Australia Scott Morrison slams Daniel Andrews for keeping Victoria locked down

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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has copped the wrath of the prime minister for his 'profoundly disappointing' decision to keep Melbourne in lockdown.

Mr Andrews had previously planned to scrap the four reasons for leaving home and the 25 kilometre travel limit from November 1, provided the state had a rolling two-week average of less than five cases a day.

Despite the current average sitting at 4.6 new cases a day, the premier said he could not open up until the results of 1000 tests from the northern metropolitan outbreak were known.

'I know it is frustrating,' Mr Andrews said on Sunday. 'I know people are keen to have a long and detailed list of changes to the rules. It is not appropriate for us to do that now.'

Up to 55 New Zealanders slipped into COVID-stricken Melbourne

The embattled premier on Sunday confirmed just 23 of those people have been found since he learned of the debacle. On Friday, New South Wales opened its borders to travellers from New Zealand without the need to quarantine.But by Saturday authorities informed Victoria that 17 people caught a connecting flight into Melbourne, where borders are not shut to domestic travellers despite the state grappling with a second wave of COVID-19.That number has since been inflated to 55.

back at Scott Morrison after the PM slammed his decision to keep Victoria in lockdown Premier Daniel Andrews hit back at Scott Morrison over his lockdown criticism Mr Andrews said Melbourne will stay in Stage Four lockdown for two more weeks

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been slammed for blaming families for a spike in COVID-19 cases, which saw the state return to strict lockdown measures. The Premier announced the lifting of restrictions would be halted until July 12 after Victoria recorded 25 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.

Mr Andrews said that if there is not a spike from the results of those remaining tests, the government will push ahead with a November 1 reopening as they had planned.

Among those to criticise Mr Andrews was Scott Morrison, who said 1,000 Victorians are losing their jobs daily due to business being closed during the Stage 4 lockdown.

© Provided by Daily Mail Scott Morrison has blasted Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for his 'profoundly disappointing' decision to keep Melbourne in lockdown

© Provided by Daily Mail Daniel Andrews had previously promised to scrap the four reasons for leaving home and the 25 kilometre travel limit from November 1, provided the state had a rolling two-week average of less than five cases a day

'We have also agonisingly witnessed a 31 per cent increase in Medicare funded mental health presentations in Victoria during the lockdown and significant increases in other mental health services,' Mr Morrison said in a statement on Sunday.

Trans-Tasman bubble farce: 23 Kiwis flew to Perth over closed border

Western Australia has slammed the Federal Government's management of the trans-Tasman bubble after 23 New Zealanders flew to Perth despite hard border closures. West Australian Premier Mark McGowan said on Sunday that 25 newly-arrived Kiwis, including a child, had flown into Perth overnight.This number was revised down to 23 on Sunday evening by WA Police, and all have been put into hotel quarantine.Western Australia is not part of the travel bubble arrangement and has tough border restrictions in place, with very few exemptions. Mr McGowan said the situation was 'not ideal'.

'Crushing news': Scott Morrison takes a swipe at Daniel Andrews over his lockdown announcement - saying Victoria should follow NSW's lead and focus on Prime Minister Scott Morrison took a swipe at the embattled Victorian premier. He said keeping Melbourne locked down will 'come at further

The inquiry has been investigating Victoria 's second wave - which resulted in more than 18,000 new COVID-19 infections, 750 deaths and a lengthy lockdown - which began with outbreaks at two Melbourne hotels used Scott Morrison slams Daniel Andrews for keeping Victoria locked down .

'Victorians are to be congratulated for meeting and beating the considerable benchmarks that were set by their State Government before restrictions could be eased.

'They have played their part and sacrificed much in the pursuit of reaching those targets in the belief restrictions would be eased.'

Mr Morrison pointed out that the state's infection rate is now below the Victorian Government's own target of a 14 day rolling average of fewer than five cases per day to further reduce restrictions.

'It is also well below the Commonwealth's hot spot definition, based on the advice of the acting Chief Medical Officer, of a rolling average of fewer than 10 cases per day over 3 days,' he said.

'At some point, you have to move forward and put your public health systems to work in a bid to reclaim the jobs that have been lost, and rescue the livelihoods and peace of mind of so many Victorians who have been affected by the inability to contain the outbreak that led to the second Victorian wave.

Border bubble chaos as Kiwi travellers visit other Australian states

South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and now Queensland all raised concerns after New Zealanders arrived at their borders expecting access into the states. On Tuesday, South Australia joined the bubble 'effective immediately' after 12 people from New Zealand arrived in the state in the last three days alone.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews faces mounting pressure to let federal authorities take over Prime Minister Scott Morrison then told Mr Andrews to make the same call on both Monday and Tuesday ' Daniel Andrews is sabotaging cafes and restaurants in Victoria . ' Andrews has never had a job in

'Disgraceful failure': Daniel Andrews slammed for radical curfew as Victoria reports 429 new cases and 13 deaths from COVID-19 - as he prepares to list the businesses forced to shut down for WEEKS. Mr Andrews announced draconian stage four restrictions on Sunday afternoon to curb spread of

'This is a profound disappointment. Borders and closures are not indicators of public health success. They are the opposite.'

Former Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos also slammed Mr Andrews for his decision to prolong Melbourne's lockdown.

'Vic[toria] has met the under 5 threshold which some thought was unachievable. This was a very cautious target,' she tweeted.

© Provided by Daily Mail Mr Morrison said that under Stage 4 lockdown, 1,000 Victorians have lost their jobs every day due to forced business closures

© Provided by Daily Mail Victoria recorded seven new cases and no deaths on Sunday, keeping the state's death toll at 817 and the national figure at 905. Pictured: testing in Heidelberg West

'6/7 of new cases are related to a known outbreak so the risk is manageable. The set reopening is gradual & safe so any delay is unnecessary. It's paralysis in decision-making.'

Ms Mikakos resigned from parliament last month - one day after the embattled premier pointed the finger at her over the state's quarantine hotel blunder that led to the second wave.

Melburnians might have to wait longer for more eased restrictions

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews called for a meeting with the Crisis Council of Cabinet on Sunday as fears continue to grow over a COVID-19 cluster in Melbourne's northern suburbs.Mr Andrews had previously promised to scrap the four reasons for leaving home and the 25 kilometre travel limit from November 1.

Mr Andrews had earlier backtracked on previous indications of an easing of restrictions on Sunday after seven cases were also reported on Saturday.

His tone had been optimistic on Friday after reporting a single fresh case, saying Victoria was 'very well placed'.

But 24 hours later the message had changed.

'I just want to caution people from banking that tomorrow I'll be making a whole series of detailed announcements about opening up,' he said on Saturday.

Victoria recorded seven new cases and no deaths on Sunday, keeping the state's death toll at 817 and the national figure at 905.