ZERO cases in NSW - The Premier announces restrictions will be eased- from this Friday

19/10/2020

(See Translation in Arabic section)

Sydney - M E Times Int'l: NSW has recorded four coronavirus cases in hotel quarantine but no community transmission in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday.

It comes as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that several virus restrictions would be eased – the first starting this week.

Under the changes, gatherings in outdoor public spaces and group bookings in restaurants will be increased to 30 people from Friday.

“We’re trying to make things as free as possible for our citizens, but it’s really, really important to maintain that level of COVID safety,” the Premier told reporters.

“So, yes, you can now have a gathering of up to 30 people outdoors. Whether that’s a family barbecue or an office arrangement, you can have group bookings of up to 30 people, which is fantastic.”

Previously, 20 people could gather in outdoor spaces, while 10 people could go in groups to hospitality venues.

Wedding guest limits will also be lifted to 300 people from December 1 subject to the 4sq m rule indoors and the 2sq m rule outdoors.

 “These changes will provide a big boost to our hospitality venues,” the Premier said.

Ms Berejiklian advised families planning Christmas gatherings to hold those at venues or outside, if possible, because those places were considered safer than confined spaces inside people’s homes.

“I would like to ask families to consider perhaps going to a restaurant or a hotel or a formal hospitality venue for Christmas lunch this year, or Christmas dinner,” the Premier said.

Premier’s controversial pitch to voters

Brisbane: In a warehouse south of Brisbane, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk delivered her pitch on Sunday to re-form government in the upcoming Queensland election.

Among a list of policies largely focused on education investments and job creation, the Labor leader committed to introducing legislation for voluntary assisted dying with a conscience vote as well as $171 million in a new palliative care plan.

“I want to do more to provide greater comfort and dignity for people approaching the end of their lives,” she said.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington opted for a far more glitzy campaign launch at the Emporium Hotel in South Brisbane where she focused on the economy, insisting the election was a decision about “who can lead Queensland out of this recession”.

The Liberal-National Party leader spruiked the “nation building” New Bradfield scheme, as she delivered the LNP’s “bold and ambitious” four point plan: investing for growth, unleashing Queensland industry, supercharging the regions, and securing the future.

Man shot in Condell Park in Sydney’s southwest

Sydney: A man has died after a shooting in Sydney’s southwest suburbs.

Emergency services were called to reports of a shooting in Simmat Avenue in Condell Park just after 7.30am on Monday.

NSW Police said a man was found nearby with multiple gunshot wounds.

Paramedics tried to revive the man but he died at the scene.

Police said Simmat Avenue and Curtin Place were closed in both directions. People have been advised to avoid the areas.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said paramedics were called to an address in Condell Park just after 7.30am.

He said a man was treated by four ambulance crews at the scene.

Footage from the scene shows a large police presence, including Public Order and Riot Squad officers, in Curtin Place.

A police helicopter was also hovering above.

Police said officers from Bankstown Police Area Command had established a crime scene and begun investigations with assistance from the Homicide Squad.

George Pell holds public mass in Rome for 10th anniversary of Mother Mary MacKillop’s canonisation

George Pell has conducted a public mass in Rome celebrating the 10th anniversary of the canonisation of Mother Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint.

Cardinal Pell held the service over the weekend in the chapel of Domus Australia, near Porta Pia, in the presence of former prime minister Tony Abbott and dignitaries including the US ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich, and her husband, the US Republican politician and former speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich.

It was the Cardinal’s first mass in Rome since leaving the Vatican in July 2017 to face a sexual abuse trial in Australia and comes days after being received by Pope Francis in the library of the Vatican’s apostolic palace.

During the Mass, a prayer was said for Tim Fischer, the former deputy prime minister and leader of the National Party who oversaw the canonisation of Mother Mary MacKillop when he was Australia’s representative to the Holy See.

Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne in 1842 and was canonised in 2010. She had founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and established schools for the poor throughout Australia.

Gladys Berejiklian: “It wasn’t a normal relationship. He wasn’t my boyfriend.

Sydney: The NSW Premier told 2GB’s Ben Fordham that she had known Mr Maguire for more than a decade, which she found “appealing”, and had built up a close friendship and trust that had since been shattered into pieces following bombshell revelations of an illegal visa for cash scam.

“When you’ve known them for so long, you trust them,” she said.

“It wasn’t a normal relationship. He wasn’t my boyfriend.

“Close and personal is the best way to describe it – after a certain point it became more.”

The Premier said she hoped the relationship would progress further but it was never “sufficiently substantial” enough to introduce Mr Maguire to her family and friends.

“I didn’t want to introduce someone unless it was the real deal,” Ms Berejiklian said.

 “It’s excruciating to talk about.

“I have less dating experience than the average person. I’ve always been focused on my job, work, family and have had no time for anything else.”

The Premier remained adamant she had no idea of Mr Maguire’s dodgy dealings and said had she had known she would “have done something about it”.

MPs are allowed to do deals and earn money but they must be disclosed in the right way.

“Everyone knows I’m a stickler, there would be no benefit if someone told me they’d done wrong,” she said, when asked about how she was so oblivious to what Mr Maguire was doing behind her back.

She said Mr Maguire was furious when she sacked him in 2018 for corruption claims but argued she couldn’t abandon him completely because he had lost all his friends and was in a dark place.

The Premier also argued she had always remained transparent and open to assisting ICAC despite not disclosing her relationship earlier.

“I had done nothing wrong and I had confidence in the process. They (ICAC) would have come to me if they needed anything,” she said.

When probed again about a tapped phone call where Ms Berejiklian said “I don't need to know that part” when Mr Maguire was speaking about businesses deals, the Premier said it did not cross her mind that he was up to anything untoward.

“I can’t assure you I was actually listening to the conversation,” she said.

“Knowing myself, I probably wasn’t paying attention.”

While maintaining a stern public facade over the last whirlwind of a week, Mr Berejiklian confessed she hadn’t always had dry eyes.

“Privately there have been tears,” she said.

Arsonist tries to burn down Puffing Billy Railway Monbulk Trestle Bridge

Sydney: Tourism Australia launches campaign to 'holiday here this year'

An arsonist is believed to be behind an attempt to burn down an iconic 120-year-old Victorian tourist attraction.

A fire on the Puffing Billy Railway Trestle Bridge east of Melbourne early on Monday morning has been deemed suspicious by police.

Emergency services were called to the bridge, which runs over the Monbulk Creek and Belgrave-Gembrook Road in Belgrave, at 2am after receiving reports of flames on the tracks.

When fire crews arrived, they found the small fire burning in leaf litter had self-extinguished and did not cause any damage to the iconic wooden bridge.

Sergeant Madeline Gillard said an arson chemist would examine the scene on Monday to try to determine the cause of the blaze.