Australia news LIVE Victoria records 1438 new local COVID-19 cases five deaths NSW records 941 new cases six deaths Queensland records five new cases

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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is due to provide a COVID-19 update from 11am AEST.

Watch live below.

Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews and COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar are due to hold a press conference from 11.15am.

Stay tuned for that update.

NSW has reported 941 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths as the state inches closer to its 90 per cent first dose vaccination target.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the reopening of schools would be brought forward a week thanks to high vaccination rates.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at Thursday’s COVID-19 update. Credit:Kate Geraghty

“We didn’t realise at that stage how quickly NSW residents would take up the opportunity to get vaccinated,” she said.

“So this is a safe way of resuming schools, but the staggered approach will remain in place.”

Of the new deaths, three were in their 70s, two people were in their 80s and one person was in their 90s.

Four people were not vaccinated and two people had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

There are currently 1090 people with COVID-19 in NSW hospitals, with 213 people in intensive care. Of those, 105 of them are on ventilators.

Across NSW, 86.7 per cent of the over-16 population has received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 62.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.

New Zealand’s daily coronavirus numbers are in.

The country has reported 19 new cases of COVID-19 in the community.

That’s down from yesterday’s figure of 45 cases â€" NZ’s largest daily tally in about a month.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged the daily numbers have jumped around in recent days, but says the country has “broad control” of Auckland’s Delta outbreak.

Around 43 per cent of New Zealanders are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

with Stuff

The NSW Snowy Monaro local government area will go into lockdown from 3pm today while the stay-at-home orders for 17 other LGAs have been extended.

NSW Health said the lockdown in the following LGAs would now be extended until October 11: Bathurst Regional, Bourke, Central Coast, City of Cessnock, Dubbo Regional, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Kiama, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Lithgow, City of Maitland, City of Newcastle, Port Stephens, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional, City of Shellharbour, City of Shoalhaven, and Wingecarribee.

In addition, due to recent transmission of COVID-19 in the area, stay-at-home orders will be introduced for the Snowy Monaro LGA from 3pm today for seven days.

These stay-at-home orders also apply to anyone who has the Snowy Monaro LGA since September 22.

Stay-at-home orders will be lifted, as scheduled, from tomorrow, for Mid-Western Regional, Hilltops and Walgett LGAs.

For the Central Darling Shire Council, stay-at-home orders will be lifted from tomorrow, with the exceptions of Wilcannia and Menindee.

Stay-at-home orders will be extended in Menindee for a further seven days and in Wilcannia until 11 October.

Victoria’s crime rate dropped to its lowest level since 2015 over the past year on the back of coronavirus restrictions that constrained the number of “opportunistic” crimes such as theft but boosted family violence incidents.

More than 32,000 Victorians were fined for public health and safety offences â€" primarily breaking the Chief Health Officer’s coronavirus directions â€" in the 12 months to June 31, with many fines still unpaid.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent.Credit:Wayne Taylor

The local government area of Melbourne recorded the highest proportion of offences at 21,366 per 100,000 residents â€" up 9.7 per cent on the year before. This includes breaches of the CHO’s directions.

The Latrobe local government area in Gippsland was second on 16,713 offences per 100,000 people, followed by Ararat (in south-west Victoria) where the number of recorded offences boomed a whopping 41.2 per cent compared to the year before to 16,428 per 100,000 residents.

Read more about Victoria’s latest crime statistics here.

Brisbane has yet again avoided a snap lockdown, despite Queensland recording six new local cases today.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said authorities were “not too concerned at this stage”, with four of the new cases linked to a man in his 30s who worked at an aviation training facility.

However, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Logan, Townsville and Palm Island will go back to stage two restrictions from 4pm.

This means the number of people allowed in a home and in public will be reduced to 30, including visitors, residents and children.

Weddings and funerals will be capped at 100 people and restaurants and cafes will return to one person per 4sqm.

The capacity at sporting events, including this Sunday’s NRL grand final at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, will decrease to 75 per cent.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is due to provide a COVID-19 update from 10am AEST.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast are on high alert after the Sunshine State recorded some new coronavirus cases this week.

Watch live below.

Meanwhile, Victoria Police is holding a press conference in Melbourne around the same time.

The agency is set to unveil crime statistics for the financial year ending June 2021.

Watch that press conference below.

Music fans at a festival in Far North Queensland will be offered vaccinations this weekend.

In partnership with Queensland Health, the Savannah in the Round festival will provide a vaccination hub on Friday, October 1, between 8am and 4pm.

The three-day festival runs until October 3 and features the likes of John Butler, Shepherd and Sneaky Sound System.

“Creating a festival in the middle of a pandemic is no easy task, but vaccination is the key to freedom,” festival director James Dein said.

“We have worked hard for over two years now on ensuring our COVID plan is best practice. We are urging our patrons to join us in getting the jab so that normal life can be just around the corner.”

Last month, more than 400 Australian performers joined forces with leaders of the live entertainment industry for a national campaign urging people to get vaccinated.

Live events have been crushed since lockdowns came into effect in March last year and, according to the newly established LIVE Alliance, a vaccination target of 80 per cent is the ticket back to live performances.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Finance Minister Simon Birmingham are providing a joint press conference (they aren’t in the same room due to coronavirus restrictions).

Mr Frydenberg says the final budget outcome for the 2021 financial year was a $134.2 billion deficit. However, that’s a $27 billion improvement on what was forecast in May.

“What is driving this improvement to the budget bottom line is more people in work and less people on welfare,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“Since May of last year, more than 1 million new jobs have been created, and the unemployment rate has fallen below 5 per cent for the first time in a decade.

“We recognise that since this final budget outcome, the economy has been hit by the Delta variant. But with the vaccination rates fast approaching the 70 and 80 per cent targets, restrictions will be eased, and what these numbers confirm is that when restrictions are eased, the Australian economy bounces back.”

Mr Birmingham added that the numbers were promising for businesses and households, while acknowledging there would be “some pressure” on next year’s federal budget.

“These results underscore the reality that the best way for us to continue to secure stronger results for the budget bottom line is to continue to focus on having a stronger economy.”

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Finance Minister Simon Birmingham are expected to hold a joint press conference around 9.20am AEST.

It comes after we learned the federal government is planning to phase out its COVID disaster payments.

Watch live below.

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