Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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WHERE THE CORRIDORS ARE
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WA jobs to be bolstered by two new resources corridors

The Federal Government has ticked off two potential new resources corridors stretching the length of the nation in a bid to drive local and international investment, The West Australian can reveal.

Lanai Scarr

COVID-19Second wave avoided, bring on the long weekend

Queensland has avoided a widespread COVID-19 outbreak, with residents now encouraged to embrace their freedoms by supporting local businesses and tourism operators ahead of the long weekend.

JACK McKAY, THOMAS MORGAN, SHILOH PAYNE

Hotel quarantineDiplomatic loophole remains despite rule change

The Palaszczuk Government banned all diplomats and consular officials from getting exemptions from hotel quarantine but one word in its rules has ensured the “loophole” is not completely shut.

MICHAEL WRAY

Yuletide fearPrepare for COVID Christmas: PM

Hugs and handshakes look to remain on the naughty list this Christmas, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison flags COVID restrictions will likely be in place beyond December.

Matthew Killoran

CoronavirusRecord number of motorists turned back at border

More than 250 people have been turned back at Gold Coast border checkpoints as the ban on NSW travellers kicks in. And the Premier has warned on exemptions for NSW residents in border communities.

Greg Stolz & Jack McKay

Awkward intrusionPremier blames ‘human error’ for guard’s hotel breach

Mark McGowan has attempted to play down a quarantine breach in which a security guard barged into a guest’s room — allegedly in search of a TV remote — and then claimed he could not speak English.

Josh Zimmerman

Coronavirus‘Added complexity’ as police deal with COVID breach teens

Two teenage girls are in custody a after arriving in Queensland by train before the border was closed and being picked up in a Noosa shopping centre. But police admit there is an “added layer of complexity” in dealing with this particular situation. Pictures: Nine News/ABC

Chris Clarke, Thomas Chamberlin, Jessica Marszalek, Ellen Ransley, Amber Hooker

‘hideous thought’Sacrificing elderly to COVID-19 is ‘amoral’: PM

Scott Morrison has lashed suggestions Australia should sacrifice the elderly rather than continue down a path of economically-destructive lock downs, calling it a ‘hideous thought’.

Sarah Ison

COVID concernsJust one in four Aussies wearing face masks

Australians born overseas are more concerned about COVID-19 than those born in Australia and are more than twice as likely to wear face masks, the latest ABS household survey has found

Sarah Ison

PALMER HITS BACKWA can’t ‘declare war’ over border: Clive Palmer

Clive Palmer has given the strongest signal yet that he has no intention of dropping his High Court challenge of WA’s closed borders, saying Mark McGowan has no ‘power to declare war’.

Peter Law and Sarah Ison

Little altitudeMums and dads shun Qantas’ $500m share offer

The airline has blamed uncertainty over a second wave of coronavirus in Victoria for a big shortfall in its offer to retail shareholders.

Sean Smith

LATESTAged care restrictions lift as one new case recorded

Queensland has recorded its first new case of coronavirus in eight days, but because it is not linked to the Logan cluster, restrictions on aged care homes will be lifted.

Jack McKay

Deadliest dayVic death toll mounts on record day

Victoria has endured its deadliest day with 19 people succumbing to COVID-19 — the highest single day death toll since the pandemic began.

Think quickLook deeper to find solace this reporting season

The profit reporting season kicks off this week and investors will have to scrutinise results announcements in ways that would have been unnecessary just seven months ago.

Neale Prior

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Worker shortage
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Hard border complicates looming resource skills crunch

The expected shortage of more than 8000 skilled workers is set to be exacerbated by WA’s hard border closure that is making it difficult for companies to source workers from outside the State.

Stuart McKinnon

Five year planGovernment flags investment incentives for business

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the Government will use incentives to encourage businesses to invest during Australia’s worst economic downturn in decades.

Sarah Ison

Test yourselfWhat city hosted the 1984 Summer Olympics?

The Chase Australia’s official Shark, Brydon Coverdale, has created a new daily quiz challenge. Take his quiz.

Brydon Coverdale

Unhealthy habitWest Australians ‘most likely’ to drink during lockdown

The COVID-19 lockdown saw West Australians hit the bottle more than the rest of the country, with 45 per cent of WA respondents citing stress and anxiety as the reason.

Peter de Kruijff

PandemicCOVID crunch time: How life could change again after today

Queenslanders will soon find out if the state has avoided a COVID-19 outbreak linked to a cluster involving two infected women who allegedly lied to authorities to get back into Queensland after visiting Melbourne. And if all goes well, the Chief Health Officer will consider lifting certain restrictions.

Jack McKay, Kate Kyriacou

Travel‘Simply unacceptable’: Passengers left high and dry

Thousands of cancelled flights have left airline customers high and dry as Queensland opens up to domestic travel. Peak consumer bodies warn little can be done to protect against refund issues but they’ve urged travel companies and airlines to do more to soften the blow for customers.

Shiloh Payne

RentalsAirbnb calls for changes to help Qld recovery

The Palaszczuk Government has been asked to make it easier for Queenslanders to rent out their homes to holiday-makers to help in the COVID recovery.

Jessica Marszalek, Shiloh Payne

Cancelled tripsTravellers furious as refunds up in the air

Two Brisbane travellers have been offered refunds of thousands less than their bookings for overseas trips, with their travel group not disclosing where the unrecoverable costs have gone despite having offered full credits if they’d accepted a voucher to re-book.

Shiloh Payne

Four months and countingWA COVID transmission rate ‘better than NZ’

Our State has gone 120 days without any community spread of COVID-19, putting it well ahead of countries such as New Zealand, which has been held up as a poster child for containment.

Peter de Kruijff

Poll positionMorrison still preferred PM but Labor closing in

Scott Morrison's national approval ratings have been largely unaffected by Victoria's coronavirus outbreak or the WA hard border spat, according to the latest Newspoll.

Annabel Hennessy