As it happened: NSW records one new local COVID-19 case in Bondi; restrictions ease in Victoria as state records three new cases

Thanks for following along today, I’m Natassia Chrysanthos signing off the blog for another evening. Here’s a recap of the major developments:

• NSW recorded one new case of COVID-19 in eastern Sydney this afternoon, after 40 days without community transmission. The driver, a man in his 60s, attended several venues in the eastern suburbs and one in North Ryde while potentially infectious. “Urgent investigations into the source of the infection and contact tracing are underway, as is genome sequencing,” NSW Health said in a statement.
• Victoria recorded three new cases and eased several restrictions. Melbourne’s 25km travel limit will be removed and Melburnians will be able to visit regional Victoria from 11.59pm on Thursday. Gatherings of up to 20 people will be allowed outside in Melbourne, while household gatherings can involve two visitors per day plus dependents. Gyms, indoor entertainment venues, electronic gaming venues can open.
• Greens Senator Larissa Waters was set to introduce a bill in Parliament to establish an inquiry into Christian Porter’s fitness to be a minister into Parliamen. At a press conference this afternoon she said a rape allegation still hung over Mr Porter’s head. He denies it and pursued a defamation claim against the ABC over the claims.
• Australia’s new free trade agreement with the UK received mixed feedback. Business groups were impressed but unions were furious at the announcement of a new agricultural visa accompanying the deal, which will no longer require British backpackers to do farm work but instead brings in workers from 10 southeast Asian nations.

• And finally, Australia’s minimum wage will go up by almost $20 a week after the independent umpire decided that the economy had improved dramatically. The absolute minimum wage will be $772 a week or $20.33 an hour. It will come into effect from next month for most industries but be delayed until September for retail and November for aviation and tourism.

Have a lovely evening - we’ll be back again early tomorrow morning.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters will introduce a bill to establish an inquiry into Christian Porter’s fitness to be a minister into Parliament later today.

At a press conference this afternoon she said a rape allegation still hung over Mr Porter’s head. He denies it and pursued a defamation claim against the ABC over the claims.

Jo Dyer, a friend of the late woman who accused Mr Porter, said that defamation action had ended “not with a bang but with an embarrassing whimper”.

Senator Waters said she hoped to have a Senate inquiry into her bill, which could act as a de facto inquiry itself.

But she predicted the government would use its numbers to ensure there would be no hearings.

“The women of Australia deserve better, Kate deserves better,” Senator Waters said.

A record number of vaccine doses were administered in Queensland yesterday, the latest health department data on the rollout shows.

A total of 30,676 received a COVID-19 vaccine shot yesterday, the first time the state had recorded more than 30,000 doses in a single day.

The ACT also racked up a record day for vaccinations, with 3160 doses carried out on Tuesday.

You can see how the rollout is progressing in your state or territory using the interactive below.

As it stands, about 21.4 per cent of Australia’s population has received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose and 2.3 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.

But the true percentage of the population that has been fully vaccinated is higher than 2.3 per cent due to patchy reporting of second doses.