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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Mostafa Rachwani and Calla Wahlquist (earlier)

NZ travel suspension to remain as airline sheds more jobs – as it happened

Labor leader Anthony Albanese
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has announced major changes to his shadow cabinet, promising jobs, jobs and more jobs and strong action on climate change. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

End-of-day summary

Another hectic day in the history books, this is everything that went down today:

Updated

The chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims, was on ABC News 24 this afternoon, saying there needs to be more competition and transparency around digital advertising. He says users should have more freedom to choose what data they give companies like Google.

If the market is not competitive, you may find advertisers paying more than they should for advertising, which increases prices for consumers. You may find publishers not getting the money they need and therefore not being able to provide the content that consumers would like.

There is a lack of competition, and lack of transparency in the sense you don’t know what you’re paying, and you don’t know what the ad is that you’ve purchased.

Google has argued the government’s proposed media bargaining code goes against the concept of a free and open internet, something Sims finds “interesting”:

I guess what I’d say, though, to get to the heart of the issue, is Google and Facebook have put themselves in the middle of so many transactions, they’ve put themselves in the middle of news media businesses and their audiences. It helps Google and Facebook’s business enormously to have access to that news media content because it means ... they’re able to provide you [with] all you want.

You don’t have to go anywhere, just stay on Facebook or stay on Google. I think it’s only fair that they share the benefits of that.

Finally, on the question of whether Google will leave Australia or not, Sims there are competing considerations:

If they do follow through on their threats and they leave, yes, that will cause consumers some problems, but keep in mind consumers and Australian society will lose out if we don’t have properly functioning journalism.

Updated

A man has miraculously escaped a crocodile attack with only minor injuries, after apparently prising the reptile off his head.

The 44-year-old said he was swimming near Lake Placid Road, in the Cairns suburb of Caravonica, earlier today when he felt a “sudden impact” on the top of his head and realised it was a crocodile.

You can read more on that story here:

Updated

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says 15 medevac detainees have been released.

The ASRC detailed the releases in a statement on Thursday, saying the 15 had been released into accommodation with sector support. One was a woman from Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA).

ASRC detention advocacy caseworker Heidi Abdel-Raouf said she was concerned about the mental health of the remaining 140 people in detention facilities across the country.

The arbitrary nature of the detention conditions and lack of information and notice from the Government on the releases is causing high levels of distress amongst people being left behind.

The Government is playing with the mental health of those who are already extremely distressed.

Updated

Police have taped off a phone booth in Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall and are talking to witnesses after reports of pedestrians fleeing the path of a speeding car.

There appear to be about eight or nine police on the scene.
There appear to be about eight or nine police on the scene. Photograph: Ben Butler/The Guardian

There appears to be about eight or nine police officers at the scene.

Updated

Ambulance Victoria says it hasn’t been called to any incidents in Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall, after reports a car drove down the busy pedestrian street forcing people to take cover in nearby shops.

On Thursday afternoon social media users reported a car driving at speed along the pedestrian section of Bourke Street at speed, while being pursued by police.

“Someone’s just driven their car up Bourke Street and smashed into something. A dozen cops heading after them,” one witness wrote on Twitter.

“The cops were somewhat stymied by a tram who apparently didn’t hear the sirens and blocked the police turn onto Swanston.”

A spokeswoman for Ambulance Victoria said it had not been contacted to attend the scene.

Victoria Police said it was still determining what had occurred.

Updated

Labor MP, Mark Butler, has reacted to being dropped from the climate portfolio by leader, Anthony Albanese, earlier today:

Updated

In breaking news, a car has raced through Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall, causing pedestrians to run for cover.

A witness told The Age the car sped along the pedestrian area of mall, and on Swanston Street and St Kilda Road, with police chasing.

The police and ambulance services are yet to confirm what has happened, and if anyone has been injured.

Updated

Some 960 people associated with the Australian Open cohort will leave quarantine over the next couple of days.

A COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria spokesperson said players and participants will be leaving from tonight:

Players and participants will begin departing from 6pm this evening, with the last departures expected to be complete by Sunday.”

There are currently five active cases from the cohort, with 321 active primary close contacts.

Updated

The NSW health minister has urged travellers from New Zealand to come forward as authorities chase people who arrived before the trans-Tasman travel bubble was suspended.

A dozen people who quarantined at the Pullman hotel in New Zealand – where it’s suspected the highly infectious South African strain of coronavirus has spread – then travelled on to Australia before the route was shut down on Monday.

The suspension was extended on Thursday, for a further three days.

Brad Hazzard has told Sydney’s 2GB radio station that recent arrivals from New Zealand should present themselves to health authorities.

I know that public health [officials] have obviously been working with their New Zealand counterparts; there were lots of conversations yesterday and actually the last few days.

Certainly from our point of view, we just want to make sure we get to those people who may have come from that hotel, and make sure that they are, in fact, negative. If they’re out there listening to your program, please get tested.

Updated

Sticking with the Senate Covid committee for a moment, Pfizer has said it is open to discussing getting Australia more of its vaccine.

Pfizer’s market access director, Louise Graham, told the committee that because the company had expanded its manufacturing capability, it was possible Australia could get more.

The allocation to Australia is 10 million doses. As Pfizer is now scaling up and looking to produce far more than was originally expected, we expect to be in future discussions about the ability to increase that allocation.

Graham said there’d been no such discussions so far, but the company anticipates they will happen once the first doses arrive.

Updated

Guardian Australia contacted CSL to ask for more information about why the manufacturing company did not send a representative to appear before the Senate Covid committee.

While CSL told the committee it was too busy to appear, other major companies, including Pfizer and AstraZeneca, have appeared. Pfizer participated despite trying to meet a tight deadline to deliver its vaccine for rollout in Australia by the end of the month.

CSL is manufacturing 50m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been approved by the drugs regulator, the TGA.

Guardian Australia specifically asked CSL to comment on whether its failure to appear was a bad look for transparency, especially given Australia is counting on high uptake of, and trust in, its product.

A CSL spokeswoman who responded did not answer the question, saying;

CSL appreciates [the] invitation to attend the Senate Select Committee Hearing on COVID-19. Due to our commitment to urgently deliver 50 million doses of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine we are unable to resource our participation at this time.

In response to the global pandemic, CSL employees allocated to the COVID-19 vaccine program are fully focussed and working around the clock to ensure vaccines are available for use in Australia as soon as possible. We will be in a better position to consider a similar invitation later in the year.

Updated

Virgin Australia has cut another 350 jobs, this time at its head office in Brisbane, the Australian Services Union says.

It comes on top of more than 3000 sackings at the airline since it was bought by US investment group Bain Capital last year after going into administration due to the coronavirus crisis.

In a statement, the ASU blamed the latest cuts on the Morrison government and called on it to urgently extend the jobkeeper subsidy for the aviation sector beyond its expiry date in March.

“If the Federal Government had extended JobKeeper by now, these workers would still be employed today – instead they’re hunting for work at the toughest time possible,” the union’s national secretary, Robert Potter, said.

“11,000 jobs have already been lost in the airlines sector and each day the Government delays its decision on whether to extend JobKeeper is costing more and more jobs, with a massive human cost to workers and their families.

“If the Government continues to refuse to extend JobKeeper, industries like aviation are going to continue to bleed jobs and when skilled people leave, they are hard to get back.”

