covid-19 vaccine melbourne
(Image: AAP/Daniel Pockett)

VAX OFF, VAX ON

The future is now — or at the end of the month, at the very least. From August 31, every Australian over the age of 16 can book a vaccination, making some 8.6 million people eligible. The date approaches as a record 309,000 doses were given on Wednesday, the SMH says, which brings the last week’s total to nearly 1.7 million vaccines administered around the nation.

And teens could become eligible within days as the ATAGI’s advice about Pfizer for 12 to 15 year olds is “imminent”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. It comes as COVID cases among kids continue to rise — Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said more than 50 children in his state have contracted the virus. Yesterday Victoria recorded its highest case number since the state’s deadly second wave last year — 57 infections — The Australian ($) says.

Also in the Oz ($) this morning, the NSW “freedom plan” — for when the state’s vaccination level reaches 70% — will reportedly see bars, restaurants, and gyms reopen. The singles bubble could be expanded too, but Sydney’s 12 hotspots will probably remain in stage four restrictions. NSW recorded another all-time high yesterday — 681 cases. ACT’s chief minister Andrew Barr became the latest leader to dig the claws into counterpart Gladys Berejiklian, arguing that her 70% target was leaving young people “horribly exposed” to risk, Guardian Australia reports. National cabinet is going to be awkward today.

[free_worm]

AFGHANISTAN’S CRISIS CONTINUES

Australians who arrived at Kabul’s international airport to board an evacuation flight have been forced to flee. ABC reports that Taliban guards are throwing smoke bombs, firing into the air, and attacking people outside the airport terminal’s gates. It comes after the Australian Government issued an alert to expats in the country on Thursday telling them to get themselves to the airport ASAP as a second military flight was due to land. But it is not yet clear whether the flight was able to land amid the crowded chaos at the airport. Al Jazeera reports that a man who fell to his death after clinging to a US military plane earlier this week was an Afghan footballer who played for the national youth team. His name was Zaki Anwari. He was 19.

The Taliban are hunting people who worked with the US and NATO forces, including within the crowds at the airport, The New York Times reports. According to a leaked United Nations documents, the Taliban are threatening to kill or arrest their family members to find them. Several people are dead in Asadabad while the Taliban have announced a curfew in the city of Khost. It comes amid a second day of protests in Afghanistan, including near the presidential palace, which was broken up violently.

EXPLOSIVE ALLEGATIONS

There has been a bomb scare at the US Capitol. A man drove up to the Library of Congress in a black pick-up truck at 9:15am, which is quite close to the Supreme Court. The 49-year-old from North Carolina told a police officer on the scene he had a bomb, and the officer said he looked like he was holding a detonator, the SMH reports. The man live-streamed himself on Facebook, saying Democrats needed to step down and he was ready to die for “the cause”. He asked to speak to President Joe Biden who he said he loved. A five hour standoff ensued, but he eventually surrendered and was arrested, ABC report.

It brought Washington to a stand-still for much of the day, as memories of January’s Capitol insurrection remain fresh. Several buildings were evacuated but not many people were around as the House of Representatives, Senate, and Supreme Court are all in recess. It’s not clear yet whether there was actually a bomb in his truck, and police said the man was troubled by the recent loss of his mother, news.com.au reported.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

Randy seasnakes are sidling up to divers to have a little flirt, The New York Times reports. The six-foot-long snakes are known for charging through the water at scuba divers, and their venomous bite has even known to be fatal. But a new study published in scientific journal Scientific Reports suggests that divers not panic when they see a gigantic water snake coming towards them. Just let it check you out, rub up against you, and give you a little lick. It doesn’t really want to kill you, researchers say. Just shag you.

Rick Shine, a herpetologist at Macquarie University, says the snakes are not aggressive by nature. In fact, Shine says, they’re often just “a lovesick boy looking for a girlfriend and making a rather foolish mistake”. Shine said the amorous snakes often approach divers during breeding season, and it’s more often males than females that do so. I think I speak for all of us when I say: at least buy me a drink first.

Hope you have a loved-up weekend, folks.

THEY REALLY SAID THAT?

You and many other journalists would be screaming down the line at me if one person was brought in that committed an atrocity in our country.

Peter Dutton

At a time where many at-risk Afghans are fleeing from the Taliban, and other countries like the US, UK, and Canada are extending a compassionate hand by vetting refugees through Afghan-specific visa programs, the defence minister seemingly chose to stoke fear on ABC’s Patricia Karvelas’ show, perhaps in an effort to drum up support for Australia’s comparatively meagre refugee commitment. As Michelle Grattan puts it, “on [that] strict no-risk principle, many people would never be let out of our jails”.

CRIKEY RECAP

RBA has ’fessed up on cheap loans to big banks. Why isn’t the ATO doing the same with JobKeeper?

Aug 19, 2021

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“Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is starting to lose some serious political skin over JobKeeper, especially after the Parliamentary Budget Office revealed that $4.6 billion went to 157,650 employers that actually increased revenue during the relevant period. That said, save for Terry McCrann, the Murdoch interests have largely avoided criticising JobKeeper, which is probably because Lachlan Murdoch’s privately owned radio business Nova received $10.6 million in JobKeeper despite posting a 28% jump in earnings to $16.88 million last year.

“Billionaire Kerry Stokes’ media empire has also been surprisingly quiet on JobKeeper, probably because Seven West Media this week reported soaring EBIT of $229 million in 2020-21, up from just $95 million previously. Revenue was also up when it was meant to have fallen by 50% to qualify for the $47 million-plus in JobKeeper it pocketed.”

