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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly (now) and Christopher Knaus (earlier)

Cop26 coal deal sends ‘clear message’ to Coalition – as it happened

Queenslanders getting Covid vaccine at Bunnings
People queue to receive a Covid-19 vaccine at a Bunnings hardware store in Brisbane, Australia. Queensland passed the 70% double-dose vaccination milestone on Sunday. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images

And that is a wrap for Sunday’s news. As always, it was an absolute pleasure going through the day’s news with you.

Let’s re-cap on the big ones:

  • A watered-down agreement was struck at the end of the Cop26 talks, following a dramatic last-minute intervention by India.
  • Victoria recorded four Covid deaths, 905 new cases.
  • NSW recorded 195 new Covid cases, one death.
  • Appearing on Insiders, health minister Greg Hunt said the vaccination of five to 11-year-olds will not be approved until early January. Hunt also indicated Australia may not update its 2030 target.
  • Queensland hit the 70% vaccination milestone.
  • Author Wilbur Smith died in his home in Cape Town, aged 88.
  • Canberra recorded 15 new Covid cases.
  • In a searing statement, ABC chair Ita Buttrose accused the Morrison government of political interference and attempting to intimidate and control the broadcaster.
  • And Carlton defender Liam Jones announced his retirement from AFL after previously saying he would not get the Covid vaccine.

We will of course be back tomorrow. For now, go well team Guardian.

Updated

Earlier we reported that under-12s won’t receive their first Covid vaccination jab until early next year.

Natalie Beak and Karen Armstrong from Covid Safe Schools have responded to the announcement saying it will: “result in thousands of children, under the age of 12, continuing to contract COVID-19 over the coming months.

“With cases in children continuing to climb, and by far the greatest number of outbreaks occurring in schools and early childhood centres, the government needs to do everything in its power to expedite the procurement of this vaccine, as well as to commit to a safe air program in Australian schools.”

More than 50,000 Australian children have contracted Covid since the start of the pandemic, they said. One in 20 of them have been hospitalised.

“We don’t yet know the long-term impacts of this disease but we do know that preventing an illness is far better than treating it. We owe our children the strongest protections we can give them.”

You can read Amy Remeikis’ story here:

Save the Children has also responded to Australia’s attorneys general agreeing on Friday to support developing a proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years old.

Matt Gardiner, executive director of Save the Children’s Australian Services said it was “a nothing decision”.

“Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12 instead of 14 is not a practical solution. It goes against all expert advice and evidence.

“No child has ever left incarceration in this country better than they went into it.”

There will still be over 456 12 and 13-year-olds behind bars in Australia if the age of criminal responsibility is only raised to 12 rather than to 14, he said.

Most of these children are in prison in Queensland, Western Australia and NSW.

“Raising the age to 14 was never an ambit claim, this isn’t an industrial agreement where we can meet in the middle. This position is based on two decades of neuroscience that tells us that children, aged 11 to 13 cannot understand the consequences of their actions.”

Updated

There was a rally in Parramatta today to demand answers from NSW police over the shooting of Stanley Russell.

Last week, my colleague Lorena Allam wrote about the increasing pressure on the state government and state police to provide “quick and transparent” answers to the family of the aboriginal man.

You can read her story here:

We have been following the breaking news this afternoon that AFL footballer Liam Jones has announced his retirement.

It come just days after he refused to get the Covid vaccine.

My colleague Emma Kemp has the full story here ...

This morning Climate Council put out a statement following the end of COP26 and it is damning on Australia’s performance at the conference.

Climate Council Head of Research Dr Simon Bradshaw said 140 countries lifted their game on climate action at COP26, while Australia cemented its reputation as a laggard.

“The federal government showed up empty-handed to a pivotal moment in the fight for our future. They’ve let down our Pacific neighbours, as well as Australians who do not deserve to endure more frequent and severe bushfires, floods, droughts and heatwaves,” Bradshaw said.

“As our allies and trading partners rise to the climate challenge, we’re stuck in a polluting past with a handful of countries including Russia and Saudi Arabia. The Government’s own Net Zero modelling, released two days ago, predicts Australia will still be a major coal and gas exporter in 2050.”

Carlton defender Liam Jones announces AFL retirement

We’ve got more on Liam Jones here from AAP:

Carlton defender Liam Jones has chosen to end his AFL career just days after it was revealed he was reportedly unvaccinated for Covid-19.

The 30-year-old was contracted for 2022.

“I wish to announce my retirement from AFL football effective immediately,” Jones said in a statement on Sunday.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank all who have supported me throughout my journey, both personally and professionally. I love the game and I’ll miss my teammates.”

Carlton head of football Brad Lloyd indicated Jones had been weighing up his decision for some time.

“We have been in constant dialogue with Liam in recent months and allowing him the time he needed to make an informed decision regarding his playing career,” Lloyd said.

“Liam confirmed with us today that he has made the decision to retire, and his wish for the specific reasons of that decision to be kept private.”

Liam Jones playing with the Blues during the 2021 AFL Round 21 match between the Carlton Blues and the Gold Coast Suns at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
Liam Jones playing with the Blues during the 2021 AFL Round 21 match between the Carlton Blues and the Gold Coast Suns at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Photograph: Michael Willson/AFL Photos/Getty Images

Updated

From AAP:

Three men have had a lucky escape after their five-metre dinghy capsized and sank off the coast of Tasmania’s remote west.