He said the decision was “incredibly disappointing” and slammed Virgin management for failing to properly consult with its workforce over the cuts.

Updated

The vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales will resign at the start of next year.

In a statement released today, Prof Ian Jacobs said he was leaving the job for family reasons, due to the health of his mother and his wife’s parents.

Jacobs will stay in the role for the rest of this year, but will leave in January 2022. He has been the university’s vice-chancellor since 2015.

Jacobs said he made a “difficult and emotional” decision to move to the UK to be closer to his parents and his wife’s parents, after the recent death of his father. “2020 was a difficult year for all of us, requiring many, including me, to make difficult choices,” he wrote in a message to students and staff.

In 2019, my wife Chris and I became concerned about the health of our parents in the UK. We were able to manage the situation at that time because we were able to visit the UK several times a year and knew we could get back within 48 hours in an emergency.

Unfortunately, my Dad became ill and died in July 2020. Because of the pandemic I was unable to travel to the UK for his funeral and have been unable to spend time with my Mum and family over this difficult time.

At the same time Chris’ parents are also in need of increased support. These circumstances are similar to those experienced by millions during the last year and they inevitably lead to re-evaluation of longstanding plans.”

Updated

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called the government’s timing of the release of the Samuel review of Australia’s environmental laws “pathetic and cynical”.

Hanson-Young tweeted that the review was a “scathing assessment” and called on the government to introduce stronger laws to protect the environment.

Updated

South Australia has also recorded another day of zero cases and zero cases acquired in hotel quarantine. The state also has zero patients current in hospital.

Updated

The independent Advisory Committee for Vaccines (ACV) will meet on Wednesday to provide formal advice on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Chair, Allen Cheng, today told the Senate Covid committee that the ACV would then pass its final advice on to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), where a senior medical officer would provide final approval.

The ACV, which comprises 10 vaccine experts, provides independent advice to the TGA, focusing on issues relating to the safety, quality and efficacy of vaccines.

The Australian government has already ordered 53m doses of the jab, with approval expected soon.

Updated

More reactions to Albanese’s cabinet reshuffle, this time from senator Murray Watt:

Updated

Airlines are moving to add more flights to Queensland in light of the decision to lift border restrictions from next week.

Queensland will reopen to Sydneysiders on Monday. A Virgin Australia spokeswoman has told the Sydney Morning Herald the decision comes at a “much-needed time” for the industry.

The announcement provides a boost of confidence for thousands of our people who’ve been looking forward to returning to work, as well as for travellers who want to do business, reconnect with loved ones, family and friends.

We are reviewing our schedules and are focused on adding more Queensland services from early February.”

Updated

Western Australia has also recorded zero community transmission today, with only one new case detected in hotel quarantine overnight.

The new case is a man in his 60s who travelled from the UK, via Dubai.

Updated

More reactions to Albanese’s reshuffle, with newly appointed shadow minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, releasing a statement, welcoming his new appointment and calling the Morrison government “hapless”:

With more than two million Australians unemployed or underemployed, the choice is clear to me and I’m delighted to be appointed as the shadow minister for climate change and energy.

In contrast, this hapless government has offered 22 energy policies in eight years – wrecking business confidence and slashing jobs.

Scott Morrison and his embattled energy minister remain isolated on net-zero by 2050 – from our major trading partners, our leading businesses, and even our Liberal states.

Updated

The ACT has recorded another day of zero Covid cases and zero active cases:

Updated

The Morrison government must overhaul Australia’s environmental laws and establish new independent monitoring bodies, a major review has found.

The final report from a review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act says the environment has suffered from two decades of failure by governments to improve and implement protections meant to ensure the survival of Australia’s unique wildlife.

The chair of the independent review, former competition watchdog head Graeme Samuel, makes 38 recommendations including the immediate adoption of legally-binding national environmental standards.

He also wants longer term changes to the act to “alter the current trajectory of environmental decline”.

To shy away from the fundamental reforms recommended by this review is to accept the continued decline of our iconic places, and the extinction of our most threatened plants, animals and ecosystems.

This is unacceptable.

A firm commitment to change from all stakeholders is needed to enable future generations to enjoy and benefit from Australia’s unique environment and heritage.

Updated

South Australia to lift border restrictions on Greater Sydney

From midnight on Saturday, South Australia will open its border to Greater Sydney, with police commissioner, Grant Stevens, saying the state has reached a new “Covid-normal” status.

Stevens said the opening still hinges on NSW having no new cases before the change, which technically kicks in at 12.01am on Sunday.

I think we are really close to the threshold (on how far to ease restrictions).

We will be looking at a baseline level of restrictions to see what that would look like.

We have been providing advice for the major emergency declaration to be revoked. The replacement would be specific legislation on restrictions on community activities.

Updated

And now, for some reaction from Tanya Plibersek on her new shadow ministerial position:

Updated

Kidd has given a brief update on the vaccine rollout, saying the 50m dose domestic production agreement with CSL and AstraZeneca is due to commence in late March, ahead of schedule, and will deliver 1m doses per week.

It is projected that 2 million domestically produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be supplied in late March. These projections already take into account global supply challenges for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca and the European regulatory proposals. They have been confirmed by the country heads of Pfizer and AstraZeneca in discussions with the Australian minister for health, prior to Monday’s announcement, and have subsequently been re-affirmed by both companies. So the guidance remains unchanged.

Kidd says deliveries will be affected by global production and supply shipping processes.

The projections that we have are cautious and conservative. Our guidance remain for a late February commencement of Australia’s mass immunisation program against Covid-19, with rollout according to the national vaccination strategy and with all Australians seeking to be vaccinated having received their course of vaccination by the end of October.

Updated

Kidd said a small number of people who were in the Pullman Hotel, where the previous three cases were quarantined, travelled to Australia before the suspension of the travel bubble.

We know that 12 people who were in quarantine at the Pullman Hotel have arrived in Sydney. Three of these people have travelled onto Hong Kong and the authorities there have been advised. Two of these people travelled on to Queensland and the authorities there have also been advised. The others are all being followed up in New South Wales and are being tested.

Updated

Suspension of NZ travel bubble extended for further 72 hours

Acting chief medical officer, Micahel Kidd, has announced the suspension of the travel bubble with New Zealand has been extended for another 72 hours, until 2pm on Sunday.

The decision was made in light of two additional cases of the South African Covid variant yesterday.

This allows continuing protection of the people of Australia, while the extent of the situation in New Zealand continues to be clarified. I apologise to those people who have had their travel arrangements disrupted.

Updated

Albanese concluded the press conference by drawing inspiration and comparing himself to the new US president, Joe Biden. He said:

I can think of a couple [of people in this room] who told me that it was absolutely certain that Donald Trump would win re-election. Absolutely certain, a lay down misere. But a bloke who was a former deputy leader and an experienced politician, who had held a wide range of portfolios and who was someone who was underestimated by some, he is now president of the United States, and I will be the leader of this country after the next election.

Updated

Albanese has slapped down comments by backbench MP Joel Fitzgibbon calling for the abandonment of the Rudd leadership rules that protect the leader. He said:

You know, I think people will make their own judgement as to whether Joel Fitzgibbon is playing a constructive role as to the prospect of the election of a Labor government or not ...

