• Two deaths, 1671 new cases of COVID-19 in SA
• Grace Tame hits out at Coalition’s “empty announcements”
• 41 more COVID deaths in Vic, NSW
• Lower House MPs set to protest over SA voting legislation
• SA weather emergency declaration revoked
• Upper House backs Adelaide park lands heritage push
• Macron upbeat despite escalating Ukraine crisis

Two deaths, 1671 new cases of COVID-19 in SA

SA Health has today reported 1671 new cases of COVID-19, a significant increase on Tuesday’s case numbers

There have also been two more deaths of people with the virus – a woman in her 60s and a man in his 90s – bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 139.

There are now 14,312 active cases in South Australia.

Today’s case numbers are up from the 1296 new infections reported yesterday.

SA Health said 210 people were now in hospital – six more than yesterday – with 18 patients in intensive care and three on a ventilator.

“Of those hospitalised, 119 people are fully vaccinated, 39 people are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, and 52 have an unknown vaccination status,” SA Health said in a statement.

“Regular genome sampling is taken to monitor the levels of Omicron within South Australia. 97 per cent of samples taken returned an Omicron result.”

SA Health said that yesterday 9,953 people received a PCR test in South Australia, “which is a 19 per cent increase on the previous 24 hours”.

“Of the test results returned yesterday, 1,298 PCR tests were positive, while 373 positive Rapid Antigen Test results were reported,” SA Health said.

The latest figures show 91.5 per cent of eligible South Australians aged 12 and over have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Grace Tame hits out at Coalition’s “empty announcements”

Scott Morrison’s apology to women assaulted and harassed in federal parliament has copped a blistering rebuke from former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and sexual abuse survivor Grace Tame.

The duo spoke at the National Press Club on Wednesday in a highly anticipated address following the prime minister’s apology on the floor of parliament.

Higgins doesn’t think Morrison’s “shocking” and “offensive” language about women’s safety would matter if his actions measured up.

“What bothered me most about the whole ‘imagine if it were our daughters’ spiel wasn’t that he necessarily needed his wife’s advice to help contextualise my rape in a way that mattered to him personally,” she said.

“I didn’t want his sympathy as a father. I wanted him to use his power as prime minister.

“I don’t care if the government has improved the way that they talk about these issues. I’m not interested in words any more. I want to see action.”

Tame dismissed the Coalition’s approach as “empty announcements”, “placatory platitudes” and “superficial last-minute acknowledgements”.

She recounted a call from a senior member of a government-funded organisation in August last year demanding she not be disparaging about the prime minister at the next Australian of the Year Awards.

“I would rather go down as a disappointment to an institution than sell out as a pandering political puppet to the corrupt forces that coercively control it,” Tame said.

She reiterated her call for nationally consistent sexual assault laws, ages of consent and definitions of sexual intercourse following a meeting with the country’s attorneys-general.

The Prime Minister apologised on the floor of parliament on Tuesday.

The statement was among 28 recommendations from Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ review of its workplace culture.

It was triggered after Ms Higgins went public about her alleged 2019 rape in the office of then-defence industries minister Linda Reynolds.

41 more COVID deaths in Vic, NSW

Victoria has recorded another 21 COVID deaths and 9908 new cases, while NSW reported 20 more deaths and 10,312 new cases.

71 COVID-positive patients are in intensive care in Victorian hospitals, including 27 on ventilation.

The number of Victorians in hospital fell by 33 to 542 patients on Wednesday, down from 575 reported on Tuesday.

In NSW, 1906 people are in hospital with the virus, including 132 in intensive care.

Meanwhile, visiting rules in public hospitals are under review after a backlash from families who have been unable to spend time with dying relatives.

Lower House MPs set to protest over SA voting legislation

A majority of state MPs will this morning converge on the Lower House for a sit-in protest calling for parliament to return and pass election reforms allowing COVID cases and close contacts to vote by telephone.

It comes after the Upper House sat yesterday and passed a bill which would allow close contacts and COVID-19 patients to vote by phone and pre-poll votes to be cast on election night.

But the Lower House is adjourned until after the election despite increasing political pressure on the Marshall Government to recall parliament.

Today’s protest will see 24 of the House of Assembly’s 47 MPs – including four former Liberals – assemble in the Lower House at 10:30am “so as to be available to consider any Bill as may have passed the Legislative Council”, according to a letter from Independent Speaker Dan Cregan sent to the Premier this week.

Premier Steven Marshall on Tuesday rejected the call to bring back parliament, arguing the COVID-Ready Committee that he chairs will have a policy to announce on COVID-safe voting provisions.

Marshall also cited advice from the Electoral Commissioner, who has told authorities his office does not have the capacity or the necessary time to set up a telephone voting system – even if parliament resumes to pass legislation allowing it.

In a statement late yesterday, the Electoral Commission said it was “confident” it could deliver a COVID-safe election and was finalising “a number of COVID-safe polling options” which they will advise the public of in due course.