The trio, all locals, were forced to swim to shore after getting into trouble around 7.30pm on Saturday about 10km south of Cape Sorell, near Macquarie harbour.

One of the men was able to ring police but a helicopter couldn’t leave Hobart due to bad weather.

“This incident serves as a warning that boat operators need to show a high degree of caution when setting or checking cray pots close to shore, particularly on the west coast,” Tasmania Police said in a statement.

“Inexperience and the potential for rogue waves can have tragic consequences. The men were very fortunate to have been within mobile service range.”

The men suffered minor injuries and were left “cold and wet” but able to walk to holiday shacks in the area. A local transported them across Macquarie Heads to their camp.

There have been two fatal boating mishaps in Tasmania in recent weeks.

A 65-year-old man’s body was found washed ashore in southern Tasmania on Friday morning after he set off the day before with his son, who was rescued after spending eight hours at sea.

Three friends died on a boating trip off the state’s north-west in October.

Updated

Want to know what the Cop26 deal means for Australia? Environment and climate editor Adam Morton outlines here five key questions the federal government must answer.

AFL footballer Liam Jones has decided to retire after choosing not to get the Covid vaccine.

Melbourne diners enjoying a meal out this week will be able to claim 30% of their bill back, in a move the government hopes will encourage people back into the CBD.

The $5m voucher scheme is part of a $44m package to help boost weekday foot traffic.

You can get the discount by eating at any restaurants, cafes and bars where meals are served across Melbourne City, including Lygon Street, North Melbourne, Southbank, South Wharf and Docklands.

Updated

Well, it is definitely offical now. Great job Queensland.

Updated

Senior lawyers have questioned whether the alleged abductor of Cleo Smith can have a fair trial by jury after after blanket media coverage that included the accused, Terence Kelly, being shown barefoot and shackled while being transported to prison.

Kelly, a 36-year-old from Carnarvon in Western Australia, was photographed two days after his arrest in leg irons and handcuffs, with no shoes on, being ferried to a plane by police for a flight to Perth.

Got some bad neighbours? Well, you’re not alone. But don’t fret! We’ve got this great little yarn about how you can handle it.

We’ve got some more information on the large fire that has broken out at a factory site in the Hunter region of New South Wales.

More than 20 firefighting units are attending the scene in Kurri Kurri and multiple large buildings are ablaze. The fire is being fuelled by the strong winds and large quantities of chemicals, hand sanitiser and paint.

The site includes a medical waste incinerator.

NSW police said the building was believed to be empty.

A police spokesperson said:

There is currently no risk to residential properties.

The building is believed to have been unoccupied at the time, and no injuries have been reported.

Members of the public are advised to stay home with your windows closed and air-conditioning on. Those suffering from a respiratory condition are advised to avoid the area and seek medical assistance if required.

Updated

And I’ve got some extra information on Queensland borders.

Earlier today Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath addressed the media.

By the federal government’s numbers, the state hit the 70% milestone today, but premier Annastacia Palaszczuk would officially announce it tomorrow, D’Ath said.

The premier will stand up tomorrow with great news.

Queensland, you are kicking this out of the park. This 70% is just the start. We are on our way not just to meeting our 80% target as well, but getting to 90% target.

Palaszczuk is expected to announce an easing of border restrictions early next week.

D’Ath said people from hotspots who were hanging out to get into Queensland should start getting prepared.

They need to be double vaxxed, have a test 72 hours before they arrive in the state and have adequate home quarantine measures in place. When those border passes become available in the next few days, they can apply.

Updated

A woman is on the run from South Australian police after allegedly giving false ID before escaping from a medi-hotel in Adelaide last night.

The woman had arrived from Darwin and was transferred to a city medi-hotel, but left the hotel about 7.45pm on Saturday.

It will be alleged she provided false identification to police on arrival in South Australia.

The woman tested negative to Covid-19 on arrival in SA.

She was last seen wearing the same outfit as in CCTV image and may have gotten into a taxi near the intersection of Pulteney Street and Rundle Mall, Adelaide.

Anyone who knows the woman’s identity or her whereabouts, or any taxi or other private passenger services that may have transported this person, is asked to contact police immediately on 131 444.

Woman allegedly escapes medi-hotel
A woman allegedly escapes a medi-hotel. Photograph: SA police

Updated

We’ve been following the searing statement from Ita Buttrose today, but for those who want the rundown, Amanda Meade has the full story here:

Although a lot of the wild weather has passed, there are weather warnings still in place for parts of Victoria and NSW this afternoon. You can check the BOM website for the full list.

Two men escaped an incredible near-death experience yesterday when the plane they were flying crashed into the ocean off City beach in Perth.

Western Australia police said the pilot reported engine troubles, before being forced to manoeuvre the plane into the ocean shortly after 3.30pm on Saturday, local time.

The pilot and passenger were able to exit the aircraft and swim about 20 metres to shore. Neither have any serious injuries.