I supported the rule, the rule is there for a reason and so has the Liberal party introduced a rule. It’s so that you can have an end to the sort of nonsense that frankly didn’t serve Labor well, either in opposition or when we were in government, and they were rules that were adopted unanimously.

Albanese defended taking skills off Tanya Plibersek and innovation off Claire O’Neill. He said:

Tanya Plibersek also picks up the tasks that she has held in the past and will do an outstanding job on [the] status of women. For Clare O’Neill, it is pretty hard to say that senior Australians and ageing is anything other than a step up.

Albanese signalled he will announce new industrial relations policies in Queensland in the week beginning 8 February.

Updated

Albanese has played down suggestions Tanya Plibersek is positioning for the leadership with public comments about what Labor needs to do. He says her statements are consistent with his agenda:

I looked at Tanya’s comments today. Look at my speech, it is available to all of you in this room, a year ago. I spoke about Curtin and Chifley and national reconstruction and we should look at that, in terms of the post-pandemic recovery. This bloke here has got the job of looking after employment and that sort of activity, along with Ed Husic, and our economic team led by Jim Chalmers. It is perfectly consistent. I have no problem with members of the Labor party putting forward the views which we all hold as the Labor party and the truth is, there is a consistency in those views.

But he has also warned against disunity:

My shadow cabinet and my leadership team are absolutely united in the sort of vision that we have for this country and united in a view as well built on experience that a Labor party that focuses inward will not be successful, a Labor party that focuses outward will be.

Updated

Albanese defended moving Mark Butler out of climate change, noting he has held the same portfolio since 2013.

He said:

I think it is a good change. I think he will make an outstanding shadow for health and ageing.

Albanese wouldn’t be drawn on whether the party would set an interim 2035 emissions reduction target – pointing to previous answers where he has at times committed to it and at times side-stepped it.

He recommitted only to a “clear policy framework” rather than an interim target.

He said Labor needed to know what the “starting point” was, citing the need to see the outcome of the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in November. But he committed Labor to “strong action on climate change”:

Chris Bowen has a very strong position on climate change. I have a strong position on climate change. There is no way that a Labor government that I lead won’t take action on climate change. Zero possibility. And if you go back and look at the climate change blueprint in 2016, some people in the Labor party objected to that at the time. There are some people who always said that we should never have a renewable energy target, for example. They were wrong. They were wrong then, people who argue that today are wrong. We will have strong action on climate change

Updated

Anthony Albanese said Labor’s climate change is “about science and markets but one of the things about jobs going forward as well is that action on climate change creates jobs”.

Albanese recommitted to a target of net zero by 2050 but has so far not said if Labor will set an interim target, as he has promised in past.

He said:

Climate change action doesn’t cost jobs. It is one of the things that I have emphasised since I was the shadow minister myself when we established the 20% Renewable Energy Target by 2020. Chris Bowen will bring a focus on jobs to the portfolio. I think he will do an outstanding job. We remain absolute committed to a couple of things. Zero net emissions by 2050, consistent with what the rest of the world wants.

Updated

Marles has also taken a swipe at the federal government, saying the prime minister has “abdicated” his responsibility during the pandemic:

There has been an abdication by this prime minister and this government from playing the federal government role within our federation and everything we have seen, in respect of our borders, every moment when we have watched this prime minister duck responsibility for an issue which should have principally been dealt with at a federal level, gives voice to the fact that this is a government which has not played the role that it should have in terms of the national presence within our federation.

He also said that jobs would be central to the opposition’s messaging this year:

That is what we are going to be focused on. That is what is going to be central to our message each and every day in the lead-up to the next election. That is what the next election will be contested about and that is the choice that we are going to give the Australian people when they next go to the ballot box.

Updated

Richard Marles described “science and technology” as the most important micro-economic reform that Australia must pursue.

He said:

As a nation we have to change our cultural relationship to science and I really look forward to being able to tell that story in the lead-up to the next election. Right now, we are amongst the worst commercialisation of research in the OECD. If our economic team performed at that level there would be a royal commission. As long as that stat exists we will not be building a modern manufacturing base in this country which generates the kind of jobs that we need.”

Marles also appeared to take a swipe at the media for an anti-intellectual culture in Australia – perhaps thinking of how some outlets have amplified climate denial.

He said:

“As modern economies around the world have climbed the technological ladder when it comes to manufacturing, Australia has stood still. If we are going to become a high-tech manufacturing country which generates the kind of jobs that we need ... if we’re going to become a country like Korea or Germany, we are simply going to have to change the way in which we see science. Science is going to have to become front and centre in our national discussion. That starts here in this building and it actually starts in the discussions that are held in the media organisations that you represent.”

Updated

Newly appointed shadow deputy leader Richard Marles has stepped up to discuss how he, and his party, see the future for Australia:

As we look beyond COVID-19, we are now at a point where we have the opportunity to reimagine Australia, to reimagine an Australia which has an economy in it that builds and generates permanent long term jobs. To do that, requires vision. Vision is something that this government simply does not do. COVID-19 has brought out the best of Australians. We have seen neighbours looking after neighbours. We have seen the selfless bravery of our health and aged care work force. But COVID-19 has also exposed a number of areas where this country has been going wrong.

Marles has gone on to highlight the need to diversify the job market and to push for greater focus on new technologies and industries:

As modern economies around the world have climbed the technological ladder when it comes to manufacturing, Australia has stood still. If we are going to become a high-tech manufacturing country which generates the kind of jobs that we need, countries - if we’re going to become a country like Korea or Germany, we are simply going to have to change the way in which we see science. Science is going to have to become front and centre in our national discussion.

Albanese concludes by promising a “sharper focus” on the government - and impliedly the need for less focus by Labor on themselves and its leadership.

He said:

”The focus has got to be on being the best that we can. How we’re not just satisfied with going back to the way that things were. How we recognise that we need to build our economy, build jobs, build fairness and equity and that we take the spirit that has been shown during this crisis, the spirit of Australians looking after each other, the spirit of Australians making sacrifices in the national interest, the spirit of ensuring that we can be proud of Australia’s performance in the world that we take those principles forward.

The fact is, prior to the pandemic, there were real problems in the economy, as Jim and the economic team pointed out. Growth was sluggish and wages were stagnant, national debt had doubled, productivity was going backwards. Right now, insecure work and underemployment are at record highs. We have more than two million Australians who are either out of a job or can’t get the amount of work that they need. Australians deserve a government who will show the strength that they themselves have shown over the past 12 months.

I intend to provide that leadership with this outstanding team, I will back this team versus the government every day. I have put head to head opposition portfolios in the same areas in which the government has its portfolios. I think to sharpen that focus going into the future.”

Anthony Albanese said Chris Bowen would bring an “economic perspective” to the climate change portfolio.

He said:

I have said consistently, ever since I had the portfolio myself under Kim Beazley as the leader, that climate change action is good for jobs, it is good for reducing emissions, as well as good for reducing power prices. It is an economic portfolio and Chris Bowen will bring his perspective to that portfolio and as a supporter of strong action on climate change and he will continue to be supported by Pat Conroy.

Mark Butler will become shadow minister for health and ageing and will be assisted by Claire O’Neil, the new shadow minister for aged-care services.

