Tag: australia

Australian Officials Issue Soviet-Style COVID Broadcasts: Begin Turning in Your Neighbors Now

In the Australian state of New South Wales, residents are dealing with an outbreak of the COVID-19 delta variant so serious that the top elected state official is urging citizens to rat on one another. Things are so dire that its top public health official wants you to stop having conversations with other people.

And who could blame them? After all, the state — Australia’s most populous and home to Sydney — reported 321 new cases on Saturday.

No, I’m not missing a zero or three there. On Aug. 6, 321 people tested positive for coronavirus. According to government data, 81 lives have been lost in NSW so far during the pandemic.

And yet, parts of the state are currently in nearly total lockdown, with stay-at-home orders for the Greater Sydney area and people only able to leave their home if they “have a reasonable excuse” — including obtaining food, going to work, getting medical treatment and exercising, according to the state government website.

No visitors to your residence unless you live alone — in which case, you can have a “nominated visitor,” provided they aren’t a nominated visitor for someone else. Places of worship aren’t open to the public. Outdoor gatherings are limited to two people. Most retail outlets are closed.

And for rule-breakers, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is encouraging citizens to turn them in.

“Can I also stress that people should expect a greater police presence, a greater focus on compliance because we know the recurring incidents where the disease is transferring — it’s in workplaces and it’s within households,” she said on July 27, after the lockdown was extended another month.

“We really need people to do the right thing at all times.”

“Do not let your guard down. If you see somebody not doing the right thing, please, report it,” she said. “When any of us see anything which is not according to the health rules, or you see even in your own workplace, report it.

“We can’t put up with people continuing to do the wrong thing because it’s setting us all back.”

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Australia will Use Military to Enforce Sydney Covid Lockdown – Troops will Knock on Doors to Make Sure Residents are at Home

Australia is sending troops to help local police enforce the new Covid lockdown in Sydney.

Australia’s largest city went into a hard lockdown – again – last Saturday amid rising Covid cases.

Sydney ordered a shutdown of all construction sites and non-essential retail.

Nearly 1 million residents are banned from leaving their neighborhood for work because a man in his 80s died from/with Covid.

Anti-lockdown protests erupted in Sydney this week because Aussies are sick of the restrictions.

So now Australia is using the military to enforce their lockdown, Reuters reported.

Beginning Monday, 300 troops will patrol Sydney and knock on doors to make sure people are following orders to stay at home.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 80% vaccination rate is needed before reopening Australia’s largest city – Only 14% of people in Australia are fully vaccinated.

“If you get vaccinated, there will be special rules that apply to you. Why? Because if you’re vaccinated, you present less of a public health risk. You are less likely to get the virus. You are less likely to transmit it,” the prime minister told reporters, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

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MP Calls for Unvaccinated Australians to Be Banned From Public Places

An Australian MP has called for people who refuse to take the vaccine to be prohibited from returning to their job and banned from public places.

The Independent reports: “Upper House politician Frank Pangallo from the SA-Best party, has demanded that vaccination be made mandatory for workplaces, travel and when visiting public or hospitality venues.”

According to Adelaide Now, Pangallo said unvaccinated citizens must have their movements controlled and restricted in an effort to combat the ever-evolving virus.

“While people might still have a choice whether or not to get vaccinated, what they can do in the community will need to be controlled and restricted,” Pangallo said.

“I understand people will think this is a rather drastic and draconian step, but this pandemic continues to evolve in ways and waves nobody can predict.

“There would need to be a requirement incorporated with QR code information that if you want to travel on public transport, airlines, enter venues, shopping malls, restaurants, and cafes, you will need to show you have been vaccinated.

“It might also have to apply for the workplaces,” he added.

Earlier this month, in what was described as potentially “one of the largest petitions in parliamentary history,” over 300,000 Australians called on the House of Representatives to ban mandatory vaccinations in Australia.

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Top Health Officer Orders Australians: ‘Don’t Have a Conversation’ With Each Other

The chief health officer of New South Wales gave a press conference telling Australians that they shouldn’t “engage in conversation with each other,” even if they’re wearing masks, in order to reduce the transmission of COVID.

Yes, really.

Dr. Kerry Chant made the remarks in response to people in NSW being ordered to comply with yet another lockdown triggered by just a handful of new cases, which included a man in Cootamundra who visited a Woolworths supermarket, Pizza Hut restaurant, petrol station and Officeworks store.

“Whilst it’s human nature to engage in conversation with others, to be friendly, unfortunately this is not the time to do that,” said Chant.

“So even if you run into your next door neighbor in the shopping center…don’t start up a conversation, now is the time for minimizing your interactions with others, even if you’ve got a mask, do not think that affords total protection, we wanna be absolutely sure that as we go about our daily lives we do not come into contact with anyone else that would pose a risk,” she added.

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New South Wales bans church singing due to COVID – even over Zoom

Another example of Australia’s sometimes draconian Covid restrictions has come to light in reports that say the authorities in New South Wales have banned singing in churches – even if it is for the purpose of being live streamed to a physically distant congregation.

The current rules have been in force since June 26 and are meant to last two weeks amid a fresh round of lockdowns. The Public Health Order states that, “singing by audiences at indoor shows or by congregants at indoor places of worship are not allowed.”

