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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly and Tory Shepherd (earlier)

Barnaby Joyce dismisses Cop26 ‘talkfest’; snap lockdown for Katherine in NT; Qld eases Covid border rules – As it happened

And with that, we are going to put this blog to bed. It’s been a big day, filled with wild weather, good-ole pre-election sledging and a lockdown.

Lets re-cap the big yarns from today:

  • Thousands prepare to evacuate as Lachlan River threatens Forbes.
  • Victoria reported 860 new Covid cases and five deaths; NSW had 165 new cases and one death, the ACT recorded 10 new cases.
  • NSW police announced they have new evidence in William Tyrrell search
  • Scott Morrison labelled himself “the underdog” and said the ABC was not beyond ‘the scrutiny of the Senate’.
  • Border passes became available to anyone (who meets a strict criteria) to get into Queensland.
  • South Australia announced border restrictions easing from next week
  • The first day of a five-week inquest into Australia’s deadliest aged care Covid outbreak has begun in Melbourne.
  • New Zealand announced Covid booster shots will become available to residents from end of November.
  • The “state of the art” Adani coal train broke down during testing
  • Deputy prime minster Barnaby Joyce said the Nationals did not support signing Cop26 pact.
  • And the NT recorded two new Covid cases, one of which was in a remote community. This sparked a lockdown of the Greater Katherine area and Robinson River.

I don’t know about you, but I am going to lie down. I will be back tomorrow to do it all again. As always, a total pleasure spending the day with you.

Go well, from team Guardian Australia.

Updated

That is it for the NT press conference. To recap the territory has recorded two new cases, one in a remote Aboriginal community, Robinson River.

This is the first time a case has been positive in a remote community and authorities are concerned.

Greater Katherine and Robinson River will go back into lockdown for 72 hours.

There are only five reason to leave your house and residents must wear a mask outside.

Updated

Everyone in Robinson River will be tested, Payne said.

We’ll certainly be wanting to test almost everyone in those communities. We need very high rates of testing. That is part of our plan, when there is an outbreak in a remote community, you see high rates of testing.

The teams will be taking large quantities of swabs, but they’ll be testing with PCR at this stage.

Updated

Payne said everyone in Australia is likely to get Covid, and only the vaccine will keep us safe.

You have now in Australia, perhaps in 12 months, 100% chance of getting this disease. It’s coming, it’s coming for us.

We know a great deal now about the virus and how lethal it is, a proportion of people will die from it.

But also, a proportion of people will get seriously ill. It’s much, much worse than seasonal flu. It’s an order of magnitude worse than the seasonal flu.

The vaccines have now been tested on vast numbers of people but have been tested in real-life, on hundreds of millions of people.

We know a great deal now about these vaccinations and the risk associated with them ... the risks are small.

Updated

Payne said health authorities were concerned younger First Nations peoples with underlying health conditions would be more prone to severe illness.

Because of the prevalence of underlying conditions in younger Aboriginal people, they are more prone. So we are gravely concerned about the impact on the Aboriginal communities. So we want people to come forward and get vaccinated.

Some rates are extraordinary, they’re fantastic. They’re leading the NT. But others are not. There’s still some hesitancy.

Updated

NT deputy chief health officer says vaccination rates too low in some areas

Payne says it is concerning because there are areas in the NT that are not vaccinated enough to keep an outbreak under control.

We know there are areas in the territory where vaccination rates are not adequate to hold back this kind of outbreak. So we are in a very challenging time.

There is no question about that. I wouldn’t want anyone in the territory to be under any illusions that we are now in a fight to get on top of this.

Updated

NT deputy chief health officer Charles Payne said they are now “in a fight” to help the community.

We hope and believe that we have caught this early, certainly in Borroloola. In Katherine, we know we have had an outbreak there and there’s been a period of about a week in between. So there could have been some significant transmission during that time.

Updated

Gunner said the NT government had dispatched a rapid response team of eight people tonight and will fly more in.

They’re also sending vaccines to nearby community of Borroloola.

We have got staff on the ground. This is additional people on the ground.

We’ll got into a swift testing and vaccine program. We know that Delta can spread quickly so it is a concern. We are hopeful we have caught this case early. She presented to the clinic because she was symptomatic so I thank her for that.

Updated

Gunner said the population of Robinson River is 350 people. The full vaccine rate is 77% and 88% first dose.

“So a good vaccination rate,” he said.

Updated

Robinson River is the community of concern, Gunner said.

We have always been concerned for our remote communities because of their mobility and vulnerability. They are at great risk from the impact of Covid, especially as Delta has emerged.

If you are not vaccinated, please get the jab. This thing is real, don’t wait until it’s too late. Protect yourself and the community.

Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner
Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner. Photograph: Aaron Bunch/AAP

Updated

Schools will remain open but unvaccinated parents will only be able to drop children at the gate.

A mask mandate is already in place but residents must wear a mask when they leave home.

Updated

Greater Katherine region to go into snap lockdown from 6pm

The greater Katherine region will go into lockdown from 6pm local time tonight, Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner said.

We are declaring a 72-hour lockdown for greater Katherine. This means you are only allowed to leave home for one of the five reasons; you have done this before, you have smashed it before, I know you will smash it again.

The five reasons are: medical treatment, including getting a Covid test and getting vaccinated; for essential goods and services like groceries and medicines; for work that is considered essential and can’t be done at home; for one hour of exercise a day with one person you live with and no further than five kilometres from your home; and to provide care to a family member, including separated families.

Updated

Northern Territory chief minister Michael Gunner is speaking now in Darwin.