Julie Collins becomes shadow agriculture minister. Madeleine King will be shadow minister for trade and resources, assisted by Murray Watt.

Updated

Anthony Albanese has announced his deputy leader Richard Marles will be “shadow minister for jobs jobs and more jobs” - through a portfolio change that will make him “shadow minister for national reconstruction, employment skills and small business, as well as taking on shadow minister for science.

Ed Husic has been elevated to shadow cabinet with a portfolio to focus on “traditional and emerging industries”.

Brendan O’Connor will become shadow defence minister.

Kristina Keneally will gain the responsibility of “shadow minister for government accountability” - to hold the government to account “across the board” on rorts, and use of taxpayers money.

Pat Conroy will be her assistant shadow minister.

Opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, has discussed his hopes of moving from opposition to “down the corridor” and winning a likely election in 2021.

This reshuffle is about Australians getting the most out of Labor. The easy choice to make is to not make many changes and just keep things as they are. I’m absolutely determined and events this year have reinforced my view that I will do the right thing, not necessarily the easy thing. This is the strongest team to form an Albanese Labor government.

I’m interested not so much in being in opposition and what titles people have, I’m interested in getting rid of the one word that’s the bad word from the titles of the people I’m about to inform you. That one really bad word is Shadow. I want to remove that and I want to move us to the corridor down the end of this building.

Updated

Opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, has begun the reshuffle announcement by pledging Labor will provide “secure jobs and secure incomes”.

He reiterated Labor’s policies on childcare and encouraging Australian manufacturing; its opposition to Coalition policies to allow workers to be worse off under industrial relations changes, and indications it will abandon the superannuation increase.

Albanese said:

This reshuffle is about Australians getting the most out of Labor. The easy choice to make is to not make many changes and just keep things as they are. I’m absolutely determined and events this year have reinforced my view that I will do the right thing, not necessarily the easy thing. This is the strongest team to form an Albanese Labor government.

The reshuffle is all about removing the word “shadow” from portfolios by leading Labor into government, he said.

Updated

Good afternoon everyone, a quick thank you to the always brilliant Calla for guiding us through the morning.

And with that, the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, is speaking now.

Updated

Lunchtime summary

Let’s quickly recap the events of the morning before we get to that Labor press conference.

With that I’ll hand over to the inestimable Mostafa Rachwani, who will see you through the afternoon. Stay well, stay hydrated, and I’ll see you in the morning.

Updated

Anthony Albanese will give a press conference from the Labor caucus room in about ten minutes.

Liberal Jason Falinski has fired a warning shot at the Morrison government not to follow the junior Coalition partner’s call for more coal power.

Falinski was asked on Sky News whether Scott Morrison would have a “serious problem with the Liberal party members” if he endorsed new coal power stations.

Falinski replied:

Well, I would have a serious problem with my electorate. Absolutely. That’s not something that they would be in favour of. And I just don’t think that the economics of it, more than anything else, actually stack up. That’s the biggest problem that we have.

Updated

Pfizer’s medical director of developed Asia, Krishan Thiru, has explained why Australia will wait a few weeks from approval to rollout of the vaccine, whereas earlier countries rolled it out within three to six days of emergency approvals.

Speaking to the Senate Covid committee, Thiru said:

We’re now operating in a different model, of pandemic supply. Earlier on we manufactured before regulatory approvals and so there was some degree of inventory. Once the first approvals were approved we distributed very quickly. Now we’re in a just-in-time model, as soon as the vaccine is produced and [has] passed testing – we’re distributing it as quickly as possible.

We recently received TGA approval, and we’ve begun processing orders. We’re required to send a sample to TGA for testing. Once we have that we ship the remainder of the batch. The overall process takes a few weeks.

Updated

Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, will hold a press conference on his frontbench reshuffle later today but dropped some hints this morning.

Asked to confirm reports he would swap health spokesman and former shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, into the climate change and energy portfolio currently held by Mark Butler, Albanese said:

I regard it as an economic portfolio and therefore someone who has been the treasurer of Australia is eminently qualified to fill that role.

Asked if the change meant he was backing away from a stronger climate policy, Albanese said:

I’m absolutely committed to strong action on climate change. I’ve been committed for a very long period of time. This is an issue that I raised. I wrote the policy that Labor put in place from 2007 when we were in government. I’ve been a climate change and environment spokesperson. What we need is strong action on climate change, which will be good for jobs, good for lowering emissions, and also good for lowering energy prices.

When a reporter put to him that the Labor party has been “divided” on climate change in the past 18 months, Albanese said that “with a couple of exceptions, the party isn’t divided”.

The Labor party is a party that believes in action on climate change ... We have a very consistent view across the board that climate change is real. The party that’s divided on climate change is the other side.

The questions follow Joel Fitzgibbon saying on radio this morning that Butler was “somewhat overenthusiastic in his response to climate change policy” and that Labor needed to change its policy to send the right message to its base.

Albanese said:

Joel Fitzgibbon’s comments are wrong. He’s a backbencher. He’s got a right as a backbencher to make comments. But they don’t reflect the overwhelming view of people in the Labor party. The overwhelming view of people in the Labor party is that we need strong action on climate change.

Updated

Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has repeated her call for the federal government to extend jobkeeper payments beyond March in tourism regions by tweeting a screenshot from her notes app.

Very Taylor Swift.

Updated

Pfizer on track to deliver first vaccines to Australia by late February, committee hears

Pfizer has told the Senate Covid committee it’s on track to deliver its first vaccines to Australia by late February, but says the supply agreement is confidential.

Pfizer’s comments come after the AMA president, Dr Omar Khorshid, told the committee he had “some concern” about whether the government’s target of 4m vaccinations by the end of March would be achieved, citing production delays and the potential reduction of the amount of Pfizer the vaccine released by the EU.

Khorshid endorsed the possibility that vaccines would be required for aged-care workers. He noted the vulnerability of the population they care for, and said this was “a pretty strong argument for mandatory vaccination” and such a proposal would be “easy to support”. For the general population, vaccination will be and should be voluntary.

Asked about the immune response of elderly people and whether they were included in trials of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, he said:

The AstraZeneca trial results were pooled from a number of studies. The subgroup who had 90% efficacy was a younger age group. The broader publication does include people over the age of 55, but not as many as the Pfizer initial trials. It’s fair to say there is a question still about [AstraZeneca’s] efficacy in the elderly, especially the extremely elderly who are rarely involved in clinical trials.

Khorshid said the Therapeutic Goods Administration would consider the evidence on AstraZeneca, and may not approve it for the 55+ age group.

Updated

Police in Queensland have called for anyone who may have video footage of the area where a Brisbane couple were killed in an alleged hit and run on Tuesday, including dash cam and security camera footage, to send it to police.

You might think your piece of the puzzle is too minor and somebody else has already pointed it out, but I would say: can you let us judge that? It could be very, very important.

The police spokesman said the deaths of Kate Leadbetter, 31, and Matthew Field, 37, were a “terrible tragedy”. He said it was touching to see how the community had come together.

An extensive investigation is continuing, the combined efforts of forensic police, local detectives, homicide, general duties police and a range of other people still continues to wind that machine.

Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of Katherine and Matthew, and their unborn child at this very, very difficult time. I see the outpouring of emotion and support by the local community of Alexandra Hills, I’m familiar with the community and they are a tight, supportive environment. If it is any – if there is any good that can come out of this tragedy it is to somehow see the support that everyone provides each other.

