pay cut of $832, as price increases outstripped minor salary increases.

You can read the full story here:

That’s where I’m going to leave you for the day. My excellent colleague Donna Lu will take you through the rest of the afternoon as we near the closing of the polls in the South Australian election. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hillsong has been forced to “apologise unreservedly” after the church’s founder, Brian Houston, was found to have engaged in conduct “of serious concern” by the church.

Following media reports on Friday, the church’s global board said in a statement that Houston had breached Hillsong’s pastor code of conduct in two incidents over the past decade.

“We have sadly been dealing with two complaints made against Pastor Brian over the last 10 years,” the church’s global board said.

Read our story here:

Updated

Home buybacks part of Queensland flood relief package

The Queensland government has announced plans for a $771m flood relief package that would allow affected residents to retrofit, elevate or sell back their homes, pending commonwealth support. AAP reports:

Up to 500 Queenslanders hit by the south-east floods will be able to access a home buyback scheme under a new support package released by the state.

The government has asked the commonwealth for joint funding support for the $771m package under national disaster recovery arrangements, the deputy premier, Steven Miles, said on Saturday.

A key element of the package is giving affected Queenslanders the option to retrofit, raise or sell back their flood-affected homes.

It includes $275m to retrofit 5,500 homes, $100m to elevate 1,000 homes and a $350m residential buyback program.

“This is the biggest potential buyback ... fund we’ve ever had available to us. We anticipate that will allow us to buy back 500 properties if people want to,” Miles told reporters.

Guidelines to determine which residents can access specific options still need to be finalised.

Updated

I’m going to draw your attention to a story we published late yesterday that you may have missed.

Dead corals are being recorded in aerial surveys across the Great Barrier Reef in what the marine park’s chief scientist says is a widespread and serious bleaching event on the world heritage icon.

Aerial surveys have covered half of the 2,300km reef, with the worst bleaching observed in the park’s central region off Townsville, where corals on some reefs are dead and dying.

The unfolding bleaching comes ahead of a 10-day UN monitoring mission to the reef due to start on Monday.

You can read the story by my environment colleague Graham Readfearn here:

Updated

Western Australia records four Covid deaths and 5,838 new cases

Western Australia has reported its Covid numbers. Four people have died – one of those deaths was historical and first reported to WA Health yesterday – and 147 people are in hospital, four of whom are in intensive care. The state has recorded 5,838 new cases.

Updated

The leader of the Australian Greens, Adam Bandt, will attend tonight’s 50th anniversary celebrations for the green movement in Tasmania, marking a full half-century since local protests against the destruction of Lake Pedder.

Bandt says he will outline the party’s successes over the past 50 years of political and social movements and give an outline of the Greens’ election platform for Tasmania ahead of the upcoming federal election.

He will appear alongside candidates for the lower house and senator Peter Whish-Wilson. He says protection for forests, climate action, housing and the expansion of Medicare are a priority:

This election is going to be closer than you think – and it’s going to be a choice between candidates that continue the old way of tearing up our forests and killing our planet, and the Greens, who will protect our natural world and build a more equal, compassionate society for Tasmania.

Read our story on the rowdy meeting at Hobart town hall 50 years ago that led to the formation of the world’s first green party:

Updated

Anthony Albanese says he received 'no complaints' about treatment of Kimberley Kitching

Some more from Anthony Albanese, who is giving a press conference on the NSW Central Coast.

He says his door is open to every caucus member and no one is ever denied a meeting.

He says:

I received no complaints about the treatment of senator Kitching ... at any time. That is just a fact.

That is not to say that, of course, from time to time in politics, it’s a competitive business, it is one where I think we could all be kinder to each other, frankly, but within the parliament, within our own parties, and across the aisle, and I would always urge people to do so. I am an inclusive leader.

He says the politicisation of the senator’s death is “not constructive”:

I’ve got to say, [I] think this is an unfortunate discussion to have [a few] days before a funeral of someone, but the media continues to ask these questions and that is unfortunate.

Updated

The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, is speaking at Avoca Beach on the New South Wales Central Coast about the ugly debate that has played out after Labor senator Kimberley Kitching’s death.

“I will say this, the Labor family are mourning the passing of Kimberley Kitching,” he says. “At age 52, it is far too young to lose a valued colleague. I will be there at her farewell on Monday. It will be a sad occasion. And everyone in Labor is mourning this loss.”

He addresses “some of the criticism that is around”:

My colleagues in the Senate, senator Keneally, senator Wong and senator Gallagher, issued a media release yesterday addressing those issues, including senator Wong reiterating over a statement she made to senator Kitching, she apologised after that occurred and she believed that the apology was accepted.