The first case I can confirm today ... is a 43-year-old Aboriginal male fully vaccinated. November 13 he was tested and the result was positive today.

We are treating him as if he’s been infectious since November 10. Today we received a positive Covid-19 test in a 30-year-old Aboriginal female, a household contact of the man I’ve told you about.

She flew into the river, the Aboriginal community, and is a resident there. She returned an initial positive result. We are treating her as having been infectious in the community since November 11.

Updated

NT records two new Covid cases

Two new Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the NT. One of the new cases is in a remote community.

Updated

The Victorian government will water down its controversial pandemic legislation after 11th-hour negotiations with key crossbenchers.

But sweeping powers, giving the premier the responsibility of declaring a pandemic, which can be extended for three months at a time for as long as considered necessary, will remain despite ongoing protests and death threats against MPs supporting the controversial legislation.

The premier’s office has confirmed the laws will now go before the upper house on Tuesday.

Former Dept PM and current Nationals MP Michael McCormack shared this video of the Lachlan river from the air this morning.

This from AAP:

A Gold Coast man brutally attacked the woman he called the “love of his life”, bashing her with a hammer and strangling her to death.

Almost four years to the day after Gaylene Cobby – known as Kym – died outside her Gold Coast hinterland home, a jury has found Andrew John Cobby guilty of her murder.

The 51-year-old woman was repeatedly struck on the head with the hammer then strangled while taking out rubbish at her Worongary home on 12 November, 2017.

Cobby now 59, admitted being present during the attack on the woman he had married more than three decades earlier – although they mostly lived apart from 2003 – but denied being responsible.

Cobby told police an unknown assailant was behind the killing, ambushing his wife as he was about to get into a red Chrysler he had borrowed, the Brisbane supreme court trial heard.

But a jury rejected his version, handing down a guilty verdict on Monday after deliberating for less than a day.

Updated

Gold Coast getting a special shoutout on the premier’s Twitter feed this afternoon. Health authorities are very concerned the area is lagging.

Updated

New research has shown one-punch deaths declined by 50% between 2013 and 2018 but there was an increase number of domestic assaults.

The researchers have not gone into how the pandemic impacted these deaths but know there were 172 one-punch deaths in Australia in 2020.

Previously the medium age of 33 but that has shifted to 44 years old, the research shows. Researchers said alcohol was still involved in 60% of the deaths.

This from AAP:

A medically unqualified extreme body modifier performed a dangerous, unhygienic and unlawful “tummy tuck” on a young mother, a Sydney judge has found.

Brendan Leigh Russell, 40, was on Monday found guilty of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm when slicing open the woman’s abdomen in his shopping centre parlour in November 2016.

“The accused undertook what was clearly a dangerous procedure, in circumstances that were very clearly unhygienic, and convinced the recipient that it was safe,” District Court Judge Helen Syme said.

The Central Coast body modifier was also found guilty of female genital mutilation after excising most of a woman’s labia with a branding iron in Newcastle in January 2015.

A verdict on his third and most serious charge - the 2017 manslaughter of a regular client - is due on Tuesday.

Following Monday’s verdicts, Russell was remanded in custody, leaving his heavily pregnant wife in tears.

The findings could draw a line under complex body modification in Australia after Judge Syme dismissed defence arguments that the mother had provided appropriate consent to the abdominal procedure.

The exposure sites in Tasmania have been revised.

There’s been a lot of chatter this afternoon about the government signing on to the Cop26 agreement “request” for countries to strengthen their targets before turning around and saying it won’t.

My colleague Sarah Martin has the full run-down here for those catching up:

Updated

While we are talking weather - if you are near the Lachlan please remember to keep an eye out on warnings. You can check them here.

Updated

And it is also very cold! We’ve got a Canberra about to hit a record-breaking cold snap with three straight days under 14 degrees in November, Melbourne felt a maximum of 13.5C today and it is snowing in Tasmania.

It has been a very strange afternoon for Aus politics.

Updated

And lastly, PK asks Chalmers if the PM is the “underdog” politically – which keen blog followers will remember is how he self-described this morning.

“It’s a fake prime minister and we are in a fake election campaign and he will say all kinds of things to spin the position he is in politically, we don’t underestimate him.”

Updated

PK asked Chalmers if Cop26 will make things harder for the fossil fuel industry.

“Not necessarily on its own, clearly. The long-term future of the market has been set out, it would be irresponsible for anyone anywhere, to pretend, that 30 or 40 or 50 years down the track, that our energy market will be dominated by cleaner sources of energy, that is self-evident.”

Updated

Chalmers is asked when Labor will announce its 2030 target and how ambitious it will be.

“In the coming weeks.”

Chalmers said the government is just pretending it cares about climate change.

“It is extraordinary in the extreme that we have a government that signs an international agreement and within hours, says that has no intention of keeping to it.

“We have a prime minister who signed an agreement and a deputy prime minister and the cabinet says it has nothing to do with them.

“This is symbolic, of eight years of shambolic and economically damaging inaction from the government, 22 or 23 different energy policies, after eight years in government they give us a pamphlet, not a plan, they sign up to an international agreement, they have no intention of keeping to.”

Updated

Jim Chalmers, the shadow treasurer is now on Afternoon Briefing.

He is asked if Labor will go to the next election with a more ambitious target.

“Of course, Labor will be more ambitious when it comes to cleaner and cheaper energy.

“We understand as to the state governments and the big employers and the global community, that there are more jobs and more opportunities and more investment which flows from doing the right thing, getting our emissions down but most importantly getting that additional, cleaner and cheaper energy into the system.”

