Daily News Roundup

 

TUESDAY, APRIL 13

 

Prince Harry has hailed Prince Philip as a “master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ’til the end”, in a statement released just minutes after his elder brother Prince William pledged to honour his grandfather’s legacy by supporting the Queen “in the years ahead”.

Philip, who was at the side of wife Queen Elizabeth throughout her 69-year reign, died at Windsor Castle on Friday, aged 99.

Harry arrived into the UK on a flight from Los Angeles and will quarantine in accordance with coronavirus guidelines so he can attend the ceremonial funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday.

His arrival marks the first time he has returned home since he and Meghan stepped down from their roles as working members of the royal family last March.

In a statement, Prince Harry praised Prince Philip for his unparalleled devotion to the Queen, and said he was “a man of service, honour, and great humour”.

“He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm — and also because you never knew what he might say next.

“He will be remembered as the longest-reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke.

“But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ’til the end.

“He has been a rock for Her Majesty The Queen with unparalleled devotion, by her side for 73 years of marriage, and while I could go on, I know that right now he would say to all of us, beer in hand, ‘Oh do get on with it!'”

Harry said Philip would be sorely missed by he and his wife Meghan, his son Archie, and their unborn daughter. 

He ended the statement with “Per Mare, Per Terram” — the motto of the Royal Marines, which is Latin for “By Sea, By Land”.

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Residents of a West Australian holiday town remain “shell-shocked” after Cyclone Seroja carved a trail of destruction through the area.

About 70 per cent of Kalbarri’s buildings were damaged when the cyclone slammed into WA’s Mid West coast on Sunday night.

Northampton, to Kalbarri’s south-east, also bore the brunt of the cyclone.

The manager of Kalbarri’s State Emergency Service, Steve Cable, described the storm as frightening and extremely intense.

He said many locals had been left feeling anxious.

“So now it’s just clean-up. It’s all about people,” he said.

“There’s people who are shell-shocked, people who have lost their homes.

“People … who have got no communications, no radio, no television, no mobile phones so people can’t even contact their loved ones, so there’s a lot of anxiety.”

Kalbarri is a popular holiday destination about 700 kilometres north of Perth.

Western Power’s Zane Christmas told ABC Radio Perth almost 30,000 properties were still without power.

“We’ve improved a little bit since yesterday … about a thousand came on yesterday afternoon around Mullewa, Moora and Three Springs.”

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Australia has ruled out using Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine as part of the immediate national rollout, reports news.com.au.

The revelations follow damning advice last week that the AstraZeneca vaccine was no longer recommended for people aged under 50.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a single dose jab, widely administered across the US and approved for use in Europe.

But a spokesperson for Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Janssen vaccine was an adenovirus vaccine, the same type of vaccine as the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“The government does not intend to purchase any further adenovirus vaccines at this time,” the spokesperson said.

Opposition health spokesman Mark Butler said it was “not good enough” to learn of this development from a spokesperson without any background of explanation.

“This is a critical juncture the nation faces at the moment,” Mr Butler told ABC Breakfast.

“We’ve got a vaccine rollout that’s run off the rails, and the Prime Minister needs to come clean with Australians about what the new plan is, what the new timelines and targets are.

“The communication channels from the government have shut down.”

Federal Labor has long been calling for the government to sign up to more supply deals, saying other countries have up to six, while Australia only has agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novavax.

“Australia needs more vaccine options on the table,” Mr Butler said.

The AstraZeneca jab will continue to be administered to people aged over 50 under the national rollout.

The government last week announced it had also doubled its Pfizer vaccine supply to 40 million doses, with the additional 20 million due to arrive from October.

New figures show fewer than 1.2 million vaccine doses had been administered across Australia so far.