Daily News Roundup

 

MONDAY, JUNE 21

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has been announced as the state’s next governor.

She will replace Governor Paul de Jersey when his term ends later this year.

He has agreed to extend his term until November 1, enabling Dr Young to focus on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the appointment was in recognition of Dr Young’s “exemplary” service as Queensland’s Chief Health Officer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Young will become Queensland’s 27th Governor.

The Premier said Dr Young had led the state through “the greatest peacetime emergency in a century”.

“Queenslanders have come to know Dr Young, who has stood by my side during hundreds of COVID media conferences,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“The people of this state know she stood by their side too and kept us safe.

“There is no-one more deserving of the title ‘Her Excellency’.”

Ms Palaszczuk said Queen Elizabeth had already approved Dr Young’s appointment.

Dr Young thanked Queenslanders for their courage and devotion in helping each other through the worst of the pandemic.

“I also want to thank the Premier for her leadership and support, and this tremendous honour,” Dr Young said.

An external recruitment process will be conducted to find Dr Young’s replacement as the state’s chief health officer. 

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NSW is on high alert over Sydney’s growing outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant of Covid-19, with calls for a snap lockdown if infections continue to rise.

NSW Health confirmed three new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections in the cluster to nine.

Two of those cases were recorded after the official reporting period and will therefore be included in Monday’s official numbers.

These are a woman and a man in their 50s from the Sutherland Shire. Both are close contacts of a previously reported case and have been in isolation.

There are already a series of restrictions regarding masks in place across Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour, but one expert has warned tougher rules may be necessary to contain the outbreak.

Epidemiologist and World Health Organisation adviser, Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, told ABC radio NSW needs to take this outbreak of the Delta variant “very seriously”.

She said if there are anymore than “one or two” new locally acquired cases then officials should seriously consider imposing a three-day lockdown.

“If the numbers go up any further we should really be thinking about a three-day lockdown,” she said.

Professor McLaws also said masks should be made mandatory in all public areas for Greater Sydney.

Speaking on Sunday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said while authorities don’t want to extend restrictions, they will if they have to.

“At this stage, we didn’t want to make the decision to have compulsory mask wearing across all of greater Sydney, but if the situation changes overnight, that is an option we will have to consider,” she said.

“The strongest message I want to send to our community is that we worked on the basis of trust, that we won’t impose any burdens on communities unless we absolutely have to. At this stage, given the number of cases and the risk, we feel [what] we are doing is appropriate.”

Ms Berejiklian said the next few days would be critical for NSW, saying any further restrictions “will depend on what cases, if any, emerge in the next few days”.

She urged people with even the slightest symptoms to get tested so authorities can track down any underlying chains of transmission.

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Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin, is making some unsettling allegations against her grandfather, Bob Irwin. 

In a Father’s Day post (Father’s Day outside of Australia was June 20), dedicated to her own father, her husband, Chandler Powell, and her father-in-law, Irwin was asked why she left Bob out of the tribute. 

The 22-year-old new mum did not hold back with her response.

“Unfortunately my grandfather Bob has shown no interest in spending time with me or my family,” she wrote, according to 7News.

Irwin goes on to claim that Bob has even gone so far to return gifts she’s sent him over the years — after opening them.

“He has returned gifts I’ve sent him after he opened them, he has ignored my correspondence and from the time I was a little girl he has ignored me, preferring to spend time doing anything else rather than being with me,” Bindi wrote.

“He has never said a single kind word to me personally. It breaks my heart but it is not healthy to engage in an abusive relationship.”

“I hope everyone remembers to be kind to one another but most of all care for your own mental health,” she added.

“I have struggled with this relationship my entire life and it brings me enormous pain.”

Entertainment Reporter Peter Ford, told Sunrise that he spoke to Bob’s wife Judy over the weekend who was unaware of Irwin’s comments.

“They were pretty shell shocked by it and when I rang and read to his wife Judy the details, they’re not on social media, so they were not aware of what was going on at all, I think they were pretty shocked and devastated, Ford shared. That’s just the feeling I got. They didn’t say that to me and they did not come back and offer any kind of reply or response.”

According to Irwin, who welcomed her first child in March, her mum, Terri Irwin, continues to write letters and send gifts to Bob — only to be ignored as well.