Uniquely Nelson

New Zealand travellers arriving as part of the newly minted international arrangements have left state authorities scrambling after taking internal flights to jurisdictions outside of the travel bubble. Twenty-one travellers arrived at Melbourne Airport. Photo: 123RF Under the original arrangements, New Zealanders were granted access to fly into New South Wales and the Northern Territory. But on Friday night it emerged that some trans-Tasman arrivals took connecting flights to Melbourne. Victorian authorities have now spoken to all 55 people who were expected to arrive in the state to explain local coronavirus rules. In a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said some of the travellers were in family groups, with most staying in private homes. Three of the travellers expected to arrive in Victoria did not end up crossing the border into the state and remain in NSW. And one who was in Victoria returned to NSW on Sunday. "Twenty-one of the 55 travellers arrived at Melbourne Airport… the remainder arrived using other modes of transport," the statement said. "DHHS authorised officers continue to meet incoming flights at Melbourne Airport and provide information to arriving passengers." Authorities in West Australia have also confirmed 23 people, including a child, all from New Zealand, are in hotel or home quarantine after flying into Perth overnight. WA has a hard border and Premier Mark McGowan said the Federal Government needed to provide more support. "We would like further assistance from the Commonwealth, in particular, about making sure that those people who come on aircraft into WA that we get proper manifests and proper advice as to those people that are coming so we can deal with these situations," he said. Unlike Western Australia, Victoria does not have restrictions on incoming domestic arrivals, but Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also criticised the way the New Zealand travel arrangements unfolded. Victoria's state premier Daniel Andrews. Photo: AFP He said his government had repeatedly requested to be excluded from the arrangement. "We were asked, 'Do you want to be in the bubble?' and we said no," Andrews told reporters on Sunday, while announcing the relaxation of some of the state's lockdown measures. The Premier said the Federal Government originally advised him there were 17 travellers from New Zealand who had entered Victoria, but it later emerged there were up to 55 possible arrivals. Authorities have been racing to get in touch with them and make sure they are aware of lockdown restrictions. "So this is gold standard, apparently, according to the Federal Government," Andrews said. "I've got no power to stop them coming in," he added. "No-one is alleging that the virus is hiding in New Zealand, it's not. "What was concerning is that a bunch of people turned up and we didn't know about it." Andrews wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday, calling for new arrivals from across the Tasman to be prevented from catching internal flights from New South Wales to Victoria. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Photo: AFP "I urgently request your action to prohibit onward travel of passengers under the Safe Travel Zone arrangements into Victoria," the letter says. A spokesperson for the Federal Government released a statement arguing the onus was on the incoming passenger to make themselves aware of the requirements when they travel internally. "On arrival into Australia from New Zealand, passengers are advised to check the entry requirements for other states which includes needing to undertake hotel quarantine if they travel to WA," the statement said. "It is exactly the same arrangement for if a traveller from any Australian state went to WA, they would be required to undertake hotel quarantine." The statement said there had been meetings with state health authorities that foreshadowed how it would work. "The travel bubble is working exactly as it was outlined at multiple meetings of the expert medical panel over the past fortnight where the CHO [Chief Health Officer] from WA was in attendance," the spokesperson said. "As per the 18 September National Cabinet decision, airlines must provide passenger records to state authorities if requested for contact tracing." - ABC

