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The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy, Mostafa Rachwani and Tory Shepherd (earlier)

BHP vaccine mandate declared unlawful; NSW towns evacuate as storms threaten – as it happened

What we learned: Friday 3 December

With that, I will let you all get on with enjoying your weekends. Stay safe and dry. Here were today’s major developments:

  • Labor has revealed its much anticipated emissions reductions plan to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030. Opposition leader Anthony Albanese says it will spur $76bn of investment, create more than 600,000 jobs and cut power bills. Key to the plan is an upgrade of the electricity grid and the rollout of Australia’s first national electric vehicle strategy to tackle Australia’s woefully low uptake. It’s lower than the 45% target taken to the last election.
  • The BHP vaccine mandate was declared unlawful by the full bench of the Fair Work Commission. It said the findings may have been different if BHP had consulted its employees differently.
  • NSW health minister Brad Hazzard said the community should be “cautious” about Omicron. There have been three new cases of the variant bringing total cases to 13. Health minister Greg Hunt said all cases so far had been mild.
  • Nationals MP Damian Drum has announced he will quit parliament and not re-contest the seat of Nicholls. Shepparton councillor Rob Priestly announced last month he would run as an independent. He is a member of the Voices for Nicholls movement.
  • NSW recorded 337 new cases and no deaths. Victoria recorded 1,188 cases and 11 deaths. The ACT recorded four cases including an Omicron case, and, sadly the NT recorded its first death, a woman in her 70s from the Binjari community. It came as the NT shut its border to SA.
  • Residents of northern NSW towns Boggabilla and Toomelah have been told to evacuate following dangerous storms.
  • And the body of jockey Chris Caserta has been found off the Gold Coast. He had gone missing after a swim on Wednesday evening.

Updated

Omicron case detected in ACT

ACT Health has confirmed an individual in the ACT has tested positive to the Omicron variant:

The person is fully vaccinated and returned a positive test result on 1 December. Following genome sequencing, this has today been confirmed as the Omicron variant. It is not yet known if this case was acquired in the ACT or NSW. The individual has not travelled overseas.

Due to the evolving situation with the Omicron variant, out of caution and in line with other jurisdictions, ACT Health has increased the quarantine requirements for close contacts regardless of vaccination status. This means that anyone identified as a close contact of someone with the Omicron variant is required to quarantine for 14 days. All household contacts members of the close contact are also required to quarantine for 14 days.

There are no changes to the quarantine requirements for casual contacts.

Currently the impacts of the new variant are unknown, including its rate of transmission and the effectiveness of the vaccine against this variant. However, as we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue to closely monitor the situation and adjust our response accordingly.

There are currently four exposure sites: Next Gen Canberra, The Knox Made in Watson, Supabarn Kingston and Blue Gum Community School.

BHP vaccine mandate declared unlawful

The full bench of the Fair Work Commission has found BHP’s decision to make Covid vaccinations mandatory at its Hunter Valley mine was not lawful or reasonable.

The commission:

Had the respondent consulted the employees in accordance with its consultation obligations – such that we could have been satisfied that the decision to introduce the site access requirement was the outcome of a meaningful consultation process – the above considerations would have provided a strong case in favour of a conclusion that the site access requirement was a reasonable direction.

The Independent Education Union Victoria Tasmania has welcomed the passage of the Equal Opportunity (Religious Exceptions) Amendment Bill, which grants equal protections to workers in faith-based institutions.

General secretary Deb James:

At last, staff in our schools will be protected against discrimination on the grounds of their sexual orientation or identity, their marital or parental status or their religious belief. No longer will a faith-based employer have the right to discriminate against a divorced teacher, a gay lab technician, or a single-parent receptionist.

Despite the loud campaign against these reforms from some faith leaders, we know that most principals and school leaders welcome reforms which better protect their hard-working staff and ensure that all our schools are more welcoming and inclusive places to work and to learn.

While this is a huge step forward for Victorian discrimination law, we now face the prospect of these reforms being steamrolled by the damaging and misguided proposed federal Religious Discrimination Bill. This federal Bill does not protect against discrimination – it enables it, and it enables homophobia, misogyny and hate speech. We call on federal politicians from all parties to stand against it. In every electorate right across Australia, there are loyal employees of faith-based schools, hospitals, care facilities and other institutions who deserve the same protections as other workers but will be denied them by this Bill.

Two NSW towns told to evacuate as ‘dangerous’ storm threatens Sydney

Residents of two towns in northern NSW have been ordered to evacuate as “very dangerous” storms threaten areas around Sydney, AAP reports.

The State Emergency Service on Friday morning told residents of Boggabilla and Toomelah they must evacuate by 11am or risk being stranded without help. An evacuation centre has been set up at Moree East Public School.

On Friday afternoon the Newell Highway between Boggabilla and Moree was closed by flooding.

Severe storms have been threatening areas around the greater Sydney region, with a band developing from the Hunter through the Blue Mountains and down to the Illawarra region on Friday afternoon.

The Bureau of Meteorology warns Gosford, Cessnock, Maitland, Bowral, Katoomba and Taralga are among the areas that could be impacted by the damaging winds and large hailstones on Friday afternoon.

A “very dangerous” storm in Penrith was due to move towards Richmond, while another at Picton was moving south-east towards Wollongong.

Another storm was moving north-east over the Hunter region.

The Macintrye River has already reached moderate flood levels in Boggabilla, but is expected to peak with major flooding. Major flooding is also occurring upstream in Goondiwindi, with the river likely to exceed the peak of the 2011 floods that devastated south-east Queensland.

But the border town is “incredibly prepared” for floods, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services assistant commissioner, Steve Smith, says.