Insp Vic Hussey told reporters it had been airborne for about 20 to 30 minutes, having taken off from Jandakot airport, when the pilot reported an engine problem.

“He’d flown north across the coast. He just said to me he was looking for a safe spot to land, and the safest spot he could work out was the ocean, so that’s where he landed,” Hussey said.

The ABC had this photo below of the plane crash:

The plane after it crashed
The plane after it crashed into the ocean. Photograph: ABC/ABC News

Updated

For any of you who are interested, here is the full statement from Ita Buttrose ... and it is pretty searing stuff.

“I will leave it to Senator Bragg to explain his motives but the impact of this action is clear. As Chair of the ABC Board I am duty bound to call out any action that seeks to undermine the independence of the national broadcaster.”

Updated

Under-12s won’t receive their first Covid vaccination jab until early next year and the government has no plans to change the definition of “fully vaccinated” for older Australians to include a booster shot, the health minister says.

Children aged between five and 11 will not be able to access a vaccine until at least early 2022, Greg Hunt said on Sunday, arguing the federal government saw no reason to rush the program. Read more here:

Updated

70 % double dose vaccination target reached in Queensland

And they’ve done it!

This CNN package on Australia’s participation at Cop26 makes for grim viewing. A lot of disappointment from global heads of environmental groups like Greenpeace and Destination Zero.

We reported earlier today that the Ben Boyd national park is to be renamed, due to Boyd’s association with blackbirding, a form of slave trade that forced Pacific Islanders to work in Australia.

The park will now be renamed by traditional owners.

The questioning of place names has been welcomed by Indigenous leaders.

Yvonne Weldon, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and the first Aboriginal candidate for lord mayor of the City of Sydney, said the questioning of public space names showed “we are moving forward as a society”.

She told the Guardian:

We must be secure enough in our identities to continue to talk about our public spaces.

Questioning who and what we remember, even when it throws up contradictions, is a sign that we are moving forward as a society and repairing relationships with our communities.

Weldon said she had been campaigning to have Aboriginal leaders recognised across Sydney without success.

There are 25 publicly funded statues of the colony’s early leaders around the CBD. Among them are Captain Cook, Governor Arthur Phillip, Lachlan Macquarie, Queen Victoria, explorer Matthew Flinders and even his cat Trim. But there isn’t one that recognises Indigenous leaders.

You can read the full story here:

Updated

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers spoke to the media a little earlier today. He spoke about the economic recovery and the Cop26 agreement.

Chalmers said it was “terribly disappointing” that Australia had not played a constructive role ion Glasgow.

Very, very, clearly, Australians wanted the government to be more ambitious with their nearer term targets. The global community wanted Australia to be more ambitious on those interim targets. Instead, we’ve got a government which is part of the problem when it comes to climate change and not part of the solution. This is a government which has overseen a decade of missed opportunities over their period in office. Doing something meaningful on cleaner and cheaper energy, means more jobs and more opportunities and more investment for more of our people. The government can’t get their head around that and so their heart’s not in it.

On the Covid-19 economic recovery he said:

We desperately need the economy to recover in a way that ordinary working people can share in the benefits of that recovery. What we know from this government – from almost a decade now of missed opportunities – is that this government will never put working families front and centre when it comes to the recovery. This government sees an economic recovery as an opportunity to pat themselves on the back, and not an opportunity to create new jobs and new opportunities for more people in more parts of Australia.

Updated

ABC chair Ita Buttrose accuses Morrison government of political interference

The ABC chair, Ita Buttrose, has accused the Morrison government of political interference and attempting to intimidate and control the public broadcaster after the Senate established an inquiry into the ABC’s complaints handling process.

Buttrose said in a statement on Sunday:

This is an act of political interference designed to intimidate the ABC and mute its role as this country’s most trusted source of public interest journalism. If politicians determine the operation of the national broadcaster’s complaints system, they can influence what is reported by the ABC.

Buttrose said the inquiry – set up by Liberal senator Andrew Bragg on Thursday – “appears to be a blatant attempt to usurp the role of the ABC board and undermine the operational independence of the ABC”.

As senator Bragg is aware, in October the ABC board initiated an independent review of the ABC’s complaints system by two eminent experts, Prof John McMillan, former commonwealth and NSW ombudsman, and Jim Carroll, former SBS director – news and current affairs. The terms of reference for the review are comprehensive and wide-ranging.

ABC chair Ita Buttrose.
ABC chair Ita Buttrose. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Australia’s Aboriginal-led justice coalition Change the Record has slammed Friday’s meeting of attorneys general where they supported developing a proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility as “empty and inadequate”.

Change the Record co-chair Cheryl Axleby said:

This is a nothing announcement that does nothing to improve the lives of children, and nothing to close the gap. The medical evidence is clear: governments should raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years old as a bare minimum.

Three years ago attorneys general committed to exploring options to raise the age and Axleby accused them of doing “nothing since then” to actually help the issue.

She said:

Last year almost 500 children under the age of 14 languished behind bars, disproportionately Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

This proposed reform would do nothing to help those children – it just kicks the can further down the road.

According to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, if governments only raise the age to 12 years old, then 456 out of the 499 children under 14 in prison last year would remain locked away behind bars.