The Dutch royal family is back in the country after a holiday that lasted just one day, following a coronavirus-related public backlash. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima say their holiday was a distraction the Netherlands does not need. Photo: AFP King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima headed off to the Greek sun on Friday but flew back last night. They left as a new partial lockdown was introduced and although they did not break any rules they said they had been affected by intense criticism. Prime Minister Mark Rutte is under pressure to explain any advice he may have given. The royals flew out on a government plane but were immediately criticised for going on holiday when the population was being advised to stay at home as much as possible to curb the spread of Covid-19. They flew back on a scheduled KLM flight and the royal standard was flying over the palace in The Hague last night. The royal statement read: "We do not want to leave any doubts about it: in order to get the Covid-19 virus under control, it is necessary that the guidelines are followed. The debate over our holiday does not contribute to that." There appeared to be some confusion about who in government knew about the trip and whether advice was given. The Dutch monarchy has no formal role in the day-to-day running of the Netherlands. But the Ministry of General Affairs, headed by the prime minister, is responsible for what the monarchy says and does. As a result, several MPs are calling on Rutte to explain why he did not advise the royals to cancel their holiday. "If Rutte had said that this was a bad idea, you can assume that the king would have changed his plans," said Peter Rehwinkel, leader of the PvdA party. Prime Minister Mark Rutte is facing pressure over what advice he provided. Photo: AFP / ANP The GroenLinks leader also called the trip "an error in judgment" and abandoning the trip was the "only correct decision". The daily tally of coronavirus infections continues to grow in the Netherlands. More than 8000 new cases were recorded yesterday for the first time since the country's outbreak began. Bars, restaurants and cannabis "coffee shops" have been ordered to close for four weeks. It is not the first time the royal couple have been in the spotlight for their conduct. In August, they were pictured breaking social distancing rules with a restaurant owner during another trip to Greece. The royal family's annual budget is under review amid growing pressure from opposition lawmakers. -BBC

Australia's state of Victoria, the epicentre of the country's coronavirus outbreak, will see some of its months-long restrictions eased as of Monday but retailers and restaurants must wait longer, the state's premier said. Melbourne residents enjoying a run. Photo: AFP After more than 100 days in a strict lockdown, the five million people living in Melbourne, Victoria's capital, will be able to spend as much time outdoors as they wish, but must stay within a 25-kilometre radius from their homes, Premier Daniel Andrews said. Public gatherings will remain tightly limited, and retailers and restaurants must operate only on take-away or delivery orders, with the state government eyeing their reopening by 1 November, Andrews said. "I know and understand that not everything everybody wanted is in the announcement I have made today," Andrews told a news conference. "I have announced today what is safe but will not undermine the sacrifice, the hard work, the pain, the amazing efforts that Victorians have put in." Andrews, whose Labor Party government is in opposition to the ruling conservative Liberal Party, has been pressured by the federal government to reopen, but he said he will do only what he deems safe. "If we do too much too fast, we will be where none of us want to be again," Andrews said. On Sunday, Victoria recorded two new cases of Covid-19, extending its streak of single-digit infections to five days and down from more than 700 cases a day in early August. With 816 deaths, Australia's second-largest state accounts for more than 90 percent of all lives lost to the Covid-19 in Australia this year. Australia has recorded just over 27,300 infections, according to health ministry data, a fraction of what has been seen in some other countries. -Reuters

The Victorian Premier says 55 New Zealanders have entered Victoria - not 17, as previously reported. Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews Photo: AFP In a press conference today, Andrews said Victoria authorities had been alerted to the increased number of breaches by Australia's federal government. While 17 breaches had initially been reported, it has now been revealed that 55 Kiwis travelled to the state. Andrews said that 23 of the travellers had been tracked down, at 16 addresses. "So this is "gold standard", apparently, according to the Federal Government. "Gold standard", a term that has been used quite a bit," he said. The acting federal immigration minister Alan Tudge had previously blamed the state government for not restricting interstate travel, which allowed the New Zealanders to breach the established travel bubble. According to the Andrews, Victoria had not wanted to be in a travel bubble with New Zealand. "So the very fact that we have done what the Prime Minister wants us to do and keep our border open, then we get asked, do you want to be in a New Zealand bubble and we say no, and now we find we are, so, we would actually be better off if we had done what the Federal Government has criticised every day and twice on Sundays for months, close our borders," he said. "There will be a time when of course we do and hopefully we get the reciprocal arrangement and Australians can go to New Zealand, although I would be commending all Victorians to stay in Victoria and spend up big in Victoria rather than going to New Zealand." Yesterday, Andrews said officials had "absolutely no power" to detain the travellers from New Zealand. "Our officers have absolutely no power to stop someone, to detain someone in those circumstances, particularly given they were coming from a very low-virus part of the world," he said.