The thinking behind banning singing among groups of people is that the virus is transmitted faster than through the act of speaking; however, the fact that singing on Zoom, i.e., to a camera is also banned, has left some church leaders in Australia upset with the decision.

The New South Wales order, shared with religious leaders in an email, says that the purpose is to protect those who “may be involved in assisting in live streaming,” and also those who “may be in regional communities attending a service.”

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Australia’s drug regulator considers referring vaccine hesitant Facebook posts to police

Australia’s drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), is considering referring Facebook posts containing claims about COVID vaccine deaths to the police after a post showing Labor backbencher Julian Hill getting his vaccine was met with mass pushback from vaccine skeptics.

The post was ratioed with almost twice the number of comments to engagements – a common sign that a post is unpopular.

Many of the comments noted that the vaccine is “experimental,” described Hill’s post as “propaganda,” and voiced their objections to the vaccine.

But The Guardian Australia focused on alleged posts from some Facebook users that purportedly contained an image that cited the TGA and claimed that COVID-19 vaccines have caused more than 200 deaths.

The figure is a reference to the TGA’s disclosure in its May 27 COVID-19 vaccine weekly safety report that it has received “210 reports of deaths following immunisation.” However, the TGA insists that only one of these deaths was caused by the vaccines.

After The Guardian Australia contacted the TGA, it said the alleged posting of claims that the vaccine had caused more than 200 deaths were “particularly concerning” and that it would consider referring these posts to the federal police.

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Australia: Minister Refuses to Rule Out Electronic Ankle Bracelets to Enforce Home Quarantine

A senior government minister refused to rule out Australians being forced to wear electronic ankle bracelets, even if they are fully vaccinated, to make sure they are complying with home quarantine orders.

The astounding suggestion was made by journalist David Speers during an interview with Employment Minister Stuart Robert about how authorities would ensure returning travelers stayed at home.

“What sort of ideas would there be for this? Regular visits, inspections to make sure they’re home, ankle bracelets, some sort of monitoring, how do you do it?” Speers asked.

“Mr Robert did not rule out those prospects,” reports NCA NewsWire.

“All of that will need to be worked through before a policy prescription goes live,” said Robert.

The minister also mentioned the authoritarian methods that were already in place to enforce the policy.

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Melbourne Schools Encouraged to Stop Saying ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ in Favour of More Inclusive Language

Schools in Melbourne, Australia, have been called upon to abandon using words such as ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ in favour of more so-called gender-inclusive language.

As a part of the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network’s #SpeakingUpSpeaksVolumes campaign, which aims to support ‘LGBTQI+’ children in schools, the advocacy group has suggested that schools in Melbourne fly rainbow flags, scrap single-sex bathrooms, and introduce non-gendered sports teams.

The campaign has also called for teachers, as well as pupils, to refrain from using words such as ‘boyfriend’, which they say should be replaced with “partner”. The group said that parental pronouns such as mum and dad should also be abandoned for the more inclusive “parent”, the Daily Mail reported.

The CEO of the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network, Chris Carter, said that the #SpeakingUpSpeaksVolumes campaign aims to increase support for LGBTQI+ children.

“The simple act of openly showing support can be a catalyst for great change for the better and it’s often the less obvious moments that can be the most impactful to someone’s wellbeing,” Carter told the Herald Sun per the Mail.

Headteacher of the Elevation Secondary College in Craigieburn, Colin Bourke, said that schools in Melbourne have already begun adopting measures to make LGBTQI+ pupils feel welcomed, including “gender non-specific bathrooms and taking down some of the boys and girls signs”.

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“That’s Not Orwellian, THIS Is Orwellian”: Aussies Mulling ID For Access To Facebook, Twitter, Tinder

The Australian government is mulling a proposal which would require citizens to provide at least two forms of identification if they want to use social media, under the guise of ‘battling online bullying’ and more easily report users to authorities.

Under the guise of preventing online bullying, the Morrison government’s plan would require ‘100 points of identification’ in order to use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram – and online dating platforms such as Tinder, according to news.com.au. To satisfy the ‘100 points’ requirement, citizens would need to combine ‘Category 1’ methods of identification (birth certificate, passport, citizenship papers) with ‘Category 2’ ID (Valid government-issued license, public employee photo ID, doctor’s note).

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Australian School Forces Young Boys To Collectively Apologize To Female Classmates For ‘Sexism’ And ‘Rape’

THE BRAUER COLLEGE SECONDARY SCHOOL IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA HAS COME UNDER FIRE THIS WEEK AFTER IT WAS REVEALED THAT 12-YEAR-OLD MALE STUDENTS WERE FORCED TO STAND AND “APOLOGIZE” TO FEMALE CLASSMATES ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE MALE GENDER TO ATONE FOR SOCIETAL “SEXISM” AND “RAPE.”

A post ostensibly written on SnapChat by a male student at the school, “Today at Brauer they made every guy stand up and apologise to every girl for rape, sexual assault and so on. Guys are always the ‘bad guys’ in everything these days. I’m not saying girls do not go through s**t. Guys go through as much s**t as girls do.”

The news sparked alarm from parents, and the forced apology was confirmed as real after multiple students came forward to speak about the apology there were forced to perform by the school.

One mother stated that her son “now has this misconception that all boys are now looked at as predators” as a result of the compulsory mass apology.

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