The Macquarie River is expected to reach a 9.5-metre peak before beginning to recede overnight at Warren, where major flooding has isolated the town. Major flooding is also underway at Wee Waa along the Namoi River and at Jemalong on the Lachlan River.

Flood warnings are still active for the Severn, Gwydir, Dumaresq, Bogan, Murrumbidgee, Murray, Warrego, Paroo and Barwon rivers, after NSW’s wettest November on record soaked catchments.

But sunny weather has returned for a spell, with multiple parts of NSW facing maximum temperatures exceeding 30C on Friday.

Federal-state disaster assistance is available in 39 local government areas across NSW for individuals and councils to clean up damage from November’s floods.

Updated

The Electric Vehicle Council is similarly pleased with Labor today. Anthony Albanese’s plan would make electric vehicles cheaper with an electric car discount and Australia’s first national electric vehicle strategy.

The EVC chief executive, Behyad Jafari, says:

Labor’s plan for a National Electric Vehicle Policy is well overdue for Australia; the Electric Vehicle Council is ready and eager to support its development. Working with industry will be critical in creating a plan that maximises the enormous benefits of electric vehicles.

Australia should be building batteries and electric vehicles, but we have so far been let down by a lack of ambition at a federal level. Left unchecked, these manufacturing opportunities and their associated jobs will go elsewhere.

It’s a welcome development to see the debate now shifting to how to embrace the future of electric vehicles in Australia. Making it easier for Australians to make the switch through discounts will help us catch up to the rest of the world. Labor’s policy, if implemented, will make Australia’s streets cleaner and quieter, lower health costs, reduce carbon emissions and break our dependence on foreign oil.

Updated

If you haven’t caught up with this yet, it’s well worth a read.

Craig Kelly – who has been permanently banned from Facebook over Covid-19 posts – has been appointed to a parliamentary committee looking into social media and online safety.

Updated

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has released a statement on Labor’s emissions targets, calling the plan a pathway to achieve the economic and technological transition towards a more sustainable future.

The ACCI chief executive, Andrew McKellar, says:

Australia needs to pull its weight when it comes to action on climate change. The critical test for this policy, whether it sinks or swims, will be its impact on energy prices for businesses and for consumers. Any transition to reduce emissions must deliver lower power prices and ensure increased reliability.

A bipartisan commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 is fundamental for businesses to take action to reduce their emissions. Of course, further analysis of the federal opposition’s plan is required to understand the impact that businesses will face in transitioning towards a low-emissions economy.

It is encouraging to see updated 2030 targets that push the frame towards more ambitious action on climate change. If Australian businesses are to remain internationally competitive, we must have the clear policy settings that signal this commitment.

Reforms to reduce the baseline of the safeguard mechanisms are a sensible approach, recognising that businesses need certainty to be able to compete with their foreign counterparts. This will provide a stable policy framework for the biggest emitters to adopt renewable energy resources.

We give the opposition credit for announcing its detailed emissions policy well in advance of the forthcoming federal election. This means businesses and the Australian public now have the capacity to assess both major parties in this policy area.

With business leading the way, ACCI will continue to work with government and federal opposition to ensure that action on climate change creates jobs, grows businesses and drives our economic recovery to ensure a more sustainable future.

Updated

With the weekend looming, people might be checking the forecasts, particularly if you’re in storm-hit Melbourne or relatively sodden Sydney and Brisbane.

Basically, things don’t turn wet for the eastern seaboard until the middle of next week, but the widespread falls of 25mm or more over several days will probably trigger more flood watches.

Summer’s under way and if you were in central or north-western Australia you’d know it as temperatures rise to 40C or above in many places. A severe to extreme heatwave will be in place for the next few days over part of that region, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

In recent years, spring heatwaves have been common events including over eastern Australia, setting things up for dangerous summer fire seasons.

Not this year, though. Bureau reports this week out for November and spring have shown how relatively cool and damp it was, with New South Wales and South Australia reporting their wettest Novembers on record.

Reports out today for individual cities reinforce that theme.

Sydney’s Observatory Hill had a rare below-average month, with the average maximum temperature of 23.2C half a degree below the 1961-90 yardstick and a full degree cooler if you are comparing only recent decades. Rainfall was about two-thirds above average.

Melbourne’s Olympic Park, meanwhile, had five consecutive November days with maximums failing to reach 16C, equalling the record of such days set in the city in November 1925.

Local flooding west of Brisbane this week
A flooded street west of Brisbane this week. The Queensland capital had more than double the usual November rain. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

Brisbane meanwhile had more than double the usual November rain, topping more than 250mm. Average daily maximums were 27.3C, or 1.1C below the norm.

The Red Centre was damp too, with Alice Springs smashing its previous wettest November by about 40%, with 218.2mm recorded. That’s a lot more than the average of 30.7mm for the month. On 10 November it recorded 100.2mm alone, one of only six 100mm-plus days for any month since records began in 1942.

Darwin was one place to buck the trend. Rainfall was slightly below average but temperatures averaged 34.7C. Tropical temperatures tend to stray less from their long-run norms, and so even though the average was just 1.3C above a typical November, it still made it the equal second-warmest reading for the month in records going back to 1941. November 2020 holds the title with an average 35 degrees.

Updated

The Climate Council has released a statement on Labor’s emissions reduction targets, welcoming the 43% commitment by 2030 but warning it must be strengthened.

Its analysis shows Labor’s plan sets Australia on a path to net zero in 2050 which, under current policy settings, wouldn’t be reached until almost 2100. Renewable energy is expected to power 82% of Australia’s energy needs by 2030 according to the plan, contrasting to 68% from a business as usual approach.

The Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie, says:

Labor’s plan helps bridge the gap between the Morrison government’s do nothing approach, and state government and business leaders who are forging ahead to create jobs and grow our nation’s prosperity by slashing emissions this decade.

Right now, our country is the worst performing of all developed countries when it comes to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and moving beyond fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. Labor’s plan is a major improvement, but it will need to be strengthened significantly to genuinely tackle climate change.

We know how dangerous global warming is because we’re being slammed by megafires like the Black Summer and extreme flooding. Our very way of life, and everything we love about this great country, is in danger from unchecked climate change.

The Climate Council recommends that Australia cut its emissions 75% (based on 2005 levels) by 2030, and aims to reach net zero by 2035.

Updated

Ben Roberts-Smith’s long- and oft-delayed defamation trial against three newspapers will resume in the new year, on 2 February.

Roberts-Smith is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over a series of ­reports published in 2018 that he alleges are defamatory because they portray him as someone who “broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement” and committed war crimes, including murdering unarmed civilians.

The 42-year-old has consistently denied the allegations, saying they are “false”, “baseless” and “completely without any foundation in truth”. The newspapers are defending their reporting as true.

The latest delays have been because of Covid travel restrictions preventing witnesses from Western Australia – mainly serving and former SAS soldiers – travelling to Sydney to give evidence. The sensitive nature of their evidence means that it can’t be heard via videolink.

Roberts-Smith’s lawyer, Arthur Moses QC, has consistently argued the Victoria Cross recipient was being prejudiced by the long-running and uncertain delays.

Moses pointed out to the court yesterday that by February next year it will be three-and-a-half years since the defamation action was filed, nine months since Roberts-Smith ceased work because of the trial, seven months since he had given evidence, and six months since the court heard from Afghan witnesses.

Moses said a fixed date for the resumption of the trial was needed, arguing “the federal court can’t be held hostage by the whims of a state premier” in relation to border closures.

Justice Anthony Besanko fixed 2 February as the date to resume the trial.

Any witness who has been subpoenaed but wishes not to give evidence will have until 28 January to seek to be excused, Besanko said.

Updated

Queensland is edging closer to 80% double dose targets.

Updated

The international law expert Donald Rothwell told the inquiry the initial information-sharing agreement under Aukus was “an unusual treaty”. That is because it “is effectively an agreement to potentially agree on something more substantive at some undefined point in the future”.

Rothwell said the agreement indicated Australia, the US and the UK were “very aware” of obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But he said the agreement could have contained “a much stronger statement” on those commitments. He pointed out Australia had a higher level of obligation under the NPT than the US and the UK (which are nuclear weapons states):

Given the novelty of the Aukus arrangement it may well have been prudent to seek to reassure other states who have expressed concerns to Australia about Australia’s actions and its consistency of its actions in the NPT, to have inserted a stronger statement into this agreement reaffirming Australia’s NPT obligations.

Updated

Australia’s plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines could “spell disaster” for the global non-proliferation regime, according to the Nobel prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Ican was among groups to sound the alarm about the Aukus security partnership today, telling a parliamentary committee that Iran and other countries may use the “very dangerous precedent” to follow suit.

(Essentially it boils down to safeguards that apply to states like Australia that do not have nuclear weapons.)

Marianne Hanson, the co-chair of Ican Australia, told the treaties committee that if the plan went ahead, “it will pose a substantial threat to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty” – a treaty of which Australia “claims to be one of the chief champions”.

Hanson said Australia acquiring the technology and using highly enriched uranium was an unprecedented step, that would “set the stage for other states, like Iran for example, to claim their prerogative to do the same thing”.

We are a state which is not likely to acquire nuclear weapons, and our prime minister has said as much. However, the problem is if the exception is made for Australia … other states will ask for the same thing to happen. If Iran, if numerous states require this kind of provision through what seems to be a loophole in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s process then this spells disaster for the non-proliferation regime.

Bevan Ramsden, a spokesperson for Independent and Peaceful Australia Network, who also gave evidence today, called for the initial proposed treaty to be left unratified, “to allow proper democratic debate in the public and parliament”.

The treaties committee is holding a fast-tracked inquiry into an initial agreement among Australia, the US and the UK, called the Exchange of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information Agreement.

It’s not the overarching Aukus plan, but an initial treaty to allow the sharing of information as part of the 18-month study process to find the best way for the US and the UK to help Australia build at least eight nuclear-propelled submarines. It was referred to the committee on 26 November with submissions due four days later.

The president of the Medical Association for Prevention of War, Dr Sue Wareham, said: “This process has been pretty deplorable. This is one of the biggest decisions Australia has made in a long time and the community has been given literally four days to comment.”

The Australian government has said it “remains staunch in our support for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)” and that it will “work closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure full compliance with our NPT obligations”.

Updated

Labor is up and about following their emissions reduction plan announcement.

Meanwhile, prime minister Scott Morrison says a 43% reduction target is “not safe” for our country or jobs.

Many thanks to legends Mostafa Rachwani and Tory Shepherd. Let’s keep rolling on into the weekend.

And, for the second time today, I am handing over the blog, this time to Caitlin Cassidy, who’ll expertly guide you through the evening’s news. Thanks again for reading.

Scott Morrison has made some comments on Senator Alex Antic’s vaccination status, after the senator was taken to hotel quarantine upon arrival in South Australia.

Asked if he had been misled, here is what the PM had to say:

I was advised that he was double vaccinated, and in our conversation I said to him that I understand you’ve been double vaccinated. He didn’t correct me.

Senator Antic has made his choice and he’s entitled to that choice. I was labouring under the understanding that he had been double vaccinated.

