As it happened: Sydney emerges from lockdown as NSW records 496 new local COVID-19 cases, eight deaths; Victoria cases continue to grow

• Victoria recorded 1612 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19, down from yesterday’s total of 1890 cases, and eight deaths. A woman in her 70s and a man in 60s from Darebin both died after contracting the virus, along with a man in 40s from Port Phillip, a man in his 80s from Maribyrnong, a man in 80s from Brimbank, a man in his 70s from the City of Melbourne, a man in his 70s from Glen Eira, and a woman in 70s from Whittlesea. Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said there are 677 people in hospital with COVID-19 in Victoria. Of those, 133 are in intensive care, and 94 are on a ventilator.

• Still in Victoria, the state’s Aged Care Minister Luke Donnellan quit the Labor ministry earlier today after a federal Labor MP, Anthony Byrne, alleged at a corruption inquiry that Mr Donnellan had paid Labor Party membership fees on behalf of others as part of a branch stacking operation led by former state minister and powerbroker Adem Somyurek. Branch stacking is not illegal but is against ALP rules. The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission is investigating whether state MPs engaged in corrupt conduct by “directing ministerial and electorate office staff to perform party‐political work during times when those staff are paid from public funds to perform ministerial or electorate work”. Mr Donnellan said in a statement that he had breached party rules but had “never misused public funds or resources in any way. And this has absolutely nothing to do with my staff. However, I don’t believe it is possible or appropriate to maintain my ministerial responsibilities given these rule breaches.” A major focus of the current inquiry, which continues tomorrow, is Mr Somyurek’s alleged activities. He has denied wrongdoing.

• A fly-in-fly-out miner from Victoria tested positive to coronavirus in Adelaide. The woman in her 30s arrived at Adelaide Airport from Melbourne on Sunday evening on Jetstar flight JQ778 and was tested for coronavirus at the airport before being taken to a medi-hotel to isolate. The state recorded two other COVID-19 cases: a woman in her 30s who arrived from overseas and has been in a medi-hotel since her arrival and a man in his 40s who is the co-driver of a truck driver who previously tested positive to the virus.
• Queensland hit the 70 per cent first-dose vaccination benchmark today for people aged 16 and over, as the state recorded zero community cases of COVID-19 for the sixth day in a row.
• Western Australia Western recorded no new cases of COVID-19 after a truck driver spent several days in the state while potentially infectious with COVID-19 earlier this month. The driver at the centre of the alert is now in South Australia, but arrived in WA on September 30 and left on October 3. He tested positive in Victoria on October 5 but WA health authorities were not notified of the result until October 9. Contact tracers have so far identified 10 close contacts of the driver and 24 casual contacts who are all in quarantine and undergoing testing. The co-driver of the truck has so far tested negative to the virus.

• The ACT recorded 32 new cases of COVID-19 in the community, as it became the first jurisdiction in Australia to reach the milestone of 70 per cent of people aged 12 and over (not 16 and over) being fully vaccinated against the virus. There are 18 people in hospital in the territory with COVID-19, seven of whom are in intensive care. Six people require ventilation. The ACT’s lockdown is set to end on Friday.

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off on the blog for today. My colleague Broede Carmody will be back with you early tomorrow.

Anyone who attended any of these sites at the specified times needs get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.

Early learning centres at Drouin, in West Gippsland, and Parkville were also added as tier-1 sites earlier on Monday.

The new additions come after three Victorian schools – Woodend Primary School, Queen of Peace Primary School in Altona Meadows and Virtual School Victoria in Thornbury – were identified as tier-1 exposure sites late on Sunday.

In an update on Monday evening, health authorities said there are now more than 50,000 active primary close contacts isolating in Victoria.

IBAC is investigating whether state MPs engaged in corrupt conduct by “directing ministerial and electorate office staff to perform party‐political work during times when those staff are paid from public funds to perform ministerial or electorate work”.

It is also examining whether “public money granted to community associations by the Victorian government has been misused to fund party‐political activities or for other improper purposes and, if so, whether the Ministers or other public officers involved in granting the funds have dishonestly performed their functions as public officers or have knowingly or recklessly breached public trust”.