Police who attended were overwhelmed with levels of support and encouragement as well. We will continue to provide support to the family, the first responders that attended the scene, and any witnesses included who have been impacted by these circumstances.

A 17-year-old boy alleged to have been driving the car has been charged with murder.

Animal welfare advocates have praised Racing Victoria for trialling a limited use of whips in horse racing.

Racing Victoria last year pushed for the national body, Racing Australia, to agree to a phasing out of the use of whips, saying the current rules were “no longer appropriate” and the sport risked losing its social licence.

The push did not succeed, but Racing Australia is conducting a review of whip use.

Racing Victoria announced yesterday that it would trial limited whip use in the Country Mile race series next month, which is only open to Victorian country trainers.

Jockeys will only be allowed to use their whip five times throughout the entire race. The current Australian rules say that the whip can only be used five times before the final 100m of the race, with unlimited use thereafter.

Penalties range from fines equating to half or all of rider prize money, rider suspension, and banning a horse from participating in further heats.

Racing Victoria executive manager of racing, Greg Carpenter, said:

Racing Victoria has publicly outlined since September 2020 that it believes whip reform is essential if racing is to retain its existing audiences and ensure that the sport is attractive for the fans and employees of the future.

Carpenter said the trial “will assist us with gathering data in areas such as wagering, fan engagement, participant support, conduct and safety of the race, and impacts on form lines”.

This information can only add value to the quality of the deliberations by all of the State Principal Racing Associations that will be debating potential changes to current whip rules over coming months.

We acknowledge this initiative has mixed support from some industry stakeholder groups. However, we thank them for their input to the process to this point and we can only reiterate that we see little downside to running this trial and using the learnings to better inform the discussion on this critical issue.

RSPCA Victoria said the trial was “a positive first step”.

Reforming whip rules would be a positive change, however our position remains firm that the ultimate outcome should be that whips are not used for the purpose of enhancing performance due to the pain and distress inflicted on horses. This would ensure that racing performance is not determined by inflicting pain through whipping but rather by sound breeding, quality training and outstanding horsemanship.

Back in the Senate Covid committee, AMA president Omar Khorshid has said that “healthcare worker worker protection is one of the few failings of the Australian government”.

Khorshid said this was particularly the case in the Victorian outbreak when “thousands of aged care, healthcare workers, doctors and nurses contracted the disease in the course of their normal work” despite the provision of “what were supposed to be nationally consistent guidelines on personal protective equipment”.

He said the national expert group was “slow to reissue” these guidelines, and despite the commonwealth promise of a taskforce to provide “further evidence” on the problem, this was “very slow to occur”.

It’s simply not good enough.

Updated

CSL told the Senate committee it was too busy in the first quarter of this year manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine and did not have the capacity to appear before the committee before mid-April.

CSL has been tasked by the Australian government with manufacturing 50m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, for use in the Australian population.

In an email dated 22 January, it said:

The next few weeks are a critical period in the manufacture of this vaccine and we are working very closely with the department of health, AstraZeneca and the Therapeutic Goods Administration to bring forward the supply of the product as much as possible without compromising safety or quality.

You can read the full correspondence here:

Updated

Vaccine manufacturer CSL 'declined' to appear at parliamentary committee

Katy Gallagher, has revealed that CSL knocked back an invitation to appear at the Senate Covid-19 committee, which she chairs.

Gallagher said given their “vital role” in the vaccine rollout – which includes producing the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia – the committee believed it was “essential to hear from them directly”.

CSL has “declined ... to appear today” and the committee was “unable to convince them to reconsider” although they will look for a suitable date in future.

Omar Khorshid, the president of the Australian Medical Association, has delivered an opening statement outlining that although Australian governments have generally followed medical advice, the AMA has at times disagreed.

He said the national Covid-19 reopening strategy “prioritised economic success over health” which Australia’s success had demonstrated was the “wrong approach”.

The “rush to open up” resulted in “significant outbreaks” and the roadmap “failed to meet its goal of fairly normal by Christmas” - and instead, “fairly strict” measures were introduced before Christmas.

The idea of Covid normal is even more unrealistic than before.

You can follow all the global updates on the coronavirus crisis here.

Updated

Malka Leifer has appeared in court in Melbourne

Malka Leifer has not applied for bail after fronting a Victorian court, less than a day after landing in Melbourne following her extradition from Israel and almost 13 years after she left Australia amid allegations of child sexual abuse.

Appearing before the Melbourne magistrates court via video link on Thursday morning, Leifer did not speak when asked if she could hear the magistrate, despite police confirming the technology was working.

Leifer slouched forward and buried her face in her arms on the table in front of her for the duration of the filing hearing. She appeared to be wearing the same clothes and head covering – a religious Jewish custom to maintain modesty – as when she was photographed leaving Israel on Monday.

The court also heard the 74 counts of child sexual abuse she faces from her time as principal of the Adass Israel ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls school in Melbourne are related to three victims.

Leifer’s lawyer, Tony Hargreaves, said Victoria police had provided his client with “a number of different types of medication” for “significant mental health issues” during her extradition, and noted she held “very strict religious beliefs” that would have to be accommodated for while in custody.

Hargreaves asked for Leifer to be moved from police custody, where she is currently being held, to a prison, because “there simply aren’t facilities available” to accommodate her religious observation in police custody.

Leifer had claimed she was mentally unfit to stand trial after Victoria police first ordered her extradition in 2014, however an Israeli court found she was feigning mental illness and her extradition was signed off on in December last year.

The 52-year-old is currently serving a mandatory 14-day coronavirus isolation period for all arrivals into Australia.

Leifer was remanded to appear before Melbourne magistrates court for a committal hearing on 9 April. She will appear via video link.

Updated

NSW marks 11 days without a locally acquired Covid-19 case

NSW has recorded no new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 again today, marking 11 days since the last case.

There were three cases in hotel quarantine and 7,809 tests reported to 8pm last night.

Updated

Victoria could be open to travel from all of New South Wales by tomorrow afternoon.

As mentioned earlier, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne this morning that he hopes the last remaining “red zone” in NSW – Cumberland local government area in western Sydney – could be downgraded to an “orange zone”.

Andrews said:

I’m very confident that tomorrow, there will be changes to the settings.

He said that some areas of NSW would remain orange zones. People who travel to Victoria from an orange zone have to get a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arrival.

Under the new permit system, you have to get a permit to travel or return to Victoria from any other state or territory in Australia. If you’re coming from a green zone – currently all of Australia except greater Sydney – you still need to get a permit, even though no restrictions apply.

Updated

Here’s a bit more from New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s press conference earlier, when she was asked about the trans-Tasman travel bubble.

Ardern said last month that she hoped to be able to announce a two-way travel bubble this year, and told reporters today that “we still hold that ambition”.

But as you would have heard me talk about on Monday, you know, we’re equally exploring iterations of that, state by state, whether or not there is other things we can do that will give confidence.

What we want to make sure, though, is that when we enter into an arrangement we don’t have a situation where we left people stranded. Both sides are concerned. There is good commercial reasons to be concerned about that too.

Updated

It will be wet in northern Victoria tomorrow.