Politics can be a robust business, my politics is better for the participation of valued colleagues in leadership positions, including Penny, Katy and Kristina Keneally.

Updated

Voting is under way in South Australia, with the Labor leader, Peter Malinauskas, and Liberal leader, Steven Marshall, casting their ballots. AAP reports:

Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas thinks the South Australian election will be tight, but premier Steven Marshall has tipped a clear result as both leaders made a final pitch for votes.

Malinauskas said Saturday’s poll was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the state to rebuild after the Covid-19 global pandemic.

He was out early on Saturday to cast his own ballot and greet voters at a school in his safe seat of Croydon.

Peter Malinauskas heads to a polling station at Woodville Gardens school in Adelaide with his wife, Annabel
Peter Malinauskas heads to a polling station at Woodville Gardens school in Adelaide with his wife, Annabel. Photograph: Matt Turner/AAP

“You only get one chance to rebuild from the global pandemic,” he said.

“South Australia has a really clear choice today. A choice between a government that seems to be at war with itself or a fresh united team with a clear vision for the future of our state.”

Despite recent opinion polls putting Labor in a commanding position, Malinauskas said he expected the result to be close.

The premier voted mid-morning in his eastern suburbs seat of Dunstan and said the poll was about who people trusted to give them certainty.

“I’m very confident that the people of South Australia will vote in their own interests and have a continuing Liberal government,” he said.

Steven Marshall waits in line to vote at Norwood primary school in Adelaide
Steven Marshall waits in line to vote at Norwood primary school in Adelaide. Photograph: Matt Turner/AAP

Marshall said he wasn’t concerned about opinion polls and expected to have a clear indication of the result before the night was out.

“Some people in polling will send a message to a political party but when they get in that booth they vote in what’s in their best interests and what’s in their families’ best interests,” he said.

Updated

Today in history: the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened to the public 90 years ago.

Taking nine years to construct, the bridge’s much anticipated opening was controversially upstaged by a member of the fascist New Guard group, who rode a borrowed horse out of the crowd and slashed the ceremonial ribbon before New South Wales premier Jack Lang could do so.

You can read more here:

National Covid update

Here are the Covid numbers reported so far around Australia today:

NSW

  • Deaths: 12
  • Cases: 19,060
  • In hospital: 1,090

Queensland

  • Deaths: 10
  • Cases: 7,120
  • In hospital: 235

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 4
  • Cases: 5,838
  • In hospital: 147

Victoria

  • Deaths: 2
  • Cases: 7,847
  • In hospital: 210

Tasmania

  • No deaths on Friday
  • Cases: 1,479
  • In hospital: 24

ACT

  • No deaths on Friday
  • Cases: 1,122
  • In hospital: 34

South Australia

  • No deaths on Friday
  • Cases: 3,274
  • Hospitalisations: 147

Northern Territory

  • Cases: 232
  • In hospital: 16

Updated

Queensland records 10 Covid-related deaths and 7,120 cases

In Queensland, there have been 10 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, and 7,120 new cases. There are 235 people in hospital.

Good afternoon! It’s Donna Lu here, keeping the blog warm for a while. If there’s anything you’d like to share, please email me at Donna.Lu@theguardian.com, or tweet me at @donnadlu.

A man has been charged with murder after an alleged intruder was fatally shot at a home near Katherine in the Northern Territory. AAP reports:

The 38-year-old resident of the home was taken into custody soon after a 26-year-old man was shot dead on Thursday morning, 350km south of Darwin.

Officers found the dead man’s body about 4am after a caller reported that a male intruder was inside the home.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jakson Evans previously told reporters that it was a confronting scene.

A woman and two children were also in the home during the incident.

The man charged has been remanded in custody to appear before Katherine Local Court at a date to be set.

Updated

SA premier Steven Marshall 'not that fussed' by polls predicting Labor win

The South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, has been speaking in South Australia on polling day.

He says he is “not that fussed” by polls predicting a Labor win.

“Last [federal] election they said Bill Shorten was definitely going to be the prime minister of Australia, it didn’t work out that way”he says.

He says he expects South Australians will vote in their best interests.

“I put my future in the hands of the people of South Australia, we’ve delivered for them in the first four years and we’ve got great opportunities for the second four years.”

He says he thinks his government have been able to demonstrate over the past four years that they have worked in the best interests of South Australians.

Updated

Via AAP:

Travel agents hit hard by Covid restrictions will be given more than $75m in government support to help recover.

In the wake of state and international borders reopening, a new program will offer targeted assistance to agents and tour arrangement service providers.