Updated

We’ve got a better breakdown on Victoria’s Covid-19 numbers this morning.

The state recorded 905 new Covid cases and four deaths since yesterday.

There are now 17,302 active cases of the virus in the state, and 411 people have died during the current Delta outbreak; 394 people with the virus are in hospital, and of those, there are 75 active cases in intensive care.

The new cases were detected from more than 64,000 test results received yesterday.

Updated

It’s fair to say the people in the northern rivers of New South Wales generally do not like being told what to do by the government.

In a region with a free-thinking, anti-authoritarian reputation, and a long history of anti-vaccination sentiment, the requirement to get the Covid jab for work or leisure purposes was never going to find a warm welcome.

Angus Taylor and Marise Payne have released a joint statement welcoming the finalisation of the Cop26 draft text.

They said:

The Morrison government will always stand up for and make decisions in Australia’s national interest, and we will do what’s right for rural and regional communities.

Australia’s economy is almost unique amongst developed countries, with an economy specialised in the production of energy- and emissions-intensive commodities. We are the world’s fourth-largest energy exporter, after Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States.

The statement repeated the claim that Australia’s emissions have fallen faster than similarly developed countries.

Ahead of and during Cop26, Australia worked closely with our Pacific family to raise the important role of our oceans in addressing the impacts of climate change, to secure outcomes on climate financing and support for building climate resilience, particularly for vulnerable countries in our Pacific region, and to ensure they have access to low-emissions technologies to support their development and future prosperity.

Updated

The NSW government will make it harder for frontline workers who catch Covid at work to claim compensation, in a move the premier says will save business millions.

The NSW government will roll back the special Covid-19 provision, which was designed to make it easier for workers to claim compensation and added to the Workers Compensation Act in May 2020.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said that when the provision was put in there were no vaccines and it had exposed businesses to super-high insurance premiums.

The government said insurance claims could rise by $950 on average.

Perrottet said:

Now that the economy is steadily reopening, we want businesses investing in new staff and higher wages, not inflated insurance bills.

Sophie Cotsis, the shadow minister for industrial relations said:

Mr Perrottet’s decision is a stab in the back for the tens of thousands of workers fighting Covid.

Mr Perrottet expects a hospital cleaner who fell sick fighting COVID to then have to fight iCare too.

Updated

From AAP:

Cherry growers are warning a price hike could be on the way ahead of the festive season.

At his 16-hectare orchard at Orange, in central-western NSW, Guy Gaeta grows nine different varieties of cherries. He said:

We haven’t got overseas labour.

We’ve got very few from the Pacific Islands [but] cherry farmers mainly need the backpackers and at the moment it’s not looking too good.

The 64-year-old warned that the labour pains are being felt right across the district and will cost consumers at the till.

If we don’t get the labour and we don’t pick at an optimum time, there’s definitely going to be a price increase.

I can guarantee if we get $10 a kilo, the consumer will be paying $20-plus.

Cherries in a NSW orchard
Cherries in a NSW orchard. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Updated

The southern state will see a cold outbreak late Sunday into Monday after the passage of a cold front and a trough. Snowfall is expected to lower to around 200m to 400m in some places.

Updated

Canberra records 15 new Covid cases

There have been 15 new Covid-19 cases in Canberra in the past 24 hours.

That brings the total number of active cases to 172.

It comes as Canberrans enjoyed new freedoms this weekend, with masks now only required in high-risk settings, no limits on home visits and nightclubs reopen.

Updated

Author Wilbur Smith dies at 88

Acclaimed author Wilbur Smith has died in his home in Cape Town, South Africa, aged 88.

The author published 49 titles, selling more than 140m books in 30 languages.

A statement released on the Wilbur Smith Books website:

Global bestselling author Wilbur Smith died unexpectedly this afternoon at his Cape Town home after a morning of reading and writing with his wife Niso by his side.

In the 49 novels Smith has published to date, he has transported his readers to gold mines in South Africa, piracy on the Indian Ocean, buried treasure on tropical islands, conflict in Arabia and Khartoum, ancient Egypt, World War Two Germany and Paris, India, the Americas and the Antarctic, encountering ruthless diamond and slave traders and big game hunters in the jungles and bush of the African wilderness.

Wilbur Smith in 2009
Wilbur Smith in 2009. Photograph: Haider Shah/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

If you haven’t already, this great piece from Van Badham looks at how QAnon hasn’t just seeped into far-right politics in Australia, but has destroyed relationships between friends and families.

Baham’s mate Meshelle was looking for community when she stumbled into a yogi QAnon culty situation.

Updated

Albanese says Coalition sending pro-coal messages 'it knows aren't true'

Albanese said the government was sending a pro-coal message to some electorates to win votes, even though they know the writing was on the wall for the future of coal in this country.

The government wants to send messages that it knows aren’t true in some parts of the electorate.

It is an arrogant government that is prepared to say anything at all in the short term and to be prepared to use taxpayers’ money to do that. So we have, for example, the proponents of a new coal-fired power plant in Collinsville in north Queensland being given $4 million for a project, for a feasibility study that they know won’t go ahead.

If construction on that project doesn’t start during this term of government, then the people in that electorate will know essentially they’ve been conned.