Australia's Federal Government says "there was an understanding" that travellers who arrive in New South Wales from New Zealand would be allowed into other states if their borders aren't closed, despite Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews stating Victoria was not part of the new trans-Tasman travel bubble. Photo: 123RF Seventeen passengers flew from New Zealand to Sydney yesterday, on day one of the new trans-Tasman travel bubble, then caught a connecting flight to Melbourne. Passengers from New Zealand now do not need to quarantine upon arriving in New South Wales, but Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews says his state was not part of the bubble arrangements. "Somehow, something has gone wrong at Sydney, I think, to allow people to travel on beyond the international flight." He said Victorian officials had "absolutely no power" to detain them. The premier said he had written to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ensure more arrivals from New Zealand do not travel on to Victoria on Sunday. "We're disappointed this has happened, given that I had written to the prime minister on this very issue the previous day, saying at some point we will join that New Zealand/Australia travel bubble but it is not appropriate now," he said. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews Photo: AFP However, the Federal Government has made a statement contradicting the claim that travellers from New Zealand should not be allowed to fly into Victoria. Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said when the trans-Tasman travel bubble was discussed at a Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) meeting on Monday, "no official from any jurisdiction raised concerns" about arrivals from New Zealand potentially travelling to other destinations. "There was an understanding that when Kiwis arrived into Sydney, coming from a country which has zero community transmissions, that there'd be no need for quarantining," he said. "And that once they had arrived into Sydney that they would be treated like any other person in New South Wales, any other Australian, any other visa holder, and therefore travel into those jurisdictions which enable people to travel into them - and that of course included Victoria." Victoria has not accepted international arrivals since early July, but its domestic borders have remained open. When asked whether Victoria should consider shutting its domestic borders, Andrews said he did not want to do that. "I know that the prime minister would be very disappointed if that happened," he said. "That is what he is trying to avoid, and that is why I wrote to him this morning and made it clear that we need to get to the bottom of this, and have the requisite assurances that this won't happen again." Earlier, Victoria Police said they would visit the travellers later today to perform welfare checks. Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said the passengers were in Melbourne and not under any detention orders. - ABC

The US budget deficit hit a record $3.132 trillion during the last financial year, more than triple the 2019 shortfall, the US Treasury has announced. Unemployed airline industry workers at a protest in Chicago last month urge Congress to pass a new relief package. Photo: AFP The increase in the gap between government income and spending was almost entirely due to the massive coronavirus support package. The Trump administration and Congress have been unable to agree on a new stimulus package. The deficit more than doubled the previous record of $US1.416 trillion in the 2009 financial year, when the United States was battling a financial crisis. At the start of the 2020 financial year that ended on 30 September, the US government had been forecast to rack up a $1 trillion deficit before coronavirus lockdowns began in March. In September, the US budget deficit was $125 billion, compared with an $83b surplus in September 2019, the Treasury said. September receipts totalled $373b, just $1b below a year earlier as higher Federal Reserve earnings and excise tax collections made up for lower personal and corporate income tax receipts. Receipts for the full financial year totalled $3.42b, a decrease of $43b or 1 percent from the previous year. Financial year outlays jumped $2.105 trillion from 2019 to a total of $6.55 trillion, with the increase made up almost entirely from increased healthcare and unemployment compensation costs, and the cost of small business and corporate rescue programmes approved by Congress. A volunteer prepares a parcel at a food bank in Orlando, Florida. Photo: AFP - Reuters