I’m disappointed that that was unclear. And I’m glad that it’s been resolved.

Scott Morrison speaks during a press conference at the Snowy Hydro scheme in Talbingo, NSW
Scott Morrison speaks during a press conference at the Snowy Hydro scheme in Talbingo, NSW. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Good afternoon and hello again, a quick thanks to Tory Shepherd for covering Labor’s announcement. There is still much going on, so let’s dive in.

Updated

And that’s all from me (Tory Shepherd) for today. I feel I barely scratched the surface of Labor’s plan, but Guardian Australia will unpick it in full for you, and see how the nation reacts to it.

Back to you, Mostafa Rachwani!

Some highlights from the press conference with the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, and shadow climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen (I’ve paraphrased the questions):

Q: How can you be sure that you’ll deliver a $275 saving on power bills?

Albanese: (Possibly channeling the French president, Emmanuel Macron): “I don’t think, I know.”

I know because we have done the modelling. The modelling is available. We are releasing it here today. That is the average reduction in power prices from today as a result of the suite of policies which we have announced.

Q: How do you combat accusations it’s effectively a carbon tax, and if 45% was too much at the last election, isn’t 43% too?

Albanese: Doesn’t address the carbon tax part of the question, but says Labor has consulted broadly with business, unions, economists and experts.

We know, as well, that over a period of time, technology has got better, of course, and renewables have come down in price. The benefit of the shift to clean energy is there for all to see. Business knows it, industry knows it. Everyone except for the federal government (knows it).

Q: Where in the budget does the $24bn investment come from?

Bowen: It will be found through “rewiring” existing policies (you can see more detail in the full plan here).

Q: What’s your message to carmakers like Volkswagen who say it’s not worth entering the Australian market (because electric vehicles are too expensive)?

Bowen: There are tariff exemptions (which Labor says will take thousands off the price of electric vehicles), and abolishing the fringe benefits tax will take another $900 off. Car fleets will be a big part of the policy, and as they sell cars they will enter the second-hand market.

Q: Will you legislate the target? And actually that target is lower than what business wants ...

Albanese:

This is a policy from the alternative government of Australia that is fully costed, it is worked through, that I think has got the right element of ambition. It is a modest policy. We do not pretend that it is a radical policy.

Bowen adds that it will legislate the 2030 target, and net zero by 2050.

There’s much more, but as I mentioned earlier, Katharine Murphy will be right across the details.

Updated

Anthony Albanese goes on to say that the policy – which Labor will take to the election next year – is consistent with calls at the Cop26 conference in Glasgow for countries to have an updated 2030 target (the prime minister, Scott Morrison, says the Coalition will probably overachieve on its existing target of 26-28%, but declined to update the target.)

He says:

This is the right plan for Australia going forward, it is the plan that acknowledges what business wants, it is the plan that acknowledges that the world economy is demanding this ...

(It is) consistent with our optimistic view that Australia can be a better country coming out of the global pandemic, that we should be optimistic about our future, that we should seize the opportunities that are there due to the natural advantages we have, located in the fastest growing region of the world in human history with the abundant renewable resources as well as other resources that we have in this country, our greatest resource of course is our people. What this plan does is maximise the potential of those people to get high-paid, good, secure work and for households and businesses to have much cheaper and cleaner energy.

The shadow climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, is with him, and says he will be reporting on progress on the plan to parliament, in a similar way to how the government currently reports on Indigenous disadvantage. He says:

We want to be held to account of progress, we want the parliament to be focusing on how well we are doing as a country.

We’re into questions now, and the indomitable Katharine Murphy is there. Stay tuned for her take, and I’ll get a summary of the Q&A in the next post.

Updated

And here are the dot points Labor has released – apologies if this is way too much information for your Friday afternoon! The party is promising to:

  • Upgrade the electricity grid to fix energy transmission and drive down power prices.
  • Make electric vehicles cheaper with an electric car discount and Australia’s first national electric vehicle strategy.
  • Adopt the Business Council of Australia’s recommendation for facilities already covered by the government’s safeguard mechanism that emissions be reduced gradually and predictably over time, to support international competitiveness and economic growth – consistent with industry’s own commitment to net zero by 2050.
  • Protect the competitiveness of emissions-intensive trade exposed industries by ensuring they will not face a greater constraint than their competitors.
  • Allocate up to $3bn from Labor’s National Reconstruction Fund to invest in green metals (steel, alumina and aluminium); clean energy component manufacturing; hydrogen electrolysers and fuel switching; agricultural methane reduction and waste reduction.
  • Provide direct financial support for measures that improve energy efficiency within existing industries and develop new industries in regional Australia through a new Powering the Regions Fund.
  • Roll out 85 solar banks around Australia to ensure more households can benefit from rooftop solar.
  • Install 400 community batteries across the country.
  • Demonstrate commonwealth leadership by reducing the Australian public service’s own emissions to net zero by 2030.
  • Invest in 10,000 New Energy apprentices and a New Energy skills program.
  • Establish a real-world vehicle fuel testing program to inform consumer choice.
  • Work with large businesses to provide greater transparency on their climate-related risks and opportunities.
  • Re-establish leadership by restoring the role of the Climate Change Authority, while keeping decision-making and accountability with government and introducing new annual parliamentary reporting by the minister.

Updated

Anthony Albanese launches Labor plan to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030

Here’s Anthony Albanese now, officially announcing the plan to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030 (on 2005 levels). He says the plan is fully costed, and he’s releasing the modelling, saying it’s the “most comprehensive modelling ever done by any opposition in Australia’s history since federation”.

You can be sure it will be closely examined.

He says it will spur $76bn of investment, create more than 600,000 jobs, cut power bills, all while reducing emissions.

