Australia

SYDNEY, Oct 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Plastic waste makes up more than 80 percent of all rubbish found across Australian beaches, according to a study, based on one of the largest marine debris databases in the southern hemisphere.

More than 2,000 organisations and 150,000 volunteer rubbish beachcombers, helped compile the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI), based on collecting and sifting through almost 20 million pieces of discarded plastic, glass, rubber, metal, and paper.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 would be a “great positive” for Australia if it can be achieved through technology and not a carbon price, the prime minister said on Tuesday as he pressures government colleagues to commit to more ambitious action ahead of a climate summit.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week agreed to attend next month’s climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, but his government colleagues have yet to approve the commitment he wants to net zero.

CANBERRA, Oct 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The Australian government secured access to two new COVID-19 treatments, as the country continues to battle the third wave of infections.

Health Minister, Greg Hunt, today announced, the government has purchased 15,000 doses of the antibody-based therapy, Ronapreve, which can be administered intravenously for COVID-19 patients, in a health care facility and is expected to be targeted for use in unvaccinated people who are at risk of developing severe disease.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s most populous state New South Wales said on Friday it would end hotel quarantine for vaccinated international travelers as the government accelerates the wind back of pandemic restrictions.

State Premier Dominic Perrottet announced that vaccinated travelers who tested negative to COVID-19 before flying to Sydney would be spared 14 days in hotel quarantine from Nov. 1.

The major relaxation of the state’s pandemic restrictions was announced four days after Sydney came out of a 106-day lockdown,

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Sydney hairdressers, gyms, cafés and bars reopened to fully vaccinated customers on Monday for the first time in more than 100 days after Australia’s largest city achieved a vaccination benchmark.

Sydney planned to reopen on the Monday after 70% of the New South Wales state population aged 16 and older were fully vaccinated.

By Monday, 73.5% of the target population was fully vaccinated and more than 90% have received at least one dose.

Some businesses opened at midnight due to demand from people impatient to enjoy their freedom.

CANBERRA, Oct 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australian children, as young as five, could be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, before the end of 2021, as the country continues to battle the third wave of infections.

Allen Cheng, co-chair of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), said, “if all the stars aligned” children aged 5 to 11 could start receiving vaccinations in late Dec.

It comes after Pfizer confirmed that it will make an application to the medical regulator — the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

SYDNEY, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The basaltic volcanic rocks, collected as part of China's Chang'e-5 probe from the Moon, were about 2 billion years old, marking the youngest volcanic rocks identified on the Moon so far, according to an international research published in the journal Science on Friday.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — International tourists won’t be welcomed back to Australia until next year, with the return of skilled migrants and students given higher priority, the prime minister said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was expected to reach the vaccination benchmark on Tuesday at which the country could begin to open up: 80% of the population aged 16 and older having a second shot.

SYDNEY, Sept 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia’s peak union body, voiced its anger at the government’s decision, to abruptly cancel its submarine deal with France, in favour of building nuclear submarines.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said, the new AUKUS agreement with the United States and Britain, robbed Australia’s shipbuilding and manufacturing sectors of “decent jobs for generations to come,” said a report from the Sydney Morning Herald today.

CANBERRA, Sept 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, told state and territory leaders they owe it to Australians to reopen borders by Christmas.

Morrison said today that, there was no reason for state borders to remain closed, once 80 percent of adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a milestone the country is expected to reach in the following months.

“It’s important that we move forward. We can’t stay in second gear. We’ve got to get to top gear in living with the virus,” he told Seven Network television.