Victoria's Health Department says the state has recorded one new coronavirus infection and no deaths. People walk around Albert Park Lake in Melbourne. Photo: AFP Metropolitan Melbourne's 14-day rolling case average is now 8.1, down from 8.7 yesterday. Regional Victoria's rolling average has also dropped slightly, from 0.6 yesterday to 0.5. The two-week total of cases with an unknown source, or "mystery" cases, remains at 17 in Melbourne. No new mystery cases have been confirmed in regional Victoria, where the total remains at zero. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is expecte to announce an easing of some coronavirus restrictions tomorrow. "Because we as a state have been as stubborn as this virus in our resolve to beat it, we are well placed to take significant steps on Sunday," he said yesterday. "It will not be everything that everyone wants, because it's not safe to take all of those steps that were outlined in stage three. "But on Sunday, I very much look forward to giving people a sense of what the coming weeks look like. "It's fair to say, that if these numbers continue, we are very well placed to be broadly in alignment with our foreshadowed stage three." Yesterday the Premier did not reveal what specific changes would be announced tomorrow. However, he did say the changes would be "much more in the social space than in the economic space". Andrews also said the hard border between Melbourne and regional Victoria would not be lifted yet. - ABC

A content advisory notice for racism in classic Disney films, in place since last year, has been updated with a strengthened message. The Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp perpetuated anti-Asian stereotypes. Photo: Walt Disney Productions / Buena Vista Distribution Company via AFP When played on the Disney+ streaming service, films such as Dumbo, Peter Pan and Jungle Book now flash up with a warning about stereotypes. "This programme includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures," the warning says. "These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now." The message adds that rather than remove the content, "we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together". Other films to carry the warning are The Aristocats, which shows a cat in "yellow-face" playing the piano with chopsticks, and Peter Pan, where Native Americans are referred to by the racist slur "redskins". Lady and the Tramp, which has several instances of racism and cultural stereotyping, also carries a warning. The company first added a warning about racism last November - however, it was much shorter. Then, the disclaimer read: "This programme is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions." Some films, such as Song of the South, are not available to stream on Disney+ at all because of racism. Warner Bros, similarly, has long had a warning about "ethnic and racial prejudices" in some of its cartoons. "While these cartoons do not represent today's society, they are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed," the Warner Bros warning says. Racism and stereotypes in classic Disney films Lady and the Tramp (1955): Two Siamese cats, Si and Am, are depicted with anti-Asian stereotypes. There is also a scene at a dog pound where heavily-accented dogs all portray the stereotypes of the countries their breeds are from - such as Pedro the Mexican Chihuahua, and Boris the Russian Borzoi The Aristocats (1970): A Siamese cat called Shun Gon, voiced by a white actor, is drawn as a racist caricature of an Asian person. He plays the piano with chopsticks Dumbo (1941): A group of crows that help Dumbo learn how to fly have exaggerated stereotypical black voices. The lead crow is called Jim Crow - a reference to a set of racist segregationist laws in the southern US at the time - and he is voiced by a white actor, Cliff Edwards Jungle Book (1968): The character of King Louie, an ape with poor linguistic skills, sings in a Dixieland jazz style and is shown as lazy. The character has been criticised for being a racist caricature of African-Americans Peter Pan (1953): The film refers to Native people as "redskins", a racist slur. Peter and the Lost Boys also dance in headdresses, which Disney now says is a "form of mockery and appropriation of Native peoples' culture and imagery". A song originally called "What makes the red man red" was also decried as racist - it was later renamed as "What makes the brave man brave" Song of the South (1946): One of Disney's most controversial movies, which has never been released on video or DVD in the US. Its depiction of plantation worker Uncle Remus perpetuates an old racist myth that slaves were happy in the cotton fields - BBC