Albanese says:

Our plan will create 604,000 extra jobs by 2030. Five out of every six will be in regional Australia ... it (will see) the electricity prices fall from the current level by $275 for households by 2025 at the end of our first term if we are successful.

Over the forward estimates the cost to the budget will be $683m. Australian business is leading. It is time that the Australian government caught up. That is why our plan to create jobs, cut power bills, grow renewables and reduce emissions, is the right plan for Australia.

More to come ...

Updated

As Mostafa said earlier, we’re waiting for Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s press conference on the new climate change policy – and Mostafa also linked to Katharine Murphy’s excellent preview. Murphy is also casting an eagle eye over prime minister Scott Morrison’s response on Twitter:

The Weekly Beast is in! Amanda Meade talks us through tears for departing ABC legend Fran Kelly, and the sad death of former journo and political lobbyist Christian Kerr. And more...

Updated

The West Australian state Nationals MP and former federal party vice-president James Hayward has been suspended from the party after being charged with child sexual abuse offences.

Hayward, who was elected to WA’s parliament earlier this year, is facing multiple charges relating to an eight-year-old girl, including persistent sexual conduct.

The 52-year-old faced Perth magistrates court on Thursday and was not required to enter a plea. He was granted bail to reappear on 13 December.

“The Nationals WA has suspended the membership of James Hayward, effective immediately,” the party said in a brief statement late on Thursday.

“No further comment will be made at this time.”

Western Australian opposition leader Mia Davies
Opposition leader Mia Davies has stood down James Hayward from his shadow local government, water and regional cities portfolios. Photograph: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

The state opposition leader, Mia Davies, said she was shocked and distressed to learn of the allegations shortly before boarding a flight from Carnarvon earlier on Thursday.

She moved immediately to stand down Hayward from his shadow local government, water and regional cities portfolios.

“They are serious allegations and the charges that have been brought are very distressing,” Davies told reporters.

“James has been in and around our party for some time. He’s a colleague. You work very closely with people in this environment, so needless to say it’s come as a shock to everybody that knows him.”

The WA Nationals assumed opposition status after Labor’s blowout victory in the March election left the Liberals with two lower house seats.

Under their opposition alliance, the Nationals and Liberals hold a combined 16 seats in the 95-seat parliament.

Individuals convicted of persistent sexual conduct in WA face a maximum prison term of 20 years.

Updated

In the run-up to Christmas there are a few mid-year economic updates to come from the federal and state governments that might well be lost in the yuletide rush by, well, just about everybody.

As it happens there are some updated figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office. Generally, the news is on the positive side, with the economy recovering faster than expected, compared with February estimates.

Still, for those who fleetingly wonder whether the current optimism about growth in employment and business activity (and property prices that are a quarter higher over the past year) implied the Covid pandemic may not have been a bad thing need only look at the scale of the debt hole we’re still excavating.

National net debt is forecast to increase from 38% of GDP ($774bn) in 2020-21 to 55% of GDP ($1.325tn) in 2024-25, the PBO said. That’s less than previously forecast but still pretty ginormous.

Swelling the debt will be extra interest repayments as rates rise. Assuming the increase is 0.8 percentage points across the four years to 2023-24 compared with the level expected in the 2021-22 budget, that means annual repayments will be an extra $3.2bn over the period.

By 2024-25, $34bn will have to come from state and federal budgets to pay off that debt. Higher rates, if that’s what happens, could swell that bill further.

Scott Morrison radios the operator of the tunnel boring machine Kirsten to start the engine at the Snowy Hydro scheme
Scott Morrison radios the operator of the tunnel boring machine Kirsten to start the engine at the Snowy Hydro scheme. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Speaking of holes, there’s a bit of a boring story from Scott Morrison’s visit to Snowy Hydro’s giant pumped hydro project earlier today.

A second tunnel boring machine has been commissioned, apparently dubbed “Kirsten” for some reason. There’s no word about what happened to the first one, or what its name was.

“Our $1.38bn investment in this project is already creating a local jobs boom, with a current workforce of more than 1,300 people and an expected 4,000 direct jobs over the life of the project, and many opportunities for local Australian businesses and suppliers,” the prime minister said.

Updated

Northern Territory shuts border to South Australia

The Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, is giving a press conference now, saying the report of the first death in the territory was “the news we never wanted to give”.

Today is a tragic reminder of the severity of this virus and why we take it so seriously. We will not be releasing any other personal information at this time.

This is a period of great sorrow for a family and a community.

Gunner also announces the Territory will shut its borders to South Australia from 8pm tonight, with all arrivals needing to do seven days of home quarantine upon arrival.

Given the wider community spread of Covid in SA that is now happening, we have decided to declare SA red zone for the purposes of travel to the NT effective from 8pm this evening.

Updated

Thanks, Mostafa, and hello! I’m coming to you live from Adelaide, just a couple of blocks away from the medi-hotel where former premier Jay Weatherill and Liberal senator Alex Antic are quarantining.

Weatherill was visiting his old hometown from Perth – and unfortunately visited a whole stack of South Australian luminaries before he was diagnosed with Covid.

Antic, meanwhile... well, Mostafa mentioned this below, and Paul Karp has the story here:

And on that note, I will leave you in the ever-capable hands of Tory Shepherd to take you through Labor’s announcement. Thanks for reading.

Updated

Jockey's body found off Gold Coast

The body of jockey Chris Caserta has been found off the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Caserta had gone missing after a swim, and police say his body was found almost 200 metres offshore, near the sand pumping jetty at Main Beach.

He has been formally identified, police say.

Caserta’s body was found around 8.30am following an extensive search after he was reported missing on Wednesday night.