Anthony Albanese
‘Arrogant government’: Anthony Albanese. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Albanese is attacking Australia’s performance at Cop26, saying we need to do more to work constructively with the rest of the world.

We’ve worked with Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Brazil as one of the few industrialised countries that refused to change the 2030 target.

Updated

Albanese is commenting on the Glasgow agreement and attacking the PM for backflipping on key policy areas.

This is a prime minister who can’t be trusted who himself says: ‘I’m not concerned about what I said yesterday.’

So given that he can’t give any credence to what he said just yesterday, why should Australians have regard for what he says today?

Updated

And Anthony Albanese is addressing media now.

Updated

Greenpeace Australia Pacific has also put out a statement on the Cop26 final text, saying the agreement is far from perfect but it does send a message that coal is on the way out.

CEO David Ritter said:

This is not the deal the world needed, but it is what has been delivered - and the momentum is in the right direction.

The task ahead is relentless pressure on the fossil fuel corporations and reckless governments such as Australia’s.

And make no mistake - one clear positive is that the governments of the world have agreed for the first time that the age of coal is over.

The language could be stronger, but the message to Scott Morrison and his government is clear - Australia needs to rapidly exit coal and stop lavishing billions in subsidies on this polluting industry.

Updated

Graham Readfearn’s story from Friday night noted the modelling showed the Coalition’s “technology not taxes” plan would leave the nation relying on offsets and unknown technology breakthroughs – and the gas sector growing.

The modelling suggested the “net zero” plan would see the value of the coal industry drop by half by 2050.

Updated

The Morrison government released modelling underpinning its net-zero-by-2050 goal on Friday afternoon. Critics said it “may as well have been written in crayon” and it pointed to Australia not reaching its own mid-century target.

We had a great piece from Ketan Joshi on Saturday morning dissecting the climate modelling:

In April this year, Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, said that “we will not achieve net zero in the cafes, dinner parties and wine bars of our inner cities”. This explains why he turned to the salt-of-the-Earth hard-workin’ rural folk at McKinsey – one of the biggest billion-dollar multinational consulting agencies on the planet – to produce the Australian government’s long-awaited modelling explaining the pathway to “net zero by 2050”.

Scott Morrison and energy minister Angus Taylor
Scott Morrison and energy minister Angus Taylor. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Updated

A 17-year-old is in critical condition after he was stabbed multiple times in an inner Sydney park.

Police were called to Yurong Parkway at Woolloomooloo about 11pm on Saturday with reports of a physical altercation and stabbing. Officers were told three males had stabbed the teenage boy and then fled.

The 17-year-old is in St Vincent’s hospital in a critical but stable condition.

An investigation is under way with police asking anyone with relevant information to come forward.

This from AAP on last week’s job figures:

The federal treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, is confident of a strong rebound in the Australian labour market as Covid restrictions and lockdowns end.

Official jobs data for October released last week showed the unemployment rate unexpectedly spiking to 5.2% from 4.6%, although it did not capture the easing of restrictions in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

Frydenberg says Australian Taxation Office data shows payroll jobs rose 13% in the fortnight to 24 October. New hires were 25% up in NSW, 15% higher in Victoria and 22% stronger in the ACT.

The treasurer told Sky News on Sunday:

We are seeing thousands of new hires across the economy but also, importantly, we are going to see tens of thousands – if not hundreds of thousands – of people come off zero hours and back into work.

We are very confident of a strong rebound in the labour market, that we can see unemployment get back to the fours, bearing in mind it hadn’t been under 5% for a decade.

Treasury analysis using banking data shows consumer spending is now greater than it was pre-pandemic, with NSW and Victoria spending an extra $150m a day after lockdowns eased.

Frydenberg suggested the economy was now facing a private sector-led recovery.

We as the government are handing over the baton to the private sector to carry Australia’s economy forward.

Updated

Queensland will hit 70% vaccination milestone today

Queensland is just about to reach its first major Covid-19 vaccine milestone today - the state is expected to hit 70% double-dose target this afternoon.

In news that will make many separated families happy, it means border restrictions will be eased for those fully vaccinated.

Under the state’s roadmap, fully vaccinated people will be allowed to enter from interstate hotspots if they fly in after having a negative Covid test within 72 hours and can quarantine at home for 14 days.

A nurse preparing a Covid vaccination at a pop-up clinic at Mt Gravatt in Brisbane
A nurse preparing a Covid vaccination at a pop-up clinic at Mt Gravatt, Brisbane. Photograph: Albert Perez/AAP

Updated

Good morning, team Guardian, and many thanks to Christopher Knaus, whose capable hands have taken you through the morning.

We’ve got Albanese speaking in a few minutes and I have this fun little fact for your Sunday morning: Tanya Plibersek is now the longest-serving female in the lower house since Federation.

Bronwyn Bishop of course spent quite a while, but Plibersek has taken the cake!

Updated

I’m going to hand you over now to the excellent Cait Kelly, who will take you through the rest of the morning’s developments.

Ben Boyd national park to be renamed over blackbirding history

Some really interesting news out of New South Wales.

Environment minister Matt Kean has announced that the Ben Boyd National Park, located on NSW’s far south coast, will be renamed in the language of its traditional custodians.

