Key posts
Latest posts
Gladys Berejiklian is the preferred NSW premier among Labor voters and Labor’s primary vote has slumped to 28 per cent as the Coalition’s handling of the pandemic wins voters, state political editor Alexandra Smith writes today.
The latest Resolve Political Monitor shows Ms Berejiklian is the preferred premier among 57 per cent of voters, while 17 per cent prefer Labor leader Jodi McKay.
Gladys Berejiklian and Jodi McKay with the poll result for preferred NSW Premier.Credit:Kate Geraghty, Dominic Lorrimer
The survey, an initiative from The Sydney Morning Herald with research company Resolve Strategic, shows the Coalition’s primary vote has climbed two points since 2019 to 44 per cent.
Resolve founder Jim Reed said the track polling done of 1228 voters between mid-April and May suggests recent scandals have not resulted in a “significant vote loss” for the Coalition.
The scandals include a corruption inquiry involving Ms Berejiklian’s long-term boyfriend Daryl Maguire and a separate inquiry into Drummoyne MP John Sidoti. Ms Berejiklian is not accused of wrongdoing.
There have also been two sexual assault allegations involving former Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen, who has since quit politics, and Kiama MP Gareth Ward, who was last week forced to stand down from cabinet. Both men deny any wrongdoing.
Infectious diseases experts have warned that at least 70 per cent of the population will need to be vaccinated before coronavirus can be allowed to circulate in the community, or Australia will risk a third wave that will see hospitals overrun with younger patients.
“There’s still this Greek chorus of people saying ‘we have to open up’ and we do,” said Professor Nancy Baxter, the head of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.
But Professor Baxter said that while the death rate would be lower once the most at-risk people had been vaccinated, it would not prevent deaths nor even another wave of the virus in Australia.
“The hospitals will still need to shut down. Their ICUs will be full of people in their 40s,” she said.
Professor Robert Booy, a senior fellow at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, said Australia needed at least a 70 to 80 per cent uptake of the vaccine before he would be confident that virus transmission would be minimal and not likely to cause a third wave.
Read the full article by Aisha Dow and Melissa Cunningham here.
Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of the day’s news and analysis. I’m Michaela Whitbourn and I’ll be keeping you informed of the morning’s developments. Here’s what you need to know now.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the International Energy Agency’s Fatih Birol.Credit:Stephen Kiprillis
- The world’s top energy chief says rich countries such as Australia have an obligation to reach net zero emissions earlier than 2050 but fears time is running out to save the planet by ditching coal and other fossil fuels, Europe correspondent Bevan Shields reports. International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol says acting fast has benefits, as new modelling predicts the 5 million jobs to be lost globally during a technological revolution over the next decade will be more than offset by new workers in a greener economy.
- The family of a Sydney father who died in hospital in India after contracting COVID-19 says he was desperately trying to get back to Australia in the weeks leading up to his death, Sarah McPhee, Daniella White and Chris O’Keefe report.
- Almost one-third of adult Australians say they are unlikely to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a survey conducted by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age with research company Resolve Strategic. Chief political correspondent David Crowe writes that doubts about vaccine side effects top the list of reasons for the vaccine hesitancy, but many people also believe there is no rush to take a jab while the international borders are closed.
- There has been no change to the advice around use of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine, Stuart Layt and Felicity Caldwell report, after an 18-year-old trainee nurse in Brisbane developed a blood clot weeks after getting the vaccination.
- US correspondent Matthew Knott reports on President Joe Biden’s support for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a major shift from his previous position. The death toll continues to rise in the troubled region: Reuters reports that Gaza medical officials say 215 Palestinians have been killed, including 61 children and 36 women, and more than 1400 wounded. Israeli authorities say 12 people have been killed in Israel, including two children.
- A surfer from Sydney’s northern beaches died on Tuesday after being bitten by a 4½-metre shark at Tuncurry Beach on the NSW Mid North Coast, Josh Dye reports.