QLD MP Ali King has again had her office defaced – this time with swastikas.

Updated

From Agence France-Presse:

A group of women subjected to invasive gynaecological searches at Doha airport will sue Qatari authorities, seeking redress for an ordeal that sparked global condemnation, their lawyer said on Monday.

Women on 10 Qatar Airways flights from Doha, including 13 Australians, were subjected to the examinations late last year as authorities searched for the mother of a newborn found abandoned in an airport bathroom.

'State of the art' Adani coal train breaks down during testing

One of Adani’s brand new “state of the art” coal trains has broken down during testing in north Queensland.

The Indian conglomerate has said it expects to export the first coal from the Carmichael mine by the end of the year.
After difficulty finding an Australian freight rail company to haul its coal, Adani established the Bowen Rail Company. In September Adani hailed the arrival of new locomotives at a media event attended by the federal resources minister, Keith Pitt.

Guardian Australia was sent footage of Bowen Rail Company locomotives and wagons stalled at Birrallee, south of Collinsville, earlier today. The area is en route from the Carmichael mine to Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal.

In the footage, the wagons appear fully laden with coal.
“One of our testing and commissioning trains is currently stopped in a siding away from main line traffic as a safety precaution while some work is carried out,” an Adani spokeswoman said.

“Since our new locomotives arrived in Australia in September we have transported them to the railway and have since been testing and commissioning them and our coal wagons to ensure they are ready to operate safely and efficiently.

“As is the usual process for new pieces of equipment and infrastructure, this is expected to take a period of time as the new machines are tested, both while hauling loads and with empty wagons.”

Updated

That interview was wild. Give me a second, and we are going to jump over to Ben Smee who has an update on one of Adani’s new coal trains - very on brand topic for this afternoon.

And with this choice quote, the interview with Joyce comes to a close.

“PK, everyone is entertained, they won’t like me, but they will be entertained.”

PK has asked Joyce if he is concerned about misinformation in relation to the vaccine, especially if it comes from people like George Christensen.

“If the information is wrong I am concerned about it. You shouldn’t give wrong information, which, for instance, could put someone out of a job or cause someone healthy -- cause them to become unhealthy, you shouldn’t tie a car to a rail line or to scaffolding. Misinformation is bad as well.”

PK has asked Joyce if it is appropriate for the Senate to be looking at the ABC.

“[If] they want to have those Senate inquiries they can have one.

“You can turn up and defend the ABC if you wish, one thing you guys are good at is arguing your case, you can go there and argue your case and you will.

“You are making a big thing of it to be quite frank and making it worse, better to deal with it and send someone along, give your evidence.”

Updated

Joyce is arguing he cannot answer for Liberal moderates who want higher climate change targets.

“They are the Liberal party, that is for him [Scott Morrison] to look after and the Liberal party, I look after the National party.”

Updated

Joyce says he is happy with the government’s target and he thinks Australia did a great job.

Joyce is asked if the government should not have signed up to returning next year and revising the target.

“If they want to talk about something and have another talkfest, knock yourself out, have it somewhere else, have the movie stars come back and all the billionaires and all the core projects, and have people bleeding all over the place and terribly upset.

“We honour every agreement when we signed it. That is why we are cautious about what we sign. A lot of these other countries, yes, they will sign the agreement and hooray for the photo. But as they walk back on the corporate jet, they go, ‘Bye’.”

Australian deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce.
Australian deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

PK says Sharma was emotional because he felt it was a great achievement.

“Give me a break! These people aren’t worried about the environment, they just want to end up on television.”

Updated

Joyce is now mocking the Cop26 president for becoming emotional at the end of the final sitting.

“I think we have done a great job. I think we have done a great job.

“It annoys me that, what is that guy’s name? The chairman Sharma with his gavel, ‘I am crying, I can’t do it,’ – he wants to talk about shutting down the coal industry but he never talks about shutting down the oil fields in the North Sea, he doesn’t want to shut that down.

“He wants to shut down industries and other people’s countries, not in his country.”

Updated

Joyce says the nationals didn’t sign the Cop26 final agreement including a request to strengthen 2030 emission targets – which the government did before issuing a statement within hours the target is fixed.

“I didn’t sign it.

“The Nationals didn’t sign it. I did not sign it.”

Updated

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is on Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas.

He says protestors who are currently blocking coal trains in the Hunter region are not exercising “their democratic right”.

“When they hang themselves off scaffolding, stopping trains, $60m worth of exports, but about $6m worth of royalties that could have gone to hospitals, schools, could have gone to things that support our standard of living.”

Updated

This from AAP:

The Victorian government is in talks with crossbenchers to amend its controversial pandemic legislation ahead of the debate in state parliament’s upper house.

The government is relying on the support of Animal Justice MP Andy Meddick, Reason Party MP Fiona Patten and Greens leader Samantha Ratnam to pass the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 this week.

If passed, the bill will replace the state of emergency powers due to expire on December 15 and will give the premier the responsibility of declaring a pandemic, which can be extended for three months at a time for as long as considered necessary.

Once a pandemic is declared, the health minister will be given “broad powers” to make public health orders. Such powers currently reside with the chief health officer, who is not an elected official.

However, both the premier and the health minister must continue to consult with the chief health officer and the advice behind the orders must be made public within a fortnight.

The bill has become a lightning rod for anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination groups, with thousands gathering in Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday to rally against it, including a man seen carrying a homemade gallows with three nooses in an apparent reference to the three crossbenchers.

