There is speculation they could also still be required in settings such as public transport and at airports.
It comes as South Australia yesterday recorded a rise in the number of people with COVID in hospital – 236 cases, up from 222 the day before.
There are now 13 people in intensive care and two on a ventilator, among 38,031 total active cases in the state.
SA yesterday reported 4281 new infections, which is a slight increase from the 4222 reported on Sunday, with recent numbers indicating the state could have already topped its expected peak of about 5500 cases.
Campaigns pitch jobs against health care
The Prime Minister kicked off his bid for re-election focused on manufacturing, but day two will be all about creating jobs.
Scott Morrison will be in Sydney today peddling an election promise to create 1.3 million new jobs in the next five years.
The jobs pledge will be fulfilled by investing in the infrastructure, manufacturing and digital sectors to create more opportunities for workers.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese will start the day in Tasmania announcing Medicare support for regional patients.
If elected, an Albanese government would reinstate a 50 per cent regional loading for bulk-billed telehealth psychiatric consultations.
The commitment is expected to cost more than $31 million over four years, and support 450,000 consultations during that period – or more than 1.4 million appointments over 10 years.
During a visit to a canning company in regional NSW on Monday, Morrison pressed the start button on a special election label and watched as hundreds of blue cans saying “Scomo’s Strong Economy” rolled off the conveyor belt.
But it wasn’t all happy snaps as a group of locals wearing Hawaiian shirts and carrying ukuleles made their feelings about the Prime Minister clear.
“Be fair dinkum. If you’re going to take the credit for things, start to do action,” Vincentia resident Bob said.
Albanese will be trying to put day one of the campaign behind him after he was unable to answer questions on what the cash rate or national unemployment rates were during a media conference in Launxjmtzywceston.
But former prime minister John Howard didn’t see what the fuss was about.
“Anthony Albanese didn’t know the unemployment rate? So what?” he said, while campaigning with Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt in WA.
Albanese later owned up to the gaffe, saying he was happy to “fess up” to his mistakes.
Prominent South Australians urge justice system overhaul
A group of prominent South Australians including former senior judges and politicians across the party divide has called on the Malinauskas Government to embark on major reform of the state’s prison system, demanding an end to the state’s justice “revolving door”.
The Justice Reform Initiative, a national alliance backed by prominent Australians with professional knowledge or lived experience of the justice system, is today releasing a major report into the “state of incarceration” in SA, which urges a new approach to help cut recidivism rates and reduce the number of South Australians behind bars.
The Initiative’s SA patrons include former Labor Premier Lynn Arnold and Liberal Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond, former Supreme Court judge Robyn Layton QC, former Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Cannon, former Howard Government minister Robert Hill, ex-SA Attorney-General Chris Sumner and former Correctional Services and Families and Communities boss Sue Vardon.
It also includes Auxiliary Master of the Supreme and District Courts Peter Norman, academics Rick Sarre and Mark Halsey, inaugural SA Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly and the current Guardian for Children and Young People, former Greens senator Penny Wright.
The report says that “the SA prison population has grown by almost 50 per cent since 2012”, citing an “over-reliance on imprisonment as a default response to both disadvantage and offending [which] has resulted in a situation where too many people in the justice system are unnecessarily trapped in a cycle of harmful and costly incarceration”.
“Instead of reducing the likelihood of reoffending, prison entrenches existing disadvantage and increases the likelihood of ongoing criminal justice system involvement,” it argues.
“Many people leave prison jobless, homeless and without the necessary supports to build healthy, productive, connected, and meaningful lives in the community.
“The criminal justice system is characterised by a cycle of disadvantage, where people enter and return to prison repeatedly.”
The group says this “’revolving door’ model is forecast to cost South Australian taxpayers $361 million this year”, on top of which “the state government is in the process of spending an additional $187 million on new prison beds”.
Justice Reform Initiative executive director Mindy Sotiri called on the Malinauskas Government to “seize the opportunity for evidence-based reform”.
“We are deeply alarmed by the fact that SA taxpayers are spending $1.5 million this financial year for the business case for a ‘rehabilitation prison’,” she said. “Coupled with the $187 million allocated for new prison beds, this is money which the state cannot afford to spend on a failed and antiquated approach to criminal justice.
“South Australia has a proud history of leading the nation in many areas of social reform, and we urge the Malinauskas Government to take this chance for a new direction which is backed by evidence and would deliver better outcomes for all South Australians… it’s time to invest in people, not prisons, and tackle the underlying social issues that funnel many disadvantaged people into the criminal justice system.”
The group advocates community-led diversionary and post-release programs, addressing homelessness, social and cultural community connection, and facilitating access to a range of services and supports including for mental health, cognitive impairment and problematic drug and alcohol use.
They also want legislative change to “prevent children unnecessarily entering the justice system in the first place” by raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
IS fanatic guilty of stabbing MP to death
A “fanatical Islamist” inspired by Islamic State has been found guilty of murdering veteran British politician David Amess by knifing him to death in a frenzied attack in a church where he was meeting voters.
Ali Harbi Ali, 26, a British citizen and son of a former media adviser to a prime minister of Somalia, repeatedly stabbed Amess in an attack last October for what he said was revenge for the lawmaker’s support for air strikes on Syria.
Prosecutors said he was a “committed, fanatical, radicalised Islamist terrorist”.
“This was a horrific act of terrorism motivated by religious and ideological beliefs,” said Nick Price, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division.
“Ali chose to commit this abhorrent crime for his own selfish and hateful reasons.”
Ali was found guilty of murder and preparation of terrorism at London’s Old Bailey court after the jury took less than half an hour to reach a verdict.
Rachele snares Rising Star nomination
Crows draft sensation Josh Rachele has capped a stunning opening month in the AFL with a Rising Star nomination for his three goal, 19-possession game against the Bombers.
After debuting with five goals in Round One, the nod caps off a head-turning four games for Rachele, who turned 19 yesterday.
The teen’s 11 goals thus far puts him at the top of the Crows’ goal-scoring tally for the season.
Rachele, taken with pick 6 in last year’s draft, said he was “obviously honoured to get the nomination this week”.
“I’ve loved every minute of my time at the club so far, loved playing with my teammates and in front of the fans and the Showdown win in Round Three was an early highlight,” he told the Crows website.
“I’m excited about what we can achieve in the future.”
Josh Rachele is the AFL’s Rising Star nominee for Round Four. Photo: Michael Errey / InDaily
Cadee bomb helps Bullets see off 36ers
Kai Sotto produced his best performance in NBL ranks but it was former Adelaide player Jason Cadee who buried his old team and secured victory for Brisbane.
Cadee’s three-point dagger with 10 seconds left has iced a 93-85 victory for the Bullets over the fast-finishing Adelaide 36ers at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