The funds will be directed towards helping travellers rebook trips using existing Covid-related credits.

Tourism minister Dan Tehan says the $75.5 m package will boost the industry’s bid to rebound from the downturns triggered by the pandemic.

“Australia’s tourism industry is bouncing back, with international and state borders now open and a date set for the resumption of cruising,” he said.

“Confidence is growing, Australians are booking holidays with their travel credits and our travel agents are in demand.”

Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Dean Long says it’s critically important the money is distributed quickly to eligible businesses and he believes a revised eligibility framework will facilitate that.

Updated

A man has been pulled from a burning ute in Alice Springs after he suffered a medical episode on his way to work and ran off the road, AAP reports.

Two police officers were among the first to arrive at the scene where they found a fire in the engine growing bigger by the second, a Northern Territory police spokeswoman says.

“I could not get to the driver’s side door,” one of the officers recalled after rescuing the man on Friday morning. “I went to the passenger door, but I could only partially open it because of the angle of the car.

“Two guys helped by ripping the door open.”

The officer then pulled the semi-conscious driver, 53, out of the burning ute and with the help of the other officer and a passer-by, carried him to safety.

Paramedics later took the man to the Alice Springs Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

Updated

NSW Health says the 12 people announced as having died with Covid were seven men and five women.

Two people were aged in their 50s, three people were aged in their 70s, four people were aged in their 80s and three people were aged in their 90s.

Of the 10 people who died over the age of 65, three people had received three doses of a Covid vaccine, three people had received two doses and four were not vaccinated.

The two men in their 50s who died were both unvaccinated and had significant underlying health conditions.

This brings the total number of Covid-19 related deaths in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 2,019.

There are currently 1,090 people in NSW hospitals due to Covid-19, 29 are in intensive care, 13 of whom require ventilation.

Updated

The NSW transport and veterans minister, David Elliott, says the 90th birthday of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is more than a landmark birthday.

“On this day 90 years ago, the Sydney Harbour Bridge came to life, and so too did the vision of a modern Sydney.

“More than one million people crossed the bridge on its opening day in trams, trains and on foot, which was almost the entire population of Sydney at that time.”

The minister for metropolitan roads, Natalie Ward, said that before the bridge linked two sides of the harbour, Sydney was a tale of two cities.

“It’s hard to imagine life in Sydney without this vital transport link. The bridge has been a constant beacon of economic strength, not only connecting our harbour but showcasing Sydney to the world.”

Updated

Herald Sun sport reporter Michael Warner has been awarded the top honour at the Melbourne Press Club awards for his scoop on a report that found “systemic racism” at Collingwood football club, which prompted the resignation of club president Eddie McGuire.

Guardian Australia also received two awards after five nominations.

Guardian Australia’s inequality editor, Luke Henriques-Gomes, won the quill for reporting on disability affairs for his work reporting on the National Disability Insurance Commission.

Matilda Boseley was awarded the quill for innovation in journalism for reports she wrote, filmed, starred in and produced for Guardian Australia’s Tiktok account.

Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas has pitched the South Australian election as a once in a lifetime opportunity for the state to rebuild after the Covid global pandemic, AAP reports.

Mr Malinauskas was out early on Saturday to cast his own ballot and greet voters at a school in his safe seat of Croydon.

“You only get one chance to rebuild from the global pandemic,” he said.

“South Australia has a really clear choice today. A choice between a government that seems to be at war with itself or a fresh united team with a clear vision for the future of our state.”

Despite recent opinion polls putting Labor in a commanding position, Mr Malinauskas said he expected the result to be close.

Labor has focused heavily on health throughout the campaign, promising to spend big to fix an ailing system plagued by ambulance ramping and overloaded hospitals.

But that has allowed Premier Steven Marshall to mount a sustained attack on the opposition’s big spending promises, warning of higher taxes and charges.

The premier will vote in his eastern suburbs seat of Dunstan on Saturday and said the poll was about who South Australians trusted to give them certainty.

“Changing the government now risks our economic recovery and will cost us time and money,” he said.

Peter Malinauskas while voting on polling day during the South Australian election at Woodville Gardens School.
Peter Malinauskas while voting on polling day during the South Australian election at Woodville Gardens School. Photograph: Matt Turner/AAP

Updated

And in another feature worth your time today, Paddy Manning has written about how the fight to save Lake Pedder in Tasmania 50 years ago led to the world’s first green party.

Fifty years ago, at a rowdy meeting at the Hobart town hall, the world’s first “green” party was formed.