A quiet Federation Square is seen on October 20, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia.
The Victorian government is in talks with crossbenchers to amend its controversial pandemic legislation ahead of the debate in state parliament’s upper house. Photograph: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Updated

Greens politicians are concerned about a catch in South Australia’s plan to open its border.

Fully vaccinated travellers from other states will be allowed to enter SA from 23 November.

But if they are coming from a local government area where there is community transmission and less than 80% of the population are fully vaccinated they still have to quarantine.

Jenny Leong (member for Newtown), Ellen Sandall (member for Melbourne) and Tammy Franks (SA) are concerned residents from the City of Melbourne and the City of Sydney will be impacted because statistical anomalies show a low vaccine rate in both central LGAs.

They have written to Greg Hunt flagging their concern.

“As it stands, these statistical anomalies will prevent many people living in the City of Sydney and the City of Melbourne from travelling and being reunited with family in South Australia,” the letter reads.

“It will also prevent interstate travel by South Australian residents to these cities.

“It is critical that vaccination rates are set and we are very supportive of ensuring the community is kept safe through a strong public health vaccination program.

“That said, it is problematic to be preventing interstate travel based on outdated population predictions which seem to skew the actual vaccination rates in these areas.”

Updated

A “root cause” of the tragedy that led to 50 resident deaths at St Basil’s aged care home was an eight-day delay between the reporting of its first Covid case to Victoria’s health department and the testing of all residents, a coronial inquest has heard.

New evidence of failures at the home was obtained in recent months, counsel assisting Peter Rozen QC said in his opening address to the inquest, which began on Monday with the names of those who died being read as the court stood in silence.

Senator Jacqui Lambie has turned to a Facebook poll to help her decide how to vote on the Coalition’s proposed voter ID bill.

Lambie’s vote could be important - given One Nation already supports the law, the government is close to having the numbers.

On Friday Lambie posted: “Should we need an ID to vote? I want you to give me your advice. The government’s proposed Voter ID laws will stop people from stealing someone elses’ vote, but could also disadvantage vulnerable people. The Voter ID laws could come up in the last two weeks of parliament. Don’t wait to tell me how you think I should vote. Click the link below - it’s the easiest way to tally up all the advice. I’ll let you know when I’ve made my decision and why.”

This isn’t the first time Lambie has engaged her constituents directly in this fashion, she also conducted a poll before voting against the proposed ban on mobile phones in immigration detention.

The cynic in me thinks it’s a good way to build a bigger contact list, capturing details of people engaged in a controversial topic. First name, last name, email, mobile and street address are required to participate - less proof than you’ll be asked on voting day if the bill gets up, but still, handy to have.

And of course – there’s no commitment she’ll do what the majority say, only to explain what she decided on and why.

Senator Jacqui Lambie.
Senator Jacqui Lambie. Photograph: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

Updated

Covid booster shots available to New Zealanders from end of November

Eligible New Zealanders will be able to receive a Pfizer booster vaccination from the end of the month, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.

Speaking at a post-cabinet briefing, Ardern said booster doses will be free from 29 November, for anyone in New Zealand aged 18 or older who has completed their two dose course, more than six months ago.

Health workers, border workers, Māori and Pacific peoples and older people are especially encouraged to get the booster, Ardern said.

“While most other countries are rationing boosters to segments of their population, we’ve made the decision to make boosters available to everyone, six months after the primary vaccine course - most of which will naturally happen in 2022. That ensures simplicity and it ensures equity.”

There are 144,000 people in New Zealand who have been vaccinated for six months and 455,847 who will be, by the end of the year.

Ardern also announced a lockdown level change for the Waikato region, south of Auckland. The area has been under level three lockdown restrictions for six weeks, after Covid-19 cases emerged in the community.

Ardern said that due to its high vaccination rates and low spread beyond household contacts, the area will move to alert level two from midnight Tuesday.

Jacinda Ardern has announced New Zealanders will be able to get Covid boosters from the end of the month.
Jacinda Ardern has announced New Zealanders will be able to get Covid boosters from the end of the month. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

There was also a strong warning for year 12’s celebrating finishing in Dunsborough later this month.

WA Commissioner of Police Chris Dawson said:

“I’d caution anyone that is contemplating to try and game the system ... It’s a criminal offence. If you want to attempt to enter by way of fraud or forgery, you are liable, and look, why would you waste all your education up to year 12, you want to go to university or get a job, and run the risk of actually getting a criminal conviction?”

Mark McGowan has hit back at Greg Hunt after Hunt appeared yesterday on the ABC’s Insiders saying he heard Western Australia was considering opening its borders earlier than planned to coincide with the cricket.

“I’ve never met Greg Hunt, I’ve never spoken to Greg Hunt, I wouldn’t know him if I met him. He’s got a very vivid imagination. He hasn’t spoken to the [WA] health minister. I would urge the commonwealth government to stop making things up.

“The commonwealth has been difficult the whole way along the last two years, always staying to be very adventurous and unsafe whereas we have been very cautious and very safe.”

The plan for Western Australia at the moment is to set a date for reopening its borders once 80% of people 12 and over have been fully vaccinated on that date is set to be sometime in late January or early February.

Updated

That’s it from the BOM but I’ll follow the updates and bring you those through the afternoon.

You can check the NSW weather warnings on the BOM’s website and on Twitter.

Updated

Swindles is asked to give an update on operations in the Blue Mountains.

“The strong winds we saw over the weekend kept the BlueMountains unit very busy - over 60 calls for assistance for trees being down.

“Some leaking roofs as well as some of the rain that we got, extending down to the Hills area. Once again, our Blue Mountains crew are certainly active today in finishing those jobs.