Indigenous communities had requested the park be renamed due to Boyd’s association with blackbirding, the kidnapping of Pacific Islanders to work as slaves or poorly paid labourers.

Kean said:

It is time to acknowledge the real history of Ben Boyd and remove his name from the national park that continues to hold enormous cultural significance for Aboriginal people.

It is clear from the expert historical analysis, that Ben Boyd’s association with ‘blackbirding’ should not be reflected or celebrated in any way in our national parks.

Last year, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service engaged an independent historian, Mark Dunn, to report on Boyd’s history on the NSW south coast.

The report confirmed his involvement in blackbirding was viewed by many at the time as a form of slavery.

Parkland in New South Wales
Parkland in New South Wales. Photograph: Design Pics/Alamy

Updated

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese was on Sky News a little earlier.

He was asked about Paul Keating’s comments this week criticising Labor and the government for their foreign policy position on China.

Albanese was asked whether Australia should be cooperating with China, not working against it, as Keating suggested.

Albanese:

Well, China, of course has changed its posture in recent times, it has got far more forward-leaning. It’s important that Australia stand up for Australian values and we will continue to do that. And of course, at the same time, it’s important that we have economic relations with China and other countries in our region.

Albanese was also asked about Labor’s policy to give people $300 to get a Covid dose. He is asked if Labor would now dump it, given the high vaccination rates achieved without it.

No, the policy was, Andrew, as you will well recall, that it was applicable up until December the first. That was the policy that we had. That was the policy that was announced.

Will it be offered for boosters?

Albanese:

Well, we’ve never said that we would do that, Andrew, we had a consistent policy about bringing forward vaccination rates. Well, I said, at a time when Scott Morrison was saying that it wasn’t a race, we were saying it was a race.

Albanese was also asked when Western Australia should open up. He played a dead bat.

Well, that’s a decision for WA. They should open up whenever it’s safe to do so, based upon the health advice, which is there. I don’t want to see any restrictions in place for longer than is necessary. But I recognise the extraordinary job that Mark McGowan has done in keeping Western Australians safe.

Updated

On that point, Cop26 president Alok Sharma was asked what the consequences should be for countries like Australia if they refuse the call back to the table next year.

Sharma said simply:

All countries signed up to this and it’s an international agreement.

Updated

Hunt indicates Australia may not update 2030 target, despite Cop26 agreement requiring it

Hunt is asked about the Cop26 agreement, which requires Australia to update its 2030 targets at next year’s conference.

He declines to say whether Australia will do so. But he indicates Australia will only update its projections.

We’ve set our target. We’ve set our target. But what we’ll continue to do is update our projections.

David Speers presses Hunt on the point:

Will Australia update it next year? Is that what we’ve agreed to in Glasgow?

Hunt says:

I’ll let others speak to the text of it. But the advice that I have is that we have a clear target. And what we change is our projections. And guess what – five years ago, six years ago, everybody said [we wouldn’t] meet our 2020 target. We were able to beat it. They said that we wouldn’t meet our 2030 target. We’re going to beat it.

What does that mean? China is up 70%, India is up 80%, Korea is up 30%, Canada down 1%, New Zealand is down 4%. We’re down 20%. So we’re down 20% on our emissions and we’re making enormous progress. But we’re doing it without higher electricity prices and higher petrol prices and that’s the alternative for Australians – higher electricity [prices].

Updated

Hunt says the vaccination of five- to 11-year-olds may be approved by early January. The Therapeutic Goods Administration is currently examining the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine for children of that age. The US has already given emergency authorisation for five-to-11s.

Hunt says Australia has the smaller Pfizer doses required for the cohort.

We do want to go as quickly as possible ... The expectation that they have set is the first part of January, hopefully early January, but it is in the hands of the medical experts. They operate independently. But they’re going as quickly as possible.

We’re in the fortunate position where we have the doses that we require. We included that in the contract. But significantly, we’re ready to go when our regulators are convinced it’s safe and effective for children.

Updated

Hunt is also asked about the wisdom of states like South Australia and Queensland opening up while vulnerable Indigenous Australians remain relatively unprotected.

He says vaccination rates in Indigenous communities are increasing at vastly higher rates than the general community.

It is important that we open these borders, and the Doherty modelling has shown that these state figures help protect everybody. But we want every individual to come forward – Indigenous, non-indigenous. We’re focusing in particular today on immuno-compromised patients like cancer patients, with the Breast Cancer Network of Australia standing up and talking with them to urge breast cancer patients and others to have their first dose if they haven’t had it. Or their second. Or to come forward in particular for their boosters.

And so, these are national figures that have been set based on the strongest science. What’s set Australia apart? How is it that we have the third-lowest rate of loss of life in the OECD and one of the highest vaccination rates? It’s because we’ve listened to that science. We’ve followed that science. We’ve done that very carefully. And that’s led Australia to a position where we are one of the most highly vaccinated societies, most recently vaccinated societies, and one of the first after Israel to have a whole-of-nation booster program.

Updated

Hunt calls for WA to open border 'as soon as possible'

Hunt is asked about the continued approach of Western Australia to shut its borders.