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says it is time to prepare for a no-trade deal Brexit unless the European Union fundamentally changes course, bluntly telling Brussels that there is no point in continuing the negotiations. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (file) Photo: Anthony Devlin / Pool / AFP A tumultuous "no deal" finale to the United Kingdom's five-year Brexit crisis would sow chaos through the delicate supply chains that stretch across Britain, the EU and beyond - just as the economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic worsens. At what was supposed to be the "Brexit summit" on Thursday, the EU delivered an ultimatum: it said it was concerned by a lack of progress and called on London to yield on key sticking points or see a rupture of ties with the bloc from Jan. 1. "I have concluded that we should get ready for January 1 with arrangements that are more like Australia's based on simple principles of global free trade," Johnson said. "With high hearts and with complete confidence, we will prepare to embrace the alternative and we will prosper mightily as an independent free trading nation, controlling and setting our own laws," he added. EU heads of government, concluding a summit in Brussels on Friday, rushed to say that they wanted a trade deal and that talks would continue, though not at any price. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader, said it would be best to get a deal and that compromises on both sides would be needed. French President Emmanuel Macron said Britain needed a Brexit deal more than the 27-nation EU. Johnson's spokesman said talks were now over and there was no point in the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier coming to London next week barring a change in approach. However, Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost had agreed to speak again early next week, Downing Street said. The pound oscillated to Brexit news, dropping a cent against the US dollar on Johnson's remarks but then rising before falling again on his spokesman's comments. Rhetoric? After demanding that London make further concessions for a deal, EU diplomats and officials cast Johnson's move as little more than rhetoric, portraying it as a frantic bid to secure concessions before a last-minute deal was done. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he thought Johnson had signalled that London was ready to compromise. While US investment banks agree that a deal is the most likely ultimate outcome, the consensus was wrong on the 2016 Brexit referendum: when Britons voted by 52-48% to leave, markets tumbled and European leaders were shocked. Asked if he was walking away from talks, Johnson said: "If there's a fundamental change of approach, of course we are always willing to listen, but it didn't seem particularly encouraging from the summit in Brussels. "Unless there is a fundamental change of approach, we're going to go for the Australia solution. And we should do it with great confidence," he said. A so-called "Australia deal" means that the United Kingdom would trade on World Trade Organization terms: as a country without an EU trade agreement, like Australia, tariffs would be imposed under WTO rules, likely causing significant price rises. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was keen for a deal, though Macron was more downbeat. "The state of our talks is not that we are stumbling over the issue of fishing, which is the British's tactical argument, but we're stumbling over everything. Everything," Macron said. "The remaining 27 leaders of the EU, who chose to remain in the EU, are not there simply to make the British prime minister happy," he added. Merkel called for Britain to compromise. "This of course means that we, too, will need to make compromises," she said. Britain formally left the EU on 31 January but the two sides have been haggling over a deal that would govern trade in everything from car parts to medicines when informal membership known as the transition period ends on 31 December. The EU says progress had been made over recent months though compromise is needed. Main sticking points remain fishing and the so-called level playing field - rules aimed at stopping a country gaining a competitive advantage over a trade partner. - Reuters

French police shot dead a man who minutes earlier had killed a teacher by slitting his throat in the street in a suburb of Paris. Photo: AFP The teacher had shown pupils in his class cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, which are considered by Muslims to be blasphemous, according to a police source. France's anti-terror prosecutor said it was investigating the attack, which took place in Conflans Sainte-Honorine, a suburb north-west of Paris. The suspected attacker was spotted by a police patrol while carrying a knife a short distance from the scene of the attack. The police shot the suspect dead, according to a police spokesman. A police source said that witnesses had heard the attacker shout "Allahu Akbar", or "God is Greatest". The police spokesman said that information was being checked. Another police source also said the victim had been decapitated in the attack, but this was not confirmed. A Twitter thread posted on 9 October contained allegations that a history teacher in Conflans Sainte-Honorine had shown pupils cartoons purporting to depict the Prophet Mohammad. The thread contained a video of a man who said his daughter, a Muslim, was one of the pupils in the class, and that she was shocked by the teacher's actions. Reuters was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video. French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin said he had set up a crisis centre to deal with Friday's attack, and was keeping President Emmanuel Macron informed. France has over the past several years seen a series of violent attacks carried out by Islamist militants. Late last month, a man who emigrated to France from Pakistan used a meat cleaver to attack and wound two people outside the former offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. That was the spot where Islamist militants gunned down employees of the magazine five years ago in retaliation for the magazine's publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. - Reuters