“Warnings for wind, when we get them, we asked for people to secure loose items around the yard, and also with leaking roofs, we just had that we are expecting more rain, and when it comes into the season when you get the opportunity get onto your rooms, clean your gutters and cut down any low-lying trees over your rooms, that will certainly assist us.”

Updated

He said evictions warnings had been given out and residents were ready to leave if and when needed.

“We are working closely with the Bureau with regard to predictions. And may escalate to an evacuation order.

“When that does happen, those residents will be given clear instructions as to what they should do.

“As we referred to, in 2016, the community of Forbes are resilient, they are aware as to what could occur and I’m sure they have plans in place to look after themselves and we will be there to guide and assist.”

Swindles said they had 30 teams out in the area yesterday helping.

“I believe we had 30 teams out in the field day yesterday, doorknocking at risk properties, those 800 properties to give them forewarning, and upwards of over 100 SES volunteers who really just end up at times like these to help their community members.

“They are outstanding in the work they do.”

NSW SES chief superintendent Greg Swindells said they have significant resources out at Forbes.

“Since this event did commence, we have seen approximately 1500 request for assistance around the Forbes area. 100 calls for assistance mainly related to sandbagging.

“What I can say is that the community at Forbes is quite resilient, they have been preparing for this with us and other local council since June, and they are quite prepared.”

He said the peak could be on Wednesday.

“To the community, listen to the warnings, respond to the advice to look after yourselves and do what is asked of you to stay safe. Concern, as always is, since this event has occurred and it is statewide, we have seen 29 flood rescues.

“We stand here each time we have floods and our advice is for people to not walk, drive or ride through floodwaters. Unfortunately, people still take that risk.”

The BOM said the communities of Cowra, Nanami, Forbes need to keep up to date with any warnings on the site.

They are expected to peak in the next 24 hours at Nanami. The BOM is concerned Forbes flood waters could rise higher than 2016 levels.

“It is particularly important for communities with this evolving flood situation that will be updating warnings for of those communities - Cowra, Nanami, Forbes, and downstream - every two or three times each day, especially as we get more information and the forecast changes. We’ll be updating those impacted communities as possible.”

“Our key area of concern at the moment is Forbes, so even though the rainfall has stopped, the flood is still in motion, and during the past few days, we have seen moderate flooding upstream at Cowra.

“The river levels are higher than they were in 2016. Now we are concerned about how this will impact the community of Forbes. The flood forecasting team this morning updated the latest forecast for Forbes,” BOM spokesperson said.

Updated

We’re going to hold that for a second because the BOM is giving an update on NSW.

Cait Kelly here, rejoining you after possibly the best fish curry of my life.

I am about to bring you an update on the housing affordability inquiry from Paul Karp.

Updated


The chief of the Australian defence force, General Angus Campbell, says it is an “open question” whether Afghanistan will re-emerge as a base for international terrorism.

At a Senate inquiry into Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan, the Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie noted the gains Australia had secured had come at a great cost. She asked Campbell what he saw as the most important gain achieved in Afghanistan over the 20 years since Australia joined the US-led military engagement in 2001. Campbell said it was to work with coalition nations to deny Afghanistan as a base or safe haven for international terrorism.

Asked about what hopes there now were of preserving that gain now that the Taliban was back in control of Afghanistan, Campbell said:

I think this is a matter that is unclear. The efforts of the international community are focused on seeking to encourage, persuade, to see the Taliban meet their responsibilities now as an organisation that is in control of Afghanistan, not to see international terrorism to re-emerge from Afghanistan. But it is an open question, senator.

Pressed on Australia’s initial initial strategic objectives in Afghanistan in 2001-02, Campbell said:

It was to deny Afghanistan as a safe haven for international terrorism, to attack areas or Al Qaeda and other international terrorist facilities and organisations, as a member of a coalition to seek to capture Osama bin Laden as the leader of Al-Qaeda and to see Afghanistan able to be a base for international terrorism.

Daniel Sloper, the Australian government’s special representative on Afghanistan, told the same hearing:

We need to hold the Taliban accountable for its actions going forward.

Sloper said the Australian government was focused a number of priorities, including ensuring safe passage for people who want to leave Afghanistan, protection of human rights, and avoiding a safe haven for terrorism. He said these goals would not be easy or quick to resolve (adding that the Taliban were seeking international recognition and release of funds).

Sloper said the Australia was working with other countries - including those in the region - on these issues, noting: “It is in no one’s interests for Afghanistan or its neighbourhood to become unstable.”

The hearing continues.

The parliamentary inquiry into housing affordability has concluded for the day, after the usual clashes between chair Liberal MP Jason Falinski and regulators over housing supply and planning laws.

In the morning, Australian Prudential and Regulation authority executive director, Renee Roberts, was in the firing line for saying APRA doesn’t “target house prices or matters of affordability”. Rather, it is concerned with financial stability and ensuring households are able to make mortgage repayments.

Falinski asked Roberts repeatedly if this meant APRA “doesn’t care” about affordability - prompting the reply that it is not in APRA’s mandate.

APRA has recently tightened lending standards by requiring that lenders check households can pay the interest rate plus a buffer of 3%, up from 2.5%. But Roberts said the aggregate impact of this on prices will be “fairly modest” as many don’t borrow at their full capacity.

In the afternoon, Falinski asked the Reserve Bank assistant governor, Luci Ellis, if the RBA was responsible for high house prices. Ellis replied that she accepts that low interest rates have contributed to house prices and “at some level that is our doing”. But, the alternative is the Australian economy suffering higher inflation and having greater difficulty attracting capital.