Updated

The PM has addressed questions about whether he knew if senator Alex Antic was vaccinated or not:

Earlier, it was reported Antic was taken to hotel quarantine upon arrival in South Australia, a move usually reserved for travellers who are not fully vaccinated.

Updated

Northern Territory woman dies of Covid

A woman in her 70s from the Binjari community, just outside Katherine, has become the first person to die of Covid in the Northern Territory.

The case is linked to the current cluster in Katherine, and the territory’s government has extended its condolences to the family.

Updated

Earlier today, federal health minister Greg Hunt announced an extra $540m investment in Covid protection measures.

Hunt announced the money as he welcomed the country’s fully vaccinated rate climbing above 87%.

The money will be spent on aged care support, Covid responses in Indigenous communities, modelling and pathology labs.

An additional $48m will be put towards medical research on Covid.

Updated

Hazzard: Community should be 'cautious' about Omicron

NSW health minister Brad Hazzard has confirmed the new case of Omicron in NSW, but said investigations were ongoing into whether it was a locally acquired case or not.

Hazzard said another two cases were under investigation to see if they were also infected with the new variant, but urged residents to remain “cautious” and not to be too worried.

There isn’t clarity around whether this particular variant is going to cause us anywhere near the problems that the earlier variants caused us.

And what we always aim to do, right from the outset, was to make sure that we had capacity in our hospitals if there were increasing numbers.

We are well-placed if it does increase but at the moment, it is very early days, so my advice to the community is be cautious, the way you always have been. We do anticipate rapid growth, so do listen to the continuing health messages and be cautious, and especially if you have symptoms, go and get tested.

Updated

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has welcomed the Morrison government’s expansion of Australia’s sanctions laws, saying the two countries “will seek to promote our shared democratic values with similar tools”.

Foreign government officials could face sanctions for “gross human rights violations” and “egregious acts of international concern”, including cyber-attacks, under the laws that passed the lower house yesterday, a day after clearing the Senate.

Corrupt business people could also be banned from travelling to Australia and have their assets and bank accounts frozen.

Bear in mind, Australian government insiders have previously raised the lack of such “Magnitsky-style” laws as one of the reasons Australia wasn’t able to join with its allies to impose coordinated sanctions against Chinese officials over the mass detention and persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang back in March.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken
US secretary of state Antony Blinken. Photograph: Reuters

Blinken issued a statement overnight saying the US “looks forward to continuing our partnership with Australia, other like-minded governments, and civil society alike to defend human rights, combat corruption, promote responsible behaviour in cyberspace, and promote accountability and good governance”.

He also wants other countries to follow suit, saying:

The United States commends Australia on passing legislation that strengthens its sanctions regime to address more comprehensively human rights abuses, corruption, malicious cyber activity, violations of international humanitarian law, and weapons of mass destruction proliferation globally – all of which threaten international peace and security.

The new legislation will enhance US-Australia cooperation on defending human rights and combatting corruption. Together with other allies and partners, the United States and Australia will seek to promote our shared democratic values with similar tools and continue to call on international partners to adopt sanctions structures that can address these challenges to democratic ideals.

For more, see yesterday’s story:

Updated

ACT records four new Covid cases

The ACT has recorded four new locally acquired cases.

Updated

Friday marks two years since Australia’s short-lived Medevac laws were repealed by the federal parliament – but dozens of asylum seekers and refugees who were transferred from Papua New Guinea and Nauru are still languishing in detention waiting for essential medical treatment.

The medevac legislation, initiated by Wentworth independent MP Dr Kerryn Phelps, gave doctors (rather than home affairs department officials) primary decision-making power in the transfer of asylum seekers and refugees from Australia’s offshore immigration regime to Australia for acute medical treatment.

For eight months in 2019, before they were repealed, the medevac laws saw 192 people transferred to Australia for medical treatment doctors judged they could not receive offshore.

But a new report from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, titled Healthcare denied: Medevac and the long wait for essential medical treatment in Australian immigration detention, highlights ongoing failures to provide basic medical care for people brought from offshore and detained in Australia.

Lucy Geddes, the report’s lead author and a PIAC senior solicitor, said:

The Medevac regime was intended to ensure that people detained in offshore facilities with serious health conditions could access essential medical services.

It is absolutely appalling that two years later, people are still waiting for treatment for painful and debilitating conditions including severe gum disease, chest pain and heart palpitations.

One of our clients suffered an excruciating knee injury while being detained on Manus Island. When he was finally transferred to Australia and able to see an orthopaedic specialist, the specialist found that his knee was inoperable due to the severe damage and prolonged lack of treatment.

Asylum seekers gesture from detention in a Melbourne hotel to protesters holding a pro-refugee rights rally last year
Asylum seekers gesture from detention in a Melbourne hotel to protesters holding a pro-refugee rights rally last year. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

The report argues the commonwealth has a legal duty of care to the people it detains, and that continuing to hold members of the Medevac cohort in unsuitable facilities - including hotels - indefinitely, without adequate medical treatment, is in breach of these legal obligations.

The report makes a series of recommendations to improve the quality, timeliness and oversight of healthcare within Australia’s immigration detention system.

More than 40 refugees and asylum seekers, most of them medevac transferees, are still being held in Melbourne’s Park Hotel in Carlton. More than half of the cohort currently in the hotel was infected with Covid during an outbreak in October and November.

Before it was a government-decreed “alternative place of detention”, the hotel, under its former name Rydges, was used for hotel quarantine and was the epicentre of Victoria’s second Covid wave.

A government inquiry found “around 90% of Covid-19 cases in Victoria since late May 2020 were attributable to the outbreak at Rydges”.

