Australia news live update: PM says ‘time for governments to step back’; Vic pandemic laws on line as Somyurek returns; Tyrrell search continues

Looks like the Victorian press conference today will indeed be confirming the restrictions to be eased once the state hits its 90% double vaccination rate.

Victoria’s fire authority has declared its first total fire ban of the season, as the state government prepares 50 planes to assist in fighting bushfires this summer, repots AAP.

The Mallee is forecast to experience temperatures in the mid 30s, strong and gusty winds and a risk of thunderstorms on Thursday.

With a severe fire danger rating, the Country Fire Authority has declared the region will be subject to a total fire ban for Thursday.

It means no open air fire can be lit or remain alight from 12.01am to 11.59pm, and strict rules also apply for use of farm machinery, chainsaws and lawn mowers.

A very high fire danger rating is forecast for the nearby Wimmera region on Thursday, while it is deemed high for the Northern Country and South West and low-moderate for the rest of the state.

Meanwhile, emergency services minister Jaclyn Symes says 50 aircraft, including firebombing planes, will be “strategically placed” across Victoria over the summer to help firefighting efforts.

These include the state’s highest capacity helicopter, a CH47 Chinook carrying 11,000 litres of water or retardant, which will be used in the hottest part of the day and can continue into the night.

Two large air tankers that can carry 10,000 litres and require less room for takeoff and landing will be based at Avalon Airport, one of which will be shared with Queensland.

These aircraft are always a critical weapon in our firefighters’ arsenal during summer, ensuring that Victoria has the strongest possible fire response each year as we head into the fire season.

While the outlook for this fire season indicates a lower threat of prolonged bushfires, grass and crop blazes remain a high risk across the state after average-above average rainfall and strong fuel growth.

We will be hearing from the Victorian premier at 10.30am. Although the press conference is not about the pandemic legislation, I’m sure Daniel Andrews will get asked some questions on the topic, so it should be well worth a listen.

I’m just hunting down the exact quotes for you by Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy, who has told ABC radio that the sports minister Martin Pakula is “a little unhinged” after the Labor frontbencher suggested Liberal MPs were cozying up to protesters spreading violent rhetoric.

Well, Pakula has now responded, doubling down and accusing the state Liberals of not doing enough to condemn neo-Nazism:

NSW Health has managed to get the office number announcement up and, as expected, the state has recorded 262 new Covid-19 cases.

We now know that the state has also recorded three Covid-19 deaths in the latest reporting period:

Prime minister Scott Morrison was asked what he thought about some of his state Liberal counterparts mingling with protesters when, at other times during the same demonstrations, prop gallows had been displayed and some in the crowd had called for the execution of high-profile Victorian politicians.

Reporter:

What do you think of state-level MPs joining in on these protests and associating themselves with these messages?

Morrison:

I don’t support any of that.

Oh, and we have some awesome blog news this morning! You can now filter the blog to read only the key events, just in case you want to quickly get across all the biggest stories of the day:

It seems NSW Health is having difficulty tweeting out the Covid-19 numbers this morning, however, the new data is available on their website.

The state has reported 262 new Covid-19 cases in the latest reporting period.