Asked about the impact of housing prices on inequality, Ellis conceded it is a “legitimate concern” and there is an “intergenerational issue” because people whose parents rent have much greater difficulty owning their own home.

But people whose parents own their own home benefit because “the house doesn’t disappear - there’s a mechanism by which children can relatively easily end up being home owners”, she said. Meaning: using the bank of mum and dad by getting them to guarantee your loan, or inheritance.

Falinski and Ellis went a few rounds with comparisons between housing markets in Santiago (Chile), Tokyo (Japan), Auckland (New Zealand) and Texas (US) - Falinski’s general thrust being looser planning laws = more construction = lower prices. Ellis countered that it’s the supply of well-located land, near jobs and amenities that is constrained and raises prices.

The hearing ended with another disagreement about whether planning laws have gotten more or less difficult to navigate, with Ellis pointing to liberalisation in Brisbane and Sydney, and Falinski countering that developers and builders had told the committee it’s still getting harder to build.

Tory Shepherd here, back in Blogtown for a bit. Did you see this?

While some are celebrating Cop26 ending without actually sounding the death knell for coal, NSW treasurer Matt Kean says life won’t get easier for the fossil fuel industry. He said:

Glasgow just accelerated where the market was already going. The fossil fuel industry is going to find it harder to get insurance, raise capital or refinance their options.

The Coalition really is a broad church! Read more about Kean’s comments in Peter Hannam’s story here:

I’m going to hand you back to my colleague Tory Shepherd while I take a quick break for lunch. I’ll be back very soon to go through the afternoon with you.

There are currently protestors on the steps of parliament house in Victoria saying they will camp out to protest the pandemic bill.

Updated

We reported earlier that the PM had been asked about the snap Senate inquiry into the ABC, after chair Ita Buttrose accused the government of trying to intimidate the ABC.

My colleague Paul Karp has the full story here and now:

And we have a better breakdown of Victoria’s Covid cases today.

Five people have died with the virus in the latest reporting period. There are 860 new infections, which is down from yesterday’s total.

378 people are in hospital and of those 78 are in intensive care. 87% of eligible people are fully vaccinated and 92% have now had their first dose.

Updated

Guardian Australia’s medical editor, Melissa Davey, is live-tweeting the Victorian inquiry.

Updated

Former Transport for NSW secretary Rodd Staples was “very uncomfortable” with a potential increased risk to long-term rail safety in the state that had not been resolved when he left his role in February, a NSW parliamentary inquiry has heard.

Appearing at an inquiry into the Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE) on Monday, Staples said that when he was overseeing Transport for NSW as the NSW government was setting up TAHE as commercial state owned corporation, it became “apparent that the top criteria” was to achieve a “fiscal objective” for the state’s budget.

Staples’s employment was terminated without reason in November 2020 amid an alleged disagreement with Treasury officials over the establishment of TAHE – a model for transport asset ownership that has allowed the NSW government to reclassify billions of dollars of spending on public transit assets as equity injections that do not have a negative impact on the budget outlook.

Staples also told the inquiry that before his contract was terminated, he raised with department of treasury and cabinet secretary Tim Reardon, that he was concerned about whether he could continue to be effective in his role as TAHE was established. He said he was starting to “wrestle with” the idea of being able to “stand up to the workforce” and say “that this [TAHE] is a good thing”.

TAHE is now the subject of a parliamentary inquiry. Last week, the inquiry heard that Treasury officials pressured a KPMG partner to change his negative assessment of the financial benefit of TAHE and safety implications. Days after the KPMG report was delivered, Staples was dismissed.

On Monday, Staples said that “my observation was that the key driver for TAHE was to make sure that they could present the budget in a fiscally different way to if it wasn’t there”.

Staples said TAHE’s establishment seemed “at odds” with the NSW government’s broader policy over the past decade to integrate different transport bodies and dismantle commercial entities within the system. He said he held concerns for the long term safety of moving transport asset ownership into a commercial entity with an objective to deliver a profit.

“You’ll be faced with the conflict of ‘well how much do I invest in the rail asset and maybe a new signalling system versus invest in a property development that would generate a higher return’.”

Here’s an explainer on everything you need to know about TAHE – the entity that has been labelled a “financial mirage” by a former NSW auditor general.

Updated

One of the first witnesses to address the inquiry was Christine Golding, whose 84-year-old mother, Efraxia, died after contracting Covid.

She said she got a call from a staff member after they were furloughed and was told doctors were crying, staff were protesting and they were predicting people would die from neglect.

She said her family were still angry and disappointed at how the outbreak had been mishandled and that no minister had called to offer their apologies or condolences yet.

The inquiry will run over the next few weeks and we will hear from loved ones and staff management. Victorian Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, will address the inquiry next Wednesday.

I’ll bring you any other key moments today on the blog.

Updated

The first day of a five-week inquest into Australia’s deadliest aged care Covid outbreak has begun in Melbourne.

Fifty residents of St Basil’s Aged Care died in August last year, 45 of them with Covid-19.

In his opening statement, Peter Rozen QC said staff were furloughed on July 22 after potentially being exposed to the virus, but the federal health department was unable to find sufficient staff to replace them.

He said public servants in Canberra who had never been to St Basil’s were making decisions about staffing “in the teeth of very clear warning from doctors who are caring for those same residents”.

One doctor involved in the response, Rabin Sinnappu, warned that replacing all of the regular St Basil’s staff would result in disaster, while another described it as a “shocking” idea.

