The day that was: Wednesday 23 February
That is where we will leave the blog for today. Thanks for following along.
Here’s some of what you might have missed today:
- Scott Morrison announced targeted sanctions on Russian individuals and banks, and said Russia was acting like “thugs and bullies”.
- The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, offered bipartisan support on the sanctions, as Penny Wong urged Australian nationals to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.
- One person has died in the floods in Queensland, as much of the east coast continued to be battered by heavy rainfall.
- The Moderna vaccine was approved for children aged six to 11 years old.
- NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, sought legal advice over the decision to close down Sydney’s train network on Monday, while he issued a stinging rebuke to his transport minister, David Elliott, saying he “should have been advised” about the shutdown before it occurred.
- Victoria’s chief health officer, Dr Brett Sutton, defended the decision to maintain mask mandates in primary schools, as other mandates are lifted.
- Construction giant Probuild is reportedly on the verge of collapse, with reports of tradies and workers are walking off sites or being let go.
- NSW recorded 8,931 new Covid cases and six deaths, Victoria recorded 6,926 new cases and 17 deaths, Queensland recorded 6,300 new cases and 37 deaths, the ACT reported 946 new cases, WA reported 645 new cases, SA reported 1,958 new cases, the NT reported 864 new cases and Tasmania reported 842 new cases.
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Jai Wright’s family released a statement, asking for privacy as they mourn and thanking the community for their support.
Thanks for reading.
Updated
Scott Morrison speaks to Ukraine PM
Scott Morrison has spoken to Ukraine’s prime minister this evening, just hours after warning a full-scale Russian invasion was “likely to occur within the next 24 hours”.
Australia has levelled financial and travel sanctions against Russian individuals and banks, but Morrison said the government was prepared to “do more”.
Morrison reached Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, by phone around 6pm tonight. A spokesperson for the Australian PM said the government had an “unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, and denounced “Russia’s aggressive behaviour towards Ukraine as unacceptable, unprovoked and unwarranted”. The spokesperson said:
The Prime Minister informed Prime Minister Shmyhal of Australia’s immediate action to sanction Russian individuals, organisations and banks as part of an international effort to impose a sharp cost on Russia for its actions against Ukraine.
The Prime Minister affirmed Australia’s preparedness to do more, working with our partners, and in response to Ukraine’s needs.
In a joint statement released just before 6pm, Morrison and the foreign minister, Marise Payne, said today’s round of sanctions was “the beginning of our sanctions process”, and warned any further invasion would be met with “the high cost it deserves”.
The Australian government did not outline what further action could be taken.
Updated