He says the federal government is hearing the state may consider bringing the reopening forward to coincide with the Ashes cricket series’ Test match scheduled to start on 14 January.

Well, we’d like to see Western Australia open as soon as possible. It’s obviously a matter for them. It’s subject to their assessments. But we are hearing that they are considering bringing that forward to at least... Well, coincidently, to time with the cricket. We’ll let them determine it. I want to see a Perth test - fast, hard, bouncy wicket, last test of the Ashes, gives us our best chance!

But above all else, I want to see not just cricketers but children reuniting with parents. I want the same rules for children and cancer and cardiac patients as for cricketers. And to do that as quickly as possible. It’s our deep humanity to bring people together. And that’s what we’d urge. And you know, we’re seeing the numbers lift in WA and I welcome that.

Hunt’s asked whether WA should open the borders prior to Christmas.

He says he wants to see them opened “as soon as possible”.

Updated

257,000 booster shots administered in Australia: Hunt

Health minister Greg Hunt is speaking now on the ABC’s Insiders program.

He is asked about booster shots. He says they are an “important booster” that adds to a person’s strong immune response.

We’ve been one of those to start a whole of nation booster program, one of the first after Israel. We’ve already reached 250,000 boosters only a week into the full program. I think we’re at 257,000 boosters at this point. And we have a whole of nation supplies, and so we’re launching today our next campaign

Hunt’s asked whether booster shots will be made mandatory for aged care workers and other critical groups. He says there is no consideration, currently, of changing the definition of fully vaccinated from two doses.

So it’s recommended. The advice at this stage of Professor Murphy’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Group is that you’re regarded as fully vaccinated with two doses. Everything is always under review, but there’s no plan to change that requirement at this stage. But as we’ve done throughout, we’ll continue to follow the medical advice. That’s how we’ve had one of the lowest rates of loss of life in the world, one of the highest rates of vaccination. And now, one of the earliest whole-of-nation booster programs in the world.

Updated

The Investor Group on Climate Change says the Cop26 commitments keep the aim to limit warming to 1.5C within reach but that stronger policies and 2030 targets are needed.

The group’s chief executive, Rebecca Mikula-Wright, called on Australia and others to commit to clear and strong 2030 climate policies to “unlock the capital needed to transition to a net zero economy”.

Global warming of above 1.5°C presents irreversible, foreseeable and large-scale risks to investors and financial markets. The commitments that have come out ahead and as part of Glasgow have been significant but global action is still falling short.

The net zero emissions transition is inevitable and already under way and investors want to seize the enormous investment opportunities worth trillions of dollars that will be created. There is a huge opportunity to create new jobs and boost economic growth, but only for those countries that get ahead of the curve.

Across Asia, Australia and New Zealand, we call on governments to commit to clear and strong 2030 climate policies that will unlock the capital needed to transition to a net zero economy.

Updated

NSW records 195 new Covid cases, one death

Sticking with Covid, NSW has recorded 195 new cases and one death.

Updated

Those case numbers out of Victoria are encouraging. It’s the first time the state has recorded fewer than 1,000 daily cases since 3 November.

The state is also edging closer to the 90% fully vaccinated mark. It’s currently at 87% for those aged 12 or above.

Updated

Victoria records four Covid deaths, 905 new cases

Stepping away from Glasgow for a moment, Victoria has recorded 905 new Covid cases and four deaths.

Climate Action Network Australia’s executive director, Julie-Anne Richards, said Australians had “every reason to feel let down” by the Morrison government.

Our allies like the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan and others moved ahead with more ambitious climate plans. The United States and China agreed to increase their ambition going forward. Important neighbours like Indonesia and India flagged their intention to phase down coal. Whereas prime minister Scott Morrison let our country down by treating the Cop like a trade show for fossil fuels, spruiking for giant gas corporations and fossil-fuel technology that has for decades failed to reduce pollution.

Updated

Indigenous groups have slammed the Australian governments efforts at Glasgow.

Ray Minniecon, of the Indigenous Peoples Organisation, said Australia had “totally shattered any hopes we had of repairing and healing the deep wounds and scars of our lands and people”.

We leave Cop26 deeply ashamed and embarrassed by the Australian government’s behaviour and attitudes to the deep concerns we have about the climate crisis. We are angry that their solutions are based on the premise of a ‘business as usual’ mentality which will continue to harm our peoples and all Australians on the lands and waters we all love. Shame, shame, Shame!

Updated

A group representing bushfire survivors in Australia says it is shameful that Australia won the “colossal fossil award” at the Cop26 talks.

But Jo Dodds, president of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action, said the group was heartened made by the efforts of other developed and developing nations at the talks.

To our shame, Australia won the Colossal Fossil Award, provided by Climate Action Network International. The award recognises the countries who do the least to prevent dangerous climate heating and the most to promote fossil fuels (and their accompanying emissions!).

It’s an eye-watering irony that our nation – still reeling from the most catastrophic bushfires we’ve ever faced, warned that we’ll be facing even worse as the climate continues to heat – is still embracing coal, still investing our taxes in new gas projects, still asking communities like mine to be more ‘resilient’ in the face of ever-growing danger.