Rozen said there were too few replacement staff to look after 100 elderly and frail people during the outbreak, and although a number of the new workers went “above and beyond”, the circumstances were impossible.

He also said the the delay between the notification of the first Covid case at the home on July 9 and test results becoming available on July 17 was a root cause of the failure to contain the outbreak.

-With AAP

Updated

Tishiko King went to COP26 to represent First Nations people, but what she found was a bunch of fossil fuel lobbyists and empty words.

You can read her piece about why First Nations need a seat at the table, and why she is not without hope, here:

Updated

More groundbreaking stuff from the Senate committee ...

Updated

Here’s a little guide from South Australia about the changes.

Updated

Part of the changes will also include shortages to isolation requirements, Marshall said.

Fully-vaxxed close contacts will be required to quarantine for just seven days. But if you’ve got Covid (or you haven’t had the vaccine), you have to do the full 14.

Updated

Changes to South Australia quarantine and border restrictions

Earlier today, South Australian premier Steven Marshall outlined changes to quarantine and border restrictions from next week.

In good news for separated families and state residents stuck outside, fully vaccinated people from New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT will be able to cross into the state from November 23.

And state residents will be able to leave the state without having to quarantine on the way back.

We know this is going to be a huge relief for families, for businesses,” Marshall said. “Those state borders have been extraordinarily punishing.”

Updated

New Zealand has reported 173 new cases of Covid-19 in the community, across four regions of the North Island.

In a statement, the ministry of health said 163 cases were in Auckland, seven in Waikato, two in Northland and one in the Lakes District. Another case has been discovered in Wairarapa, but was not reported early enough for today’s official tally.

“Local public health officials believe this case was found early in the course of their infection. They are carrying out interviews with the person today to identify any close contacts and exposure events,” the ministry said.

The death of a woman in her 90s in North Shore Hospital, reported on Sunday, has also been officially added to today’s numbers.

There are 90 people in hospital with the virus, and seven are in intensive care.

Public health staff are now supporting 4,071 people to isolate at home around Auckland - this includes 1,893 cases.

As of Monday, 90% of eligible New Zealanders over 12 years old have had their first dose and 81% are fully vaccinated.

Updated

ACT records 10 new local cases

The ACT has recorded 10 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19.

Updated

There are major flood warnings in place for the NSW central west. We have the full story here:

Updated

D’Ath said border passes would be issued instantly and those outside the state (some of which are residents desperate to return) can start getting the ball rolling.

“Today is the day that you can start putting in place your travel arrangements,” Queensland’s health minister said.

“So start booking your flights, if you’re fully vaccinated, go get your [Covid-19] test. As soon as it’s negative and your flight’s booked, your border pass will be instant.”

Updated

Fully vaccinated travellers can apply for Queensland border passes from 5pm

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and health minister Yvette D’Ath addressed media earlier, to talk through the coming changes to border restrictions now the state has hit 70% double vaccination.

Fully vaccinated travellers from interstate Covid-19 hotspots can apply for border passes from 5PM today.

If you’re coming from a hotspot, don’t pack your holiday bags just yet - there are a number of hoops you need to jump through to get into the state.

These include: being double vaxxed, with the second shot at least two weeks before entry, arrival by plane not car, proof of a negative Covid test 72 hours before arrival, a border pass, and the ability to quarantine at home in a place within two hours of the airport.

Palaszczuk said if the state kept up the momentum it would smash the 80% target earlier than predicted.

“If these rates continue, that is good news because it may even see our [reopening] date in December come a little bit forward as well,” Palaszczuk said.

Updated

Let me bring you this update from the Senate committee today where they are just releasing the news that water is wet.

Updated

This morning NSW police said they were searching three new areas for the remains of William Tyrrell.

We have the full details here:

Updated

Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein has announced there are no new Covid-19 cases after one was announced yesterday, but says 250 people have been identified as contacts.

Click here for a list of exposure sites.

Updated

There are currently about 170 Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents in Afghanistan, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says.

The total figure of people in these categories was 286 as of the start of October – but officials this morning gave an update to the Senate inquiry into Australia’s engagement in Afghanistan.

Simon Newnham, of Dfat, said there were 87 Australian citizens and 82 Australian permanent residents registered with Dfat as being in Afghanistan as of late last week. He said the department did not hold the number of Australian visa holders currently in Afghanistan, but it continued to assist “a great number” of individuals with respect to consular cases, including to expedite visa applications.

Newnham noted such figures were “highly fluid”. He said there were in excess of 4,100 evacuees in the Australian backed evacuation flights in August – but since then the total number of people who had departed Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover had risen to 5,150 - in increase of about 1,000.

He said Dfat was focused on flights out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, and as that became a more commercially viable option the department expected to see an increase in the number of people departing on flights. He said there had been three flights chartered by the Qatari government with coordination from Dfat, with Australian officials able to secure a number of seats for people on those flights.

There had also been individuals presenting at the border, particularly with Pakistan. Newnham reaffirmed the travel advice about the dangers over overland travel in Afghanistan, and the propensity for border crossings to open and close at short notice, but it “is the case that we’re working very much through our embassies in the region, particularly out of Islamabad, to assist those that do present at the border”.

There have been just under 900 individuals who’ve been able to cross the border and be able to be assisted by our high commission.

The inquiry was told about 80 people with Australian citizenship, permanent residency or visas had arrived in European capital cities.

Updated

NSW Health is changing the way it reports daily cases because the origins of where each case was acquired can no longer be determined immediately.

In NSW 94.2% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a Covid vaccine and 91.1% of the state (aged 16+) is fully vaccinated.