Andrews says Victoria's border restrictions with Sydney may be lifted this week

Meanwhile, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has been speaking in Melbourne and suggested the remaining border restrictions with Sydney may be lifted this week.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

According to Channel Nine’s Andrew Lund, Andrews told reporters that he hopes there will be no red zones (travel to Victoria prohibited) in NSW by the end of tomorrow and a much larger green zone (permit required but no other restrictions).

The only red zone at the moment is the Cumberland local government area. The rest of greater Sydney is currently in an orange zone (travel allowed with a permit and a Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arrival in Victoria).

Updated

The state MP for Cairns, Michael Healy, was even more pointed.

I’ve been in the tourism industry for 35 years. I remember when Scott Morrison was cutting his teeth in the marketing role of Tourism Australia and he came up with the campaign ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’

My question to Warren Ensch and Scott Morrison at a time of great need is – where the bloody hell are you?

Queensland government calls for jobkeeper to be extended for the tourism industry

Palaszczuk says the federal government should continue extending jobkeeper payments for tourism operators.

Of course, we know that a lot of operators are doing it tough, especially with jobkeeper ending at the end of March.

I honestly think there is a case to be made to the federal government that perhaps Scott Morrison and the federal government could look at those industries that are doing it tough and maybe jobkeeper does need to be extended for those.

We know in other industries they have bounced back after Covid, and some industries are doing a lot better than others. We know the tourism industry is hurting, especially those regions which rely heavily on international travellers.

Queensland spends about $12bn a year [in] Queenslanders going overseas – that is not happening. I want Queenslanders to get out and explore Queensland. If your family hasn’t been to the Great Barrier Reef, this year is the perfect opportunity. There’s so much to do here, from the Atherton Tablelands to the Daintree and all the towns in between, you will be met with friendly smiles. Of course, we know how important that New South Wales market is as well. So for those viewers currently in Sydney and you’re looking for an escape, there is no better place than the tropical far north, where I think it’s about 28C at the moment and it’s just after 9am.

Tourism minister Stirling Hinchliffe picked up the argument.

Jobkeeper, when it was brought in by the federal government was a very, very useful tool, a very blunt force tool, but one that made a massive difference right across our economy and our community.

But as we move forward I think it is important that the federal government pick up tools that are maybe more finer grained, a bit more sharp, in how they respond to the needs of the economy and in particular industries like the tourism industry and in particular in those internationally exposed tourism spots like tropical north Queensland and the Whitsundays.

I would encourage Scott Morrison and the federal government, including Dan Tehan, the tourism minister, to work closely with us and with the tourism industry here in Queensland, to respond to the needs as we go forward and maintain the great tourism industry we have here, that people are very much welcome to enjoy. Great assets, great experiences, great opportunities here in the tropical north.

Updated

Palaszczuk gives press conference as Queensland records one case of Covid in hotel quarantine

Annastacia Palaszczuk is giving a press conference in Cairns about the reopening of the border to NSW.

She says Queensland recorded one new case in hotel quarantine overnight, no new locally acquired cases.

About 6,200 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon says Labor's leadership rules are 'flawed' and 'very untidy'

Joel Fitzgibbon has told Guardian Australia that Labor should consider changing the rules governing its leadership selection.

What a busy morning the member for Hunter has had.

Fitzgibbon said the current system, which allow grassroot members to have a say on the leadership of the party and imposed a period of stability on the Labor leadership after the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, is “very untidy”.

The story by Katharine Murphy and Paul Karp says:

Fitzgibbon told Guardian Australia on Thursday there was a case for overhauling the rules imposed by the former prime minister Kevin Rudd in an effort to stabilise the party’s “coup” culture. He characterised the current leadership selection process as “flawed”.

“I wouldn’t want to conflate this with current speculation about leadership but I think the rules are flawed in that they have the potential to allow someone to be the leader without the majority support of the caucus, and I think that’s very untidy,” Fitzgibbon said.

Fitzgibbon said changing the leadership rules was “something that I think is worthy of consideration over time”.

Read the full piece here:

Updated

Ardern said all three cases reported in New Zealand this week – the first cases in the community in two months – are linked to the same quarantine hotel.

So although these people were in the community when they returned a positive test, they’re not calling it community transmission.

They are still linked to MIQ. I want to make that clarification because community means something for some people. As you will already know, some of the tightening that we have put into our facilities are coming in as we speak. Some of those things like pre-departure testing, day zero testing, so as soon as people come in, testing them again, requiring people to stay in their rooms until they have a negative test.

Some of those have come in after we have had this incident. We expect that to make a difference. In the meantime, we want to get to the bottom of what has happened in this particular facility. It is clear from the link to these cases, something has happened and an event of some description. In the meantime, we aren’t putting new people into the Pulman while we work through and identify, as we always do, what has happened that has caused this to occur.

She said NZ authorities could impose extra requirements on people once they leave hotel quarantine.

One of the things we have talked to health officials about is what we expect of people once they have their final test whilst still in the facility to minimise the risk. Do we need to minimise peoples’ movements or transactions once they have had that final test? We have asked for advice and thought around that.

The second thing is what extra assurance can we give upon departure. We have had tens of thousands of people successfully move through. We are always looking for extra assurance for everyone. If that means adding in extra requirements once you leave, that is what we are looking at.

Ardern said authorities still have not figured out how the people in hotel quarantine picked up the virus.

Whether or not it is surface transfer, someone touching the same button as we have seen before in a lift or with a rubbish bin. Or we haven’t ruled out, while it is a low chance, aerosol transfer, so the air. We have looked at ventilation. We will look at the use of common areas and whether or not people have even passed each other. We analyse cameras, we look at swipe card access and we will do everything to try and identify what happened.

None of the staff working at the quarantine hotel have tested positive.

Updated

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern hasn't been told if Australia will resume the travel bubble

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern is giving a press conference in Wellington, and has been asked about the green zone travel bubble with Australia. Australia will decide today whether to extend or lift the 72-hour suspension of that bubble.

Ardern said:

I maintain the same position I always have which is confidence in our systems. I also totally acknowledge it is a decision for the Australians.

Does she know whether the travel bubble will resume today?

I have never given advice in that manner. All I have asked is that officials provide all the information that we have directly to officials in Australia so they can make their decisions. But we absolutely want them to have the confidence we have in our systems and we can do that by giving them good information ...

I haven’t had any direct conversations in that regard and that is because of Border Force and their involvement. It is still a conversation I would need to have at a federal level. We haven’t spoken to anyone directly.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. Photograph: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Updated

Christopher Pyne’s lobbyist firm has been engaged by a private defence contractor that was awarded tens of millions of dollars of government work while he was defence minister.

Pyne, through his firm Pyne and Partners, began working in December for Elbit Systems of Australia, a major supplier of military technology to the Australian defence force.

Elbit won a series of contracts with defence while Pyne was defence minister between August 2018 and May 2019. An analysis of publicly-available tender data suggests the technology company was awarded about 20 contracts worth $98m during Pyne’s time as defence minister, including a lucrative contract to provide a new cyber range training platform to boost the ADF’s cyber capabilities, which was announced by Pyne publicly.

Christopher Pyne.
Christopher Pyne. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

It also won work while Pyne was minister for defence industry, including in 2017 when he said Elbit would help work on a new $1.4bn battlefield command system for the army.