Bushfire survivors need a reason to keep going. We need a reason to rebuild, a reason for reopening our businesses. We need reasons for hope. At this point, after our government’s performance at Cop26, we don’t have these reasons.

Instead, just like the government’s plans for propping up our fossil fuel sector with carbon capture and storage, hope is just a dream.

Person's silhouette in front of a bushfire

Updated

The Climate Council said Australia had done nothing to change its position as the worst performing of all developed countries on emissions reductions at Glasgow.

The council’s research director Simon Bradshaw said Australia had been left even further behind at Cop26.

The message from the rest of the world to Australia is clear: come back in 2022 with a much stronger target for 2030 and a plan to move beyond coal and gas.

The sooner the Australian Government steps up with a plan to drive down emissions this decade, the sooner we can start unlocking Australia’s unrivaled opportunities for new jobs and prosperity through renewable energy and clean industries, start repairing our international reputation, and start protecting Australians and communities everywhere from the ravages of climate change.

pic
A member of security moves to apprehend a demonstrator at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

The Australian Conservation Foundation said the Glasgow agreement, while not ambitious enough, had achieved breakthroughs, “despite the Morrison government’s best efforts”.

ACF’s climate change program manager Gavan McFadzean said both major parties in Australia would need to step up with a target to cull pollution by at least half this decade.

This was the COP where Australia was left behind, with dire consequences for our climate, economy and jobs.

While Glasgow hasn’t achieved the ambition we need, there were breakthroughs. Despite the Morrison government’s best efforts, 140 countries lifted their pollution reduction targets, 103 countries agreed to slash methane pollution, and the last rights were given to coal, with commitments to end construction of new power stations, end public funding, and phase out coal power.

Looking forward to next year’s federal election, both the Coalition and Labor will need to step up with a target to cut pollution by at least half this decade, and the policies to get us there

pic
COP26 President Alok Sharma gestures as he speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Bill Hare, chief executive of Climate Analytics, described India’s last minute intervention to water down language on phasing out coal as “quite shocking”.

No one disagrees that India would need support to phase out coal. This was done in a very last minute way and obviously was a surprise to many other parties there. India has long been a blocker on climate action, but I have never seen it done so publicly.

India needs to phase-out of coal by 2040 If the Paris Agreements 1.5° limit is to be met and this wording change does not affect that challenge. India already has a very serious coal problem and everyone knows this has to be addressed urgently, So rather than slow action, this will result in even more effort to encourage and support India to begin the transition away from coal

Just a reminder that this blog will be taking in Australian reaction to the Cop26 deal. We’re also running a second live blog, with a global focus, here:

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd says the agreement, despite being watered down, shows clearly that “coal is on its way to being consigned to history”.

He said Australia had “not simply been granted a leave pass to do nothing for another five years - and they will now need to come back to the table by COP27 next year”.

Here’s Rudd’s full statement:

In the arc of history, COP26 was always going to be judged by whether it bent the emissions curve. And while Glasgow has shown that the ambition mechanism at the heart of the Paris Agreement is beating, survival for those on the frontline of this climate crisis is still not certain. Countries like my own which refused to update their 2030 targets have not simply been granted a leave pass to do nothing for another five years — and they will now need to come back to the table by COP27 next year. While the official text might have stopped short of agreeing to phase out coal, the statements made by world leaders in Glasgow leave no doubt that coal is on its way to being consigned to history.

pic
Former Prime minister Kevin Rudd. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

Cop26 sends 'clear message' to Morrison: Greenpeace

Despite the weakened reference to coal, it still marks the first time an agreement has directly stipulated a winding down of fossil fuels. Cop26 agree an end to fossil fuel subsidies was needed, that greater financial support was needed for poorer nations, and that an accelerated phase out of coal was necessary.

That is being hailed as a win by environmentalists.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter said the agreement was far from perfect, but said it sent a “clear message to Scott Morrison that his failed climate policy will no longer be tolerated”.

This is not the deal the world needed, but it is what has been delivered - and the momentum is in the right direction. The task ahead is relentless pressure on the fossil fuel corporations and reckless governments such as Australia’s.

The Australia Institute said Glasgow had moved the dial forward on emissions reductions by directly targeting fossil fuel companies. Richie Merzian, the institute’s climate & energy program director, said:

If COP26 is judged on its ability to advance emissions reductions, then Glasgow has already moved the dial forward.

Attempts to name and shame fossil fuels have been blocked for major fossil fuel producers in the UN, but finally a line has been drawn in the sand.

After 15 years in the process, its heartening to see fossil fuels directly targeted, with significant alliances against coal, oil and gas launched on the margins of COP, language on phasing down traditional coal power agreed, including by Australia.

Post-Glasgow, we can rid ourselves of the pretence that fossil fuels can be part of the solution to the climate crisis.

Hello, and welcome to our live blog for Sunday, 14 November.

The big news this morning is coming out of Glasgow, where a watered down agreement has been struck at the Cop26 talks, following a dramatic last-minute intervention by India.

The agreement is now only making a weaker reference to phasing down coal, rather than phasing it out.

That will obviously have big ramifications for Australia, which took an openly pro-coal approach to the talks.

We’ll have all the local reaction to the deal and any other big developments in Australian news today. Stick with us.

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