While the word Green was not officially used, and it would take some time for the United Tasmania Group to be formally registered as a political party, it was the beginning of an organised effort to use the political system to push for a spotlight on environmental issues.

The building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was a powerful symbol of where Australia thought it was going – and who it was leaving behind

Paul Daley has written an excellent piece marking the 90th anniversary of the unveiling of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

You can read the feature here:

As South Australians head to the polls today, my colleague Tory Shepherd writes that the state election is attracting more interest around the country than usual in the lead-up to the May federal election.

While Labor has been ahead in the polls, Haydon Manning, an adjunct associate professor in politics, policy and global affairs at Flinders University, says the outcome of this state election is unusually hard to predict.

You can read the full story here:

Josh Frydenberg has flagged he is “open” to further market interventions making insurance more affordable, but says more preparatory work will need to be done before the Morrison government would extend its $10bn cyclone reinsurance pool in northern Australia to cover more natural disasters.

In an interview with Guardian Australia ahead of the budget on 29 March, the treasurer said he was conscious that a changing climate rendered insurance problematic in some parts of Australia.

You can read the full story by Katharine Murphy here:

The sole carer of a woman has been charged with murder after her emaciated body was found in Sydney’s south-west, police say.

Officers arrived at an address in Greenacre and arrested an 82-year-old man, taking him to Bankstown police station where they charged him with murder.

Read more here:

Updated

Victoria records two Covid-related deaths and 7,847 new cases

Victoria has also reported its Covid-19 numbers. Two people have died and 210 are in hospital, including 23 in intensive care. There were 7,847 new cases.

Updated

NSW records 12 Covid-related deaths and 19,060 new cases

There have been 12 Covid-related deaths in NSW in the past 24 hours. The state has recorded 19,060 new cases and there are 1,090 people in hospital, including 29 in intensive care.

Updated

Close to 1 million South Australians are set to cast their votes in a state election that will either return Liberal premier Steven Marshall for a second term or install Labor’s Peter Malinauskas as SA’s next leader, AAP reports.

More than 1.2 million people have registered to vote, but around 300,000 have cast an early ballot or applied for a postal vote.

They could be crucial to the outcome along with six independents who could help one of the major parties form government if the result is a hung parliament.

Recent opinion polls have Labor in a commanding position and while the opposition needs just a two per cent swing to pick up the necessary five seats, it remains unclear if the swing will come in the right places, a string of marginal seats held by the government.

Mr Malinauskas has focused heavily on health throughout the election campaign, promising to spend big to fix an ailing system plagued by ambulance ramping and overloaded hospitals.

But that has allowed Mr Marshall to mount a sustained attack on Labor’s big spending promises, warning of higher taxes and charges if the opposition wins.

If the government falls, it will be the first in Australia to suffer such a fate during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Updated

“It feels more than uncomfortable to be writing a column about a woman who died suddenly just over a week ago at the age of 52,” writes my colleague Katharine Murphy in her column today about the ugly debate that has played out after the death of Labor senator Kimberley Kitching.

“Uncomfortable because the Labor senator Kimberley Kitching is no longer here to exercise the judgments that inevitably shape how, when and on what terms her story is told. Other players featuring in the reported cameos of Kitching’s last months in public life also feel constrained in how they respond, either out of self-preservation, or because contesting the recollections and confidences of a recently deceased woman feels unseemly.”

You can read the whole piece here:

Updated

Good morning everyone, Lisa Cox with you and I’ll be taking you through the day.

South Australians are set to vote in the state election today, which will decide the fate of the Liberal government led by the premier, Steven Marshall. Recent opinion polls have Labor under opposition leader Peter Malinauskas in a commanding position. While the opposition needs just a 2% swing to pick up the necessary five seats, it remains unclear if the swing will come in the right places, a string of marginal seats held by the government.

On Friday there were 11 more Covid-related deaths in Queensland, nine in Victoria and six in NSW. There were 48,799 new cases nationwide, with the most in NSW, which reported 20,050 new infections.

Yesterday New South Wales reported one more case of Japanese encephalitis, taking the state’s case numbers to eight, while South Australian cases of Japanese encephalitis also rose to eight.

We will also be keeping our eyes on the fallout from the ugly public debate playing out after the death of Victorian senator Kimberley Kitching last week. Yesterday senior Labor politicians Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher denied allegations they contributed to “bullying” against Kitching, calling the claims “untrue” and “hurtful”.

Late yesterday an inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker was announced. The suppression orders in relation to the Zachary Rolfe trial were also lifted.

In lighter news, Sydney is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the unveiling of the Harbour Bridge.

Let’s jump in.

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