Ministers are prohibited from lobbying in relation to anything they had official dealings with for 18 months after they leave office.

Pyne’s exclusion period ended on 29 November 2020. His firm began lobbying for Elbit in December.

Read more here:

Updated

Victoria records no new local cases of Covid and three in hotel quarantine

Victoria has recorded no new locally acquired coronavirus cases again today, with three new cases in hotel quarantine. It is now 22 days since the last locally acquired case.

14,494 people were tested yesterday – another increase. I wonder if returning to school or the office has made people more inclined to get little sniffles checked out?

Updated

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told the ABC earlier this morning that the national process of declaring certain areas a coronavirus hotspot was “working well”.

Palaszczuk made the comments as she announced that Queensland would open its border to all of NSW on Monday, 1 February.

She said:

The hotspot program has been working very well. And especially when we had the lockdown in greater Brisbane, where I actually put to the national cabinet that everyone else should declare greater Brisbane a hotspot because I did. I actually think that worked very well.

Credit to New South Wales – they got on top of their cases. They were able to link back all of them. Our chief health officer was absolutely delighted last night when she briefed me. Look, I think it’s great news. The border checkpoints will be coming down. So that’s also good news for our police as well, because they have done a mighty job down there as our emergency services have as well.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Updated

Joe Biden’s new climate envoy, John Kerry, said this in Washington a short time ago. Worth listening to in the context of Joel Fitzgibbon’s comments around the pending Labor reshuffle, including reported changes to the climate portfolio.

Kerry said:

I think that unfortunately workers have been fed a false narrative ... they have been fed the notion that somehow dealing with climate is coming at their expense. No, it’s not. What’s happening to them is happening because of other market forces that are already taking place.

Updated

Google’s “experiment” in Australia to remove major news sites from search results is hiding important news stories from hundreds of thousands of Australians.

In some cases filtering out mainstream news publications from search results is also resulting in lower-quality publications being promoted, including a news website known for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories.

The search giant previously admitted that it is running “a few experiments that will each reach about 1% of Google Search users in Australia to measure the impacts of news businesses and Google Search on each other”, but has previously refused to answer detailed questions about the experiment.

For some users, major news sites will not show up in search results, and users are not informed that their search results are being restricted. People are still able to view the news stories in Google news, and can find news stories by normal methods such as visiting news websites directly or using alternative search engines.

The experiment does not remove results that link to official information, such as that found on government websites.

A Google spokesperson confirmed that a “small per cent of users” would not see some news stories in Google search, but disputed that this would prevent Australians from reaching news sources.

“It is demonstrably incorrect to claim this has prevented Australians from reaching news sources. First, these are tiny experiments, impacting only a very small per cent of users, so the vast majority of users are totally unaffected,” he said.

“Second, even users affected by the experiments can continue to access the news websites, for example they can go to publishers’ websites directly, use publishers’ apps, via Google News, follow links on social media or shared by friends and family, or get news from TV, radio, print newspapers and magazines.”

Read more here:

A regional Victorian town was used as a meeting ground for a group of white supremacists at the weekend, according to a disturbing report in the Age.

The article, by Nick McKenzie and Joel Tozer, includes reports of bushwalkers stumbling across the group in a cave in the Grampians and overhearing them shout “white power”, and another local seeing the group in Budja Budja/Halls Gap and being told “we are the Klu Klux Klan”. Some of the group reportedly had Nazi tattoos.

Victoria police’s counter-terrorism command are reportedly investigating the gathering, as is Asio.

Updated

Serena Williams says quarantining for the Australian Open is 'super intense, super good'

Tennis great Serena Williams has continued to be the best, telling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that Australia’s quarantine regime for international travellers is “super, super strict, but it’s really good”.

US tennis player Serena Williams and her daughter arrive in Adelaide on 14 January before heading straight to quarantine for two weeks isolation ahead of her Australian Open matches.
US tennis player Serena Williams and her daughter arrive in Adelaide on 14 January before heading straight to quarantine for two weeks isolation ahead of her Australian Open matches. Photograph: Brenton Edwards/AFP/Getty Images

Williams is in quarantine ahead of the Australian Open. She said:

Yeah, it’s super, super strict but it’s really good. So Australia right now has, the last I heard they had zero cases of Covid, so that is...

Colbert:

Wow.

Williams:

Unbelievable, right? The whole country. So that is really amazing.

So when we come here in Australia, everyone has to quarantine in a room for 14 days and it’s insane and it’s super intense but it’s super good because after that you can have a new normal, like we were used to last year this time in the United States.

So they – they’re doing it right, you know, it’s definitely hard with the three-year-old to be in the hotel all day, but it’s worth it because you want everyone to be safe at the end of the day.

You can watch the exchange here.

Updated

Pfizer and AstraZeneca to face Australian parliamentary inquiry today

Pharmaceutical companies behind the two coronavirus vaccines which will be rolled out first in Australians, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, will be grilled by an Australian parliamentary committee today.

They are expected to be asked how Australia’s vaccine supplies will be affected by supply disputes in Europe.

More from AAP:

The Senate’s coronavirus response committee will on Thursday hear from two of the companies the federal government has struck a deal with for a combined 63.8 million vaccine doses.

There are concerns the rollout could be delayed with the European Union locked in a dispute with the pharmaceutical companies over supplies.

But the federal government insists the first Pfizer jabs will start late next month, with the company not flagging complications for the 10 million doses it is contracted to deliver to Australia this year.

In Europe, Pfizer is delaying deliveries, while AstraZeneca’s initial shipments have been smaller than first promised.

The EU is planning to slap export controls on vaccines produced within its borders, including Belgium where Australia’s Pfizer order is being made.

Pfizer Australia’s medical director Krishan Thiru and market access boss Louise Graham will front the inquiry.

AstraZeneca Australia’s senior medical director Carla Swemmer and market access director Alice Morgan are also due to appear.

Therapeutic Goods Administration boss John Skerrit will give evidence about vaccine approval after Pfizer received the green light on Monday.

AstraZeneca is expected to become the second vaccine to be granted provisional approval.

Health department secretary Brendan Murphy and the chair of the government’s vaccines advisory committee Allen Cheng will also answer questions.

A healthcare professional prepares a dose of the Oxford/Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine in Brazil.
A healthcare professional prepares a dose of the Oxford/Astrazeneca coronavirus vaccine in Brazil. Photograph: Ellan Lustosa/Zuma Wire/REX/Shutterstock


Updated

Awkwardly, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian appears to have learned that Queensland was reopening its border to all of NSW when she was told about it on live radio.

People: you have each other’s numbers. Text.

The exchange went like this.

2GB host Ben Fordham:

Queensland is opening the border from February 1, Monday.

Berejiklian:

Fantastic, good news. I hope it means a lot of families hoping to get together over Christmas and new year and weren’t able to, I hope it brings a lot of joy and relief to people. That’s my wish for them.

Fordham:

Why is it I had to break the news to you?

Berejiklian:

The important thing is the right outcome is achieved.

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian learned live on radio on Thursday morning that Queensland will open its border to her state. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Updated

Fitzgibbon said medium-term targets have “no utility in opposition”.

