I wanted to give you a little bit more detail about that $150m announcement on accomodation for people sleeping rough in Melbourne.
As. mentioned, the funding will extend the current hotel accomodation scheme for 2,000 rough sleepers, which started when the pandemic began in March, until April 2021. Again, in Victoria homeless people were asked to contribute to the cost of that accomodation, while in other states they were not.
In the mean time, the Victorian government said it will arrange to lease 1,100 properties from the private rental market to provide a “permanent home for people once they leave emergency accomodationâ€.
At the same time, the first 1,000 new social housing units promised by the Andrews government several years ago are coming online now, and homeless people will also be moved into those units.
Each person moved into a home will be given a tailored support package, including mental health support, drug and alcohol support, and family violence support, and the government said it will provide support to help people “sustain a tenancy†including helping with a bond and initial rent payments.
The foreign minister, Marise Payne, and defence minister, Linda Reynolds, are in Washington DC today ahead of an Australian-US ministerial consultations (Ausmin) meeting, which will take place on Tuesday (or tomorrow US time).
Payne told the ABC’s AM program that it was important these talks still take place in person.
We have been having very many meetings and discussions through those means in recent months… but I do think Ausmin meetings are different, they are very significant.
She said that was particularly the case for this meeting, given the global challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and the “strategic challenges†posed by China.
Payne said there were “a large range of issues for us to discuss,†with aa focus on “further cooperation between our two countries on health securityâ€.
She said they were following Covid-19 safety procedures in all meetings and would quarantine for 14-days upon their return to Australia.
Good morning,
Aged care workers will be able to access paid pandemic leave from tomorrow, in an effort to ensure people do not come to work with mild Covid-19 symptoms. It follows a landmark decision by the full bench of the Fair Work Commission on Monday, which added the two-week leave paid leave entitlement for people working in residential aged care under the Aged Care Award, the Nurses Award and the Health Professionals Award.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has repeatedly said that the spread of Covid-19 in Melbourne is largely due to people going to work while sick or symptomatic. Australia recorded a record high number of cases yesterday, thanks to a huge 532 cases reported in Victoria. As of yesterday there were 683 active Covid-19 cases linked to aged care, including staff and residents.
Meanwhile, homeless people in Victoria will be able to stay in a hotel and off the streets until April 2021. More than 2,000 people sleeping rough in Melbourne were moved into hotels when the pandemic was declared in March, to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading among those vulnerable communities. This morning, they announced $150m in funding to extend that package until April next year while moving people across into long-term low-cost private rentals.
Andrews said:
This pandemic has laid bare many inequalities – you can’t stay home if you don’t have one and you can’t wash your hands regularly if you don’t have access to the bare basics of hot water and soap.
This is our opportunity to help break the cycle of homelessness – because now more than ever, home means stability, security and safety.
In March, we reported that homeless people in Melbourne had been asked to make “significant co-payments†to their hotel accomodation – we’re not sure if that will continue.
In other news today, authorities in NSW have urged people not to attend the Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney today, after organisers lost an appeal yesterday to allow the march to go ahead. Organisers have said they will ensure people comply with Covid-19 restrictions in NSW, and wear face-masks and socially distance.
Let’s crack on. You can follow me on twitter @callapilla and email me at calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com