“ECSA staff are currently working in partnership with key sectors such as aged care, disability, and remote communities to deliver a safe election,” the commission said.

“Our message today to the South Australian public is to check your enrolment details are up to date or if you have turned 18 in the last 4 years, or you are a new Australian citizen, ensure you enrol to vote before February 25th.

“We strongly recommend that eligible voters plan ahead and apply for a postal vote now. This election we anticipate a significant uptake in the number of postal votes due to the increased criteria of eligibility for this election.”

SA weather emergency declaration revoked

A Major Emergency Declaration declared in response to South Australia’s summer storms and flash flooding has been revoked following “significant improvements” in conditions across the north of the state.

Large areas of northern South Australia including the APY Lands and Eyre Peninsula have been hit by extreme weather, rainfall and flooding over the last three weeks as the remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Tiffany gradually passed over the state.

The storms left critical road and rail links from Adelaide to the Northern Territory – as well as Western Australia – cut off, prompting authorities to call a Major Emergency Declaration on January 28 and launch emergency supply flights to cut off-towns in the APY Lands and Coober Pedy.

But in a statement last night, Police Commissioner and state emergency coordinator Grant Stevens said the emergency declaration was revoked at 6:56pm on Tuesday following “significant improvements” to conditions in northern SA.

Stevens cited the staged reopening of the Stuart Highway to freight and emergency service vehicles as one of the key reasons for rescinding the declaration, and said the recovery operation has now been handed over to Department of Premier and Cabinet CEO Nick Reade.

In a statement last night, Premier Steven Marshall said DPC officials met with councils across the Eyre Peninsula on Tuesday and preparations are in place to transition from “response to recovery”.

“Key departments responsible for road maintenance are finalising a road repair prioritisation list for tens of thousands of kilometres of sealed, unsealed, access and private roads,” he said.

“A staged re-opening of Stuart Highway continues.  One lane is open, with trucks and 4WD vehicles able to travel in one direction at a time, with a maximum speed of 20km/h. I have been advised there are no significant issues at this stage.

“The SES is in contact with outback communities including Coober Pedy and Oodnadatta and is monitoring critical supplies. SAPOL have a presence in situ at Coober Pedy and Oodnadatta and is continuing to monitor the situation.

“Two food deliveries totalling approximately 500kg have been delivered to Oodnadatta in the past two days with the assistance of the SES, RFDS and private operators”.

Marshall also said the Australian Rail Track Corporation expects to finish repairs to the SA-NT and SA-WA rail links by February 15, a couple of days earlier than previous estimates.

Upper House backs Adelaide park lands heritage push

The state’s Upper House has supported a Bill to grant State Heritage listing to the Adelaide park lands.

The Heritage Places (Adelaide Park Lands) Amendment Bill, introduced by Greens MLC Robert Simms, passed the Legislative Council last night without division with the support of both major parties.

Simms touted the legislation’s passage in the Upper House as a “big win” for those advocating for park lands heritage listing.

“Labor and the Liberals are now both on the public record supporting this Greens’ Bill,” he said.

“No matter who is in Government, we will reintroduce the Bill in the next parliament and push to make this a priority.”

The Adelaide park lands were listed as a national heritage site in 2008.

The Adelaide City Council has floated putting the city’s green belt up for listing on the World Heritage register, although the State Government has been more cautious about this proposal.

Macron upbeat despite escalating Ukraine crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron attending a joint press conference after meeting in Moscow on Tuesday Photo: Dominique Jacovides/Pool

French President Emmanuel Macron, the first leader of a major Western power to meet Vladimir Putin since Russia massed troops near Ukraine, says he believes steps can be taken to de-escalate the crisis despite his talks with the Russian President yielding no major breakthrough.

Macron, who in contrast to his US and British counterparts has played down the likelihood that Russia may soon invade its neighbour, shuttled from Moscow to Kyiv on Tuesday in a high-profile bid to act as a mediator.

The French president had no breakthroughs to announce after an official said overnight that Putin had promised him Russia would not stage military manoeuvres near Ukraine for the time being.

But Macron said he thought his talks had helped prevent the crisis from escalating further.

Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had told him they were committed to the principles of a 2014 peace agreement, he said, adding that this deal, known as the Minsk accords, offered a path to resolving their ongoing disputes.

“This shared determination is the only way allowing us to create peace, the only way to create a viable political solution,” Macron told a joint news conference with Zelenskiy.

“Calm … is essential from all parties in words and in deeds,” Macron said, praising Zelenskiy for “the sangfroid that you are showing, and which the Ukrainian people are showing, in the face of military pressure on your borders and on your country”.

Earlier, he defended the outcome of his talks in Moscow on Monday, telling reporters he had never expected “for one second” that Putin would make concessions.

Western countries led by the United States remain fearful that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. Moscow says it is planning no invasion but could take unspecified “military-technical measures” unless a number of security demands are met, including a promise from NATO never to admit Kyiv.

-With AAP and Reuters