Building commission to be gutted, fatal fire, and concern over monkeypox
That’s where we’ll leave our coverage for the day.
Thanks for following along. Here’s what we learned on this Sunday, 24 July.
- the health department says Australia has recorded 44 monkeypox cases and recognises “the concern in the gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men community about this virus and we are working across governments to respond”. It comes after the World Health Organisation declared monkeypox to be a global pubic health emergency overnight
- the federal government has pledged to strip the Australian Building and Construction Commission of its powers in coming days. Labor wants to scrap the watchdog altogether. Tony Burke, the employment minister, said the ABCC will be stripped of powers to the bare legal minimum in coming days. Parliament is due to sit for the first time since the election this week.
- Australia recorded an additional 36 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, including 14 in NSW and 12 in Victoria.
- The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says he will meet with the new US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, within days, saying her appointment reaffirmed the strength of the alliance between the two nations.
- Three people died after a horrific fire in south-west Sydney overnight, including a 10-year-old boy. Emergency services found two women – a 60-year-old and a 40-year-old – dead at the scene and pulled the 10-year-old boy from the blaze, at Hinchinbrook in south-west Sydney.
- Anthony Albanese says the government will not close the border with Indonesia as it battles an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
The children have taken over in Canberra.
Family day at The Lodge. pic.twitter.com/D0YqkmK6Ti
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 24, 2022
Australia records 44 cases of monkeypox
Just another update on monkeypox.
The most recent data we have shows there have been 44 cases in Australia.
That data is current as of Saturday, 23 July, and has been provided by the health department.
The state and territory breakdown of cases is as follows:
- NSW - 24
- Vic - 16
- ACT - 2
- QLD - 1
- SA - 1
The vast majority of the 44 cases have been acquired overseas. A small number have been acquired locally.