I am talking about the policy and I think it’s been demonstrated time and time again you have no capacity to set a medium-term target. What Labor needs to do is absolutely commit to net zero emissions by 2050 and then we need to commit to reaching any interim targets set by the government of the day.

What if that medium-term target set by the government is not ambitious enough, Kelly asked?

She added:

Are you and Labor prepared to raise the white flag on emissions and risk the planet in order to win blue-collar votes?

Fitzgibbon replied that “the operative world there is the globe” and said Australia was only a small emitter on a global scale, adding that Australia should advocate for the big emitters to do more without, er, doing more itself.

Kelly then referred to the new report from a group called the Climate Targets Panel, which found the Australian government needed to set a 2030 emissions reduction target of between 50% and 74% if Australia was to comply with Paris agreement goals of limiting global heating to 2C and 1.5C respectively.

That’s a significant increase on the Morrison government’s target of a 26-28% cut, and Labor’s proposed interim target of 45% by 2030 – the one Fitzgibbon said was too over-enthusiastic.

Fitzgibbon spent a short time arguing that the report was talking about the action of the global community and did not set specific targets for Australia, then conceded he had not actually read the report.

Kelly asked:

Why shouldn’t we see your push to get rid of Mark Butler and wind down Labor’s ambition on short-term targets as simply a bid for you to save your own seat in the Hunter?

Fitzgibbon:

That is rubbish, Fran.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon hails climate change swap as Albanese prepares for reshuffle

Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon has been on Radio National doing his regular schtick of attempting to tamp down climate policy.

It comes amid reports that opposition leader Anthony Albanese will swap out his climate spokesman Mark Butler, from the Labor left, for health minister Chris Bowen, on the Labor right, in response to internal party pressure about Labor’s climate targets. It would be a direct swap: Butler would get health; a significant portfolio in a pandemic.

Fitzgibbon, also from the right, thinks this is a good idea, telling Radio National that Butler has been “somewhat over-enthusiastic” on climate change policy.

Fitzgibbon, whose Hunter Valley electorate swung 9.5% to the National party at the 2019 election, said:

I have great respect for Mark Butler but yes I believe this to be a good thing, I believe this to be a good start, it will send the right message to our traditional base, but it won’t be enough alone. We also have to both recalibrate our policy and our messaging to send the right message to the base that whilst we are serious about tackling climate change we won’t do so at the expense of their jobs.

He then added:

I think Mark has been somewhat over-enthusiastic in his response to climate change policy.

Joel Fitzgibbon.
Joel Fitzgibbon. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

I’m not clear what over-enthusiastic means in this context; Labor’s current climate policy is not wildly ambitious.

Radio National host Fran Kelly pushed Fitzgibbon on what he meant by recalibrating the policy and messaging on climate change.

Fitzgibbon said that Labor’s climate response should be about policy not politics. He then said that parties cannot implement policies from opposition, so the policies have to be something which help you get elected. If you think these two statements are contradictory, you are correct.

Fitzgibbon said:

The message for the community is if you really want meaningful action on climate change, vote Labor, but the message for Labor is you can’t have meaningful action on climate change unless you win the election.

Updated

New Zealand declared best in the world at managing the Covid-19 pandemic; Australia 8th

New Zealand has been ranked the best performer in managing Covid-19 while Australia is ranked eighth, according to an index published by the Lowy Institute today.

The Lowy Institute’s new interactive feature – the Covid Performance Index – looks at how countries and territories have performed in responding to the pandemic.

It’s based on crunching data for the 36 weeks that followed every country’s hundredth confirmed case of Covid-19, based on indicators such as confirmed cases, confirmed deaths, confirmed cases per million people, confirmed deaths per million people, confirmed cases as a proportion of tests, and tests per thousand people.

Of the nearly 100 jurisdictions with publicly available and comparable data in these categories, New Zealand comes out in top place. It’s followed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Cyprus, Rwanda, Iceland and Australia.

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern’s Covid response is considered the best in the world.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern’s Covid response has been rated the best in the world. Photograph: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

The researchers say China was not included in the rankings due to a lack of publicly available data on testing, but South Korea is ranked 20th, Japan 45th, the United Kingdom 66th, Indonesia 85th and the United States 94th, with Brazil in last place at 98th.

“Although the coronavirus outbreak started in China, countries in the Asia Pacific, on average, proved the most successful at containing the pandemic,” the interactive says. “By contrast, the rapid spread of Covid-19 along the main arteries of globalisation quickly overwhelmed first Europe and then the United States.”

Researchers Alyssa Leng and Hervé Lemahieu say smaller countries with populations of fewer than 10 million people “proved more agile than the majority of their larger counterparts in handling the health emergency for most of 2020” – but development levels or differences in political systems “had less of an impact on outcomes than often assumed or publicised”.

You can explore the interactive, and find out more about how they crunched the data, here.

Updated

Speaking of premiers, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is holding a press conference at a Melbourne primary school at 9.30am to mark the start of the school year.

The first day of school in Melbourne is a big deal this year, after students spent much of last year doing remote learning from home. Restrictions have eased to the point that team sports and school camps are back on the agenda.

Students will even be allowed to use bubblers. What a world.

School’s back today in Victoria...
School’s back today in Victoria. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Updated

Queensland to open border with all of NSW from 1 February

Queensland will reopen its border to all of NSW on Monday, dropping the last of its travel restrictions.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the border change on Nine’s Today Show a short time ago.

It has been a really really long haul and it has been tough on everybody but I have always maintained that I have got to keep Queenslanders safe.

And I can announce for your, Karl [Stefanovic, Today Show host], first to your viewers, that the NSW border will reopen on the 1 February. So it’s a great time for families to be reunited and for people to plan their holidays.

Palaszczuk was speaking from Cairns in far-north Queensland, where she said tourism operators are keen to welcome interstate visitors.

If anyone is down there in NSW or Victoria and you’re thinking about having a holiday come up to Cairns, everyone is ready to welcome you with a friendly smile.

Holiday in Queensland, anyone?
Holiday in Queensland, anyone? Photograph: Peter Adams/Getty Images

Updated

Good morning,

Australian authorities will decide today whether to extend the suspension of the one-way travel bubble with New Zealand, after genomic testing revealed two new Covid cases confirmed in New Zealand yesterday were the highly transmissible South African variant of the virus.

Australia suspended the travel bubble, which allows people from New Zealand to travel to some Australian states without quarantining, for 72 hours on Monday. Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Prof Michael Kidd said yesterday that the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee was waiting on more information about the new cases before issuing its advice.

It comes as Australian thinktank the Lowy Institute named New Zealand the top performing country in the world at managing the pandemic. Australia was ranked eighth. More on that soon.

Looking globally now, the International Olympics Committee president Thomas Bach has again insisted the Tokyo Games will go ahead this year, but suggested spectators may be capped or even banned to ensure the safety of athletes.

And US president Joe Biden has stepped up his climate commitments after rejoining the Paris agreement this week, saying he plans to hold a global climate summit on Earth Day, 22 April, to talk about further action. He says the push will be centred on “climate justice”, adding “we’ve waited too long to deal with this climate crisis”.

Meanwhile, new analysis has shown Australia needs to cut its emissions by at least 50% by 2030 to reach its Paris agreement targets.

Let’s crack on. You can reach me on Twitter @callapilla or email me at calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com

Updated

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