Victorian Aged Care Minister Luke Donnellan quit the Labor ministry earlier today after he was accused by Mr Byrne of paying Labor Party membership fees on behalf of others as part of a branch stacking operation led by former state minister and powerbroker Adem Somyurek.

Branch stacking is not illegal but is against ALP rules.

Mr Donnellan said in a statement that while he had breached party rules he had “never misused public funds or resources in any way. And this has absolutely nothing to do with my staff.

“However, I don’t believe it is possible or appropriate to maintain my ministerial responsibilities given these rule breaches.”

The Age last week revealed Mr Byrne – the long-standing MP for Holt and a former factional ally of Mr Somyurek – was instrumental in prompting the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission probe after video recordings were covertly, and lawfully, made in his federal electorate office.

The footage raised allegations Mr Somyurek was involved in alleged branch-stacking and other improper behaviour, including directing taxpayer-funded electorate and ministerial staff to undertake party-political activity during official working hours. Mr Somyurek has denied wrongdoing.

Last week at the opening of BHPs South Flank mine site Mr McGowan wielded a spear and joked he would use it on Mr Perrottet.

“I’m serious... anyone want to take me on? Where’s Dom Perrottet?” he said.

The relationship between the two leaders has been icy ever since Mr Perrottet called Mr McGowan “the Gollum of Australian politics” (a reference to JRR Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings) on the day the WA Premier revealed a $5.6 billion budget surplus.

Mr Perrottet, then NSW Treasurer, was referring to the state’s GST share, which can no longer drop below 70 cents in the dollar even when other revenue sources such as iron ore royalties increase dramatically.

He said the GST was akin to Gollum’s “precious” ring at the heart of Tolkien’s novels.

After Mr Perrottet was elevated to Premier on October 5 Mr McGowan said he hadn’t congratulated him because he didn’t have his number but on Monday he revealed that both premiers had now spoken.

“He rang me it was a very good conversation and we talked about the GST. We agreed to disagree on the GST,” Mr McGowan said.

Where the premiers did agree was the nation’s relationship with China.

“Obviously we had a bit of a chat about the nation and … our trading position with our major trading partners, in particular China, and we both agreed that that needs to improve,” he said.

Mr McGowan said WA would remain closed to NSW as Greater Sydney emerged from lockdown but he had offered medical support.

“I said to him that as they open up, if they need additional medical support, obviously the other states are there to assist, including Western Australia,” he said.

“Whether it’s nurses or doctors or whatever it might be, the other states are there to assist NSW over that difficult transition period.

“He was quite interested in that.”

Luke Donnellan advised me this afternoon that he would be resigning from the ministry effective immediately.

I thank Luke for his contribution to the government in his various ministerial portfolios, particularly his hard work in child protection, disability and ageing.

He has been a passionate advocate for vulnerable kids, people with disability and older Victorians and he leaves a legacy of reform of which he can be proud.

Luke’s work has seen a transformation of the system for children and families in Victoria, investing in hundreds of dedicated child protection workers and navigators to do their important work supporting families and kids – making sure they have the stable foundation to begin their lives.

Due to inquiries currently on foot, I will not be making further comment.

Further announcements about the ministry will be made in due course.

Mr Donnellan has released his own statement. Branch stacking is not illegal but is against ALP rules, and the former minister said he accepted that he had “previously breached party rules while a minister”.

However, he said that he had never misused public funds or resources in any way and this had “absolutely nothing to do with my staff”.

IBAC is investigating whether public officers, including Victorian MPs, engaged in corrupt conduct while in public office “by directing ministerial and electorate office staff to perform party‐political work during times when those staff are paid from public funds to perform ministerial or electorate work”.

Asked earlier today by counsel assisting IBAC, Chris Carr, SC, if Mr Somyurek “was very happy to be ready to authorise or direct electorate or ministerial office staff to engage in these sorts of factional activities during work hours”, Mr Byrne responded: “Yes.”

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