Geddes said:

The combination of delayed treatment and long-term confinement to a hotel room has also exacerbated some existing medical conditions. Since being transferred to Australia, the conditions of onshore detention have resulted in our clients’ mental health deteriorating to the point they have been at risk of suicide.

The PIAC report will be formally launched on Monday.

Updated

We’re expecting an update from NSW premier Dominic Perrottet in a bit, to provide details on the potentially locally acquired Omicron case.

Updated

NSW Health concerned latest Omicron case acquired locally

So, lost a little in the flurry of updates this morning was the news NSW has recorded another case of the Omicron variant.

NSW Health said it was concerned the case was locally acquired, making it the first case of Omicron spreading locally in Australia.

The case is a student at Regents Park Christian School, and Health said its concerns were linked to the lack of overseas travel by the student, or any links to anyone with overseas travel history.

Investigations are ongoing.

Updated

Alywarre woman Pat Anderson has stepped down from her position of chair of the Lowitja Institute after nearly 20 years in the role.

Anderson was one of the founding figures in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led health research. She is a powerhouse.

Lowitja Institute CEO Dr Janine Mohamed said Anderson challenged and disrupted Western models of research. She was one of the strongest proponents of a principle that had come to guide First Nations research and policy: nothing about us without us.

Pat has been a fearless advocate for justice and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for decades and an outstanding mentor and strong moral compass. She is a trailblazer and ceiling-breaker for all women.

Like our founding patron and namesake Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue, Pat is a guiding light for all of us at Lowitja Institute, and we are so grateful she will continue to be involved with us as a patron.

The Lowitja Institute board has elected Gungarri man Selwyn Button as the new chairperson.

Pat Anderson
‘Trailblazer’: Pat Anderson. Photograph: Lucy Hughes Jones/AAP

Updated

And before we’ve actually heard further details, the Greens have jumped at the announcement from Labor, releasing a press statement saying Labor has “given up on climate”.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said:

The climate crisis is getting worse but Labor is going backwards.

Labor’s backdown shows the only way we’ll get climate action is kicking the Liberals out and putting Greens in the balance of power to push Labor to go further and faster.

These targets take us past the point of no return. The Liberals are taking us over the cliff at 200 km/h while Labor’s promising to do it at 180 km/h. Both their plans mean Australia heats up by more than 3 degrees, which is game over for our country.

Updated

So we are on standby to hear from opposition leader Anthony Albanese on the climate policies Labor will take into the next election, but you can read read a preview of the policies from Katharine Murphy at the link below.

We already know they will take a 43% emissions reduction target for 2030, with the rest still up in the air:

Updated

The PM is due to speak shortly, but not before he is photographed in a hi-vis vest, gloves and a hard hat. As you do.

Kelly was asked if he was concerned over “large gatherings” at Christmas in light of the spreading Omicron variant, and said it was about striking a balance:

We need to take that one step at a time.

Closing borders a big the decision for government not taken lightly. We have all the other measures in place – test, trace, isolate, all of those matters we have, and crucially, the vaccine. And we are one of the most vaccinated nations in the world.

We have no evidence at the moment that the vaccine does not work, and as far as we know the vaccine works against this new virus.

I suspect within the next months Omicron will be the new virus in the world.

Updated

Atagi makes no changes to Covid booster shot timeline

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) has not changed its recommendations on the booster shot timeline, chief medical officer Prof Paul Kelly has announced.

As it stands, Australians can get a booster shot six months after their second dose of the Covid vaccine.

Kelly noted there were nine cases of the Omicron variant in Australia but there was no firm evidence yet that it increased Covid’s severity.

[South Africa] has no real evidence at the moment of an increase in severity.

They are seeing a rise in hospitalisations in Pretoria and Johannesburg.

But even hospitalisations they are seeing with the Omicron variant are not any more severe than previous waves.

Updated

Labor sets 2030 emissions reduction target of 43%

Labor is announcing its climate policy this morning, beginning with a new medium-term emissions reduction target for 2030:

Updated

Victoria’s ombudsman has backed the state government’s pandemic bill, saying she is now “satisfied” with the safeguards included.

Deborah Glass was initially critical of an earlier draft of the bill, saying it lacked independent oversight.

Here’s what she told the Today show earlier this morning:

This bill is very different from what we saw a couple of weeks ago when I was expressing, and a number of others, about the lack of independent oversight and review.

What we’ve seen in this legislation now are some really significant amendments that will deliver, I think, that necessary independence to the whole process.

I am now satisfied.

Updated

Victoria records 1,188 new cases, 11 deaths

And numbers are also out in Victoria, which has recorded 1,188 new locally acquired cases, a drop on yesterday’s numbers.

The state also recorded 11 deaths overnight.

Updated

NSW record 337 new cases

New South Wales has recorded 337 new locally acquired cases today and no deaths.

Updated

All Omicron cases so far in Australia 'asymptomatic or very mild', Greg Hunt says

Federal health minister Greg Hunt has said all the Omicron cases in Australia have been “asymptomatic or very mild”.

Hunt was on Sunrise this morning, saying authorities were “cautiously optimistic”.

He also said early evidence showed the vaccines were “very good protection” against the new variant.

Paul Kelly, Australia’s chief medical officer, is cautiously optimistic, saying:

Often with diseases ... they become perhaps more transmissible but milder or less severe. If that is the case then that might be a positive direction.

Updated

Peter Dutton hopes Alan Tudge stays on as minister

Federal defence minister Peter Dutton has backed Alan Tudge as he faces an investigation into his alleged conduct.

Dutton was on the Today Show this morning and was asked about Tudge’s decision to step aside as education minister while he is investigated over abuse allegations that he denies.