Australia’s far right uses Google ads and cryptocurrency to fund their hate

Aug 19, 2021

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“The report documents more than 20 tools used to solicit donations, facilitate transactions, and earn and store money. These range from major platforms like Google and Amazon advertising programs used on far-right websites to niche ‘alt-tech’ platforms which offer alternatives to popular streaming or video platforms. Activities supported by these platforms include livestreamed interviews, selling merchandise featuring right-wing extremist propaganda, or cryptocurrencies that allow money transfers that are difficult or impossible to trace.

“The report notes that these platforms are generally opaque, making it difficult to ascertain how much money is changing hands between Australian right-wing extremist creators and their audiences. Small glimpses such as the sharing of cryptocurrency wallets with thousands of dollars or public gifts of up to US$50 to ask a question on a livestream shows that these funding methods can be lucrative.”

Mandatory vaccination is a question for lawmakers. That’s you, Scott

Aug 19, 2021

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“For all the ignorant stupidity of the anti-vaxxer brigade, the fact remains that getting vaccinated (or not) is the exercise of a powerful personal right — the right of agency over ourselves. It’s rarely talked about, because we assume its existence as a fundamental attribute of being human. It can be overridden by law, certainly in Australia, where we have no human rights — except freedom of religion — that are immune from legislation.

“But it has to be law that does the work here, nothing less. We can see clearly ahead that the presence of COVID risk in the form of unvaccinated workers will be a real problem for all employers. Balancing the rights of individuals against the risks (practical and legal) is simply beyond their ability and should not be their responsibility. If it is left to individual employers, they will make inconsistent choices. The result will be chaotic.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Afghan female athletes in peril: IOC member (The New Daily)

Canadian soldier faces jail over feeding cannabis cupcakes to troops (BBC)

Legal bid to delay NT cop Zachary Rolfe’s kill case (The Australian) ($)

How Baz Luhrmann aims to make Australia the new Hollywood (AFR)

US takes a new stab at a Facebook antitrust suit (The New York Times)

The underregulated pet food industry could kill your pet (The Advocate)

NZ’s outbreak spikes to 21 cases (The New Daily)

Vaccinated travel lane set to open between Singapore and Germany (The Age)

Trying — and failing — to save the family of the Afghan who saved me (The New Yorker)

Nicole Kidman reportedly enters Hong Kong quarantine-free (BBC)

US hospitalizations of people under 50 at highest levels since start of pandemic (The Guardian)

THE COMMENTARIAT

The climate crisis is an accelerating calamity of our own making. So what would it take to turn things around? — Lesley Hughes (Guardian Australia): So here’s my top 10 things to do (Mr Morrison, the first three are for you): 1. Electrify everything — energy, transport and manufacturing. 2. Power it all from renewables, obviously. 3. Remove all fossil fuel subsidies (more than $10b from taxpayers per year) and use this money to transform the grid. 4. Stop, or at least greatly reduce, eating the products of methane-belching cows, the farming of which is also responsible for most land-clearing in Australia. 5. Plant trees — still the best way to draw down CO2.

“6. Stop buying so much stuff — everything has a carbon cost. 7. Reuse, retain, recycle. You know the drill. 8. Move your money out of banks, insurance companies and superannuation funds that invest in fossil fuels — it only takes a few clicks. 9. Give your time, your talent or your treasure to organisations that are fighting the good fight — there is power in the collective. 10. And most of all, ask yourself: is my elected representative threatening the lives of my children and grandchildren, either by actively blocking climate action, or by simply delaying in the hope that some uninvented technology will fall from sky? You can help save the world with a pencil. Vote. Them. Out.”

Why Australia’s economy will get through this crisis — Josh Frydenberg (The Australian) ($): “Our tax incentives are driving investment, with purchases of machinery and equipment growing at their fastest rate in 12 years. HomeBuilder has created a pipeline of residential construction work, with commencements for new private homes the highest since the data series began in 1965. Coupled with a strong terms of trade, demand for our exports, particularly in resources and agriculture, has produced a trade surplus in June that is the highest on record. Forward-looking employment indicators, such as job ads, are 35% higher than before the pandemic, demonstrating continued demand for labour once restrictions ease.

“Consumption, which is nearly 60% of gross domestic product, is being supported not only by our emergency assistance payments but also by the substantial tax cuts we put in place in the last two budgets, with nearly $7b delivered back to taxpayers since July 1. In line with fiscal policy, monetary policy also remains accommodative. With a historically low cash rate of 0.1% our central bank is committed to supporting the economy by keeping borrowing costs low. It is buying bonds in the secondary market and provided $188b through a term funding facility for the banks.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

The Latest Headlines

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Australia

  • The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Christopher Kent will deliver a speech to FX Markets 2021 Conference Online.

  • Assistant Minister to the PM for Mental Health David Coleman, and NSW Mental Health Minister Bronwyn Taylor will discuss Australia’s mental health plan via webinar for CEDA.

  • Prime Minister Scott Morrison will meet with state and territory leaders to discuss the pandemic response.

Kaurna Country (also known as Adelaide)

  • The South Australian Government Department for Trade and Investment’s Leonie Muldoon will discuss trade and investment between Hong Kong and SA.

Whadjuk Noongar Country (also known as Perth)

  • The Annual Health2Ageducate Conference Perth will take place with the director of WA NDIS’s Quality and Safeguards division Samantha Jenkinson to speak.