Here’s Dutton’s take:

I certainly hope so. He’s a great minister. He’s got a great mind. I think if you speak to people within the Indigenous community, where he used to work, particularly in children’s education, he has a great passion for education.

I’ve always found Alan to be a very honourable and decent man. He’s had an extramarital affair, a consensual one. He’s made a mistake. It’s cost him his marriage. There’s a lot of embarrassment on both sides, I have no doubt.

But the matter is being investigated now, as it should be. But, you know, there are a lot of Australians who would find themselves in that position. It’s not unique to the parliament or to the Liberal party or the Labor party or the Greens.

It involves human beings and people make mistakes from time to time and he’s fessed up to that mistake. I think we allow the investigation now to be conducted.

Updated

The NSW Liberal party has set a quota of 50% women candidates to be preselected for the next federal election, but it has done this for nearly 10 years and has never reach the target.

Senior Liberals are attempting to nudge the party into taking the issue seriously, although there is scepticism on its ability to meet the target considering past failures.

A senior Liberal member of state executive told the Guardian:

We set a target every election, then we fail to meet it.

In the upcoming NSW local government elections we set a target of 50% women and we achieved 32%.

We do this every election but we don’t achieve it, ever.

Updated

Nationals MP Damian Drum to quit parliament

Adding to the growing list of MPs choosing to quit politics at the next election, Nationals MP Damian Drum has announced he will retire.

National MP Damian Drum
National MP Damian Drum. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Drum, a former AFL coach, has worked in state and federal politics, taking the seat of Nicholls in 2016 after it being in Liberal hands for 20 years.

In a statement this morning, Drum said it was “the right time” to go.

I am very aware that this is a job where anything less than 110% is doing a disservice to the people who have put their faith in you to represent them.

Updated

Sticking with MPs speaking on radio, independent MP Helen Haines is on RN Breakfast this morning, asked her thoughts on Scott Morrison’s take on a federal Icac:

What we saw in question time this week was the prime minister brandishing what is essentially the same draft legislation the former attorney general put together more than a year ago ... And nothing’s changed.

I would love the government to sit down with me ... to put together a committee of both major parties and the crossbench to come together and get it done for the Australian people because the government doesn’t seem to wish to do it by itself.

This, of course, comes after Haines pushed to have a debate on a federal integrity watchdog last week and was blocked by a parliamentary technicality.

Updated

Federal health minister Greg Hunt is on 2GB this morning after announcing he would not contest the next election, and is discussing his retirement plans:

You’re only ever a part-time parent if you’re a parliamentarian.

Despite, or because of, these absences [my children] are growing up to be amazing young adults.

Ultimately, on my deathbed, I’ll be defined by my family.

Updated

The NSW Liberal party has reportedly set a 50% target for female candidates in the upcoming federal election.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the party adopted the quota last night, in consultation with Scott Morrison.

The report also says the target is exclusively for the 2022 election, and any further or more permanent quotas would need to be decided in the future.

At this point, only around a quarter of federal Coalition MPs are women.

Updated

Liberal MP Katie Allen is on RN Breakfast this morning. Asked what she thinks about the Jenkins report, she says there’s “a lot of very immediate things that are going to happen” and that it is a “necessary change to the culture”:

We are meant to have a higher standard. People need to look up to us and know we are doing the best we can to lead the country in the best way possible.

People should feel reassured that there’s a lot of very immediate things that are going to happen and have already been happening. This is a necessary change to the culture.

Asked if the men in parliament “get it”, Allen said:

I absolutely do, now. I think that this has been a real #MeToo moment in parliament.

I don’t think anyone blames [Scott Morrison] for causing the problem but they want him to fix it. It’s a very difficult thing for men to talk about an issue that men seem to be part of the significant problem that’s happening.

Is the Liberal party a “boys club”?:

I don’t feel that way. I’ve been completely supported by my Coalition colleagues. I have to say, the opposition men have been difficult to deal with sometimes. They’ve been quite aggressive in parliament.

Updated

There are reports a senator was granted an exemption to enter South Australia that is usually reserved for unvaccinated travellers.

The Advertiser is reporting that Liberal senator Alex Antic is spending 14 days in quarantine, again usually required for unvaccinated travellers.

When asked at the airport what his vaccine status was, he reportedly said: “It’s none of your business.”

This comes after Scott Morrison said on radio last week that Antic was vaccinated:

Alex is vaccinated and double dose vaccinated, and of course I’ve spoken to him over the course of this last week and been working with him.

We’ve reached out to the PM’s office for comment.

Updated

Good morning

Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you today after what was another wild sitting week in parliament.

We begin in NSW, where the Omicron strain is continuing to spread after two new cases were identified yesterday afternoon, including in a child, bringing the total number of cases of the new variant in the state to nine.

Urgent genomic testing is under way for the parents of the child, who also tested positive to the virus. The family had arrived on a flight from Doha on Thursday.

Western Australia has shut its borders to South Australia, after its neighbour recorded 18 new cases yesterday. Most were linked to a school reunion.

In Victoria, the new pandemic laws passed the state’s upper house, with the powers to be given to the premier and health minister in a fortnight.

Finally, the fallout in Canberra from Alan Tudge’s decision to step down pending a review of his conduct will continue. The decision came after Tudge’s former media adviser, Rachelle Miller, said yesterday the former education minister was emotionally and physically abusive. Tudge said he “completely and utterly rejected” the accusations.

We’re also expecting Labor to unveil medium-term emissions reductions targets, and a suite of new policies this morning, depending on the decisions of the shadow cabinet.

We’ll bring you updates on everything happening and everything in between as the day rolls on.

Updated

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