Updated

NSW records 165 new Covid cases and one death

We’ve got a breakdown of the Covid numbers from NSW – the state has recorded 165 new cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night and one person has died.

There are currently 216 people in hospital and of those, 32 people are in ICU.

The total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 78,367.

Updated

We’re going to Queensland now, where the border rules will be relaxed from tonight.

Border passes will be available to anyone who meets the criteria from 5pm this afternoon.

I’ll get you a full rundown of what changes in a minute.

Updated

The PM is now arguing that manufacturing is central to rebuilding Australia’s economy. That the Liberals have a better track record on ... you guessed it ... jobs.

I am just full of optimism about where Australia is and where we are heading, but I have to tell you, manufacturing, which is why we’re here today will play a huge role in Australia’s future.

We have a million Australians back working in manufacturing. Under Labor, one in eight manufacturing jobs went. We have restored that and you can see it here in western Sydney, you can see people are back on the tools, in manufacturing jobs occurring right across the country.

What’s driving it is lower taxes, we are keeping the pressure down on electricity and energy prices, what’s driving it is getting money into skills, so apprentices can learn what they need, (so) businesses like this can go for another 75 years.

Updated

Scott Morrison says ABC not beyond 'the scrutiny of the Senate'

Asked about criticisms from ABC chair Ita Buttrose over a senate plan for an inquiry into the broadcaster’s complaints handling process, the PM said: “That’s for the senate.”

There is no government agency that is beyond the scrutiny of the Senate.

It is a government agency, they have their independence and nobody is questioning that, but they are not above the scrutiny of how they conduct themselves, using taxpayers money from any other government agency.

That is business as usual for the Australian Parliament. I don’t know why they would consider themselves an exception to business as usual.

Updated

And now we are on strong borders ... the PM is asked about the number of illegal fishing boats off the west coast of Australia increasing.

In response, Scott Morrison is defending the government’s history of strict border policies.

We are not double-minded about that. We do not squirm about this.

Australians understand that if they want their borders ... secured, only a Coalition government can give them that confidence. We have the runs on the board. We have the best border protection agencies of anywhere in the world.

Updated

The PM is saying technologies (that have not been invented yet) are key for their climate policies.

What we want to do is ensure that we achieve our emissions reductions by growing our economy and seeing low emissions technologies be more and more cost effective and scalable, not just here in Australia, but around the world.

When that is achieved, emissions will reduce. So we’re to see emissions reduced.

I am not happy to tell Australians what to do through climate policies. I am not happy to tax Australians on those things. And Australians can have confidence about that.

... those last lines feels a bit like we’ve jumped back to 2013 ...

Updated

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is talking about how businesses will lead the Coalition’s climate policy.

Our approach going forward to secure our economic recovery is to not tell businesses what to do, not tell customers what to do. Our plan is to ensure they can take the lead.

The Labor Party lost telling people what to do and the only thing they love more than that is taxing them.

Updated

Good morning team Guardian. This is Cait, I will be taking you through the rest of today’s news.

Prime minister Scott Morrison is up now.

Updated

NSW police have new evidence in William Tyrrell search

NSW police have new evidence in the case of missing boy William Tyrrell. A new search will begin on Tuesday around Benaroon Drive, Kendall, where William vanished in 2014. Detective chief superintendent Darren Bennett said:

This activity is in response to evidence we have obtained in the course of the investigation, not speculative in any way ... We are very hopeful we can bring this matter to some sort of conclusion.

William Tyrrell
William Tyrrell, who disappeared aged three in 2014 Photograph: Nsw Police/PR IMAGE

Updated

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has just outlined changes to home quarantine. In a press conference she said the state is ahead of its vaccination targets so it might open up earlier:

We’ve got some new guidelines and rules coming in now, with having reached that first great milestone of 70% double vaccinated. So now we will be welcoming people ... who are fully vaccinated to come into Queensland and home quarantine for 14 days if they produce that negative test.

More details to come!

Updated

There will be no more statewide Covid lockdowns in South Australia, premier Steven Marshall has promised, as the state plans to open its borders. He said:

In the past, we’ve had to take a pretty heavy-handed approach, quite frankly, because a single case could set off a cluster which would lock down our state. As of next Tuesday, we will no longer have the threat of a whole-of-state lockdown.

Updated

Flashback! Remember when Labor senator Penny Wong wept with joy after she heard the results of the same-sex marriage vote? Katharine Murphy wrote at the time that it was “agony” for Wong to be so publicly vulnerable. It was four years ago today. Enjoy!

A broken dream: outer Melbourne has affordable houses but no train or school.

In the first of a short series on Australian housing, Elias Visontay examines how Victoria’s planning system is failing residents and the environment:

Victoria reports 860 new Covid cases and five deaths; NSW 165 new cases and one death

Today’s statistics are in for Victoria – 860 new Covid cases and five more deaths. The vaccination rate for those aged 12 and over is at 87%.

NSW, meanwhile, reports 165 new cases and one death. And a cracking 91.1% of those over 16 are double dosed.

In case you missed it, health minister Greg Hunt confirmed at the weekend that under-12s will have to wait until next year to get the jab:

Updated

Here’s some more information on those floods threatening to hit central west NSW – look out for an evacuation text from the SES if you’re in the danger zone:

Updated

Cop26 failed in a bid to phase out coal, news that had its president Alok Sharma close to tears. But not everyone’s disappointed – nationals senator Matt Canavan has declared it a great win for Australia’s mining industry.

He told the Nine Network:

Given the fact that the agreement did not say that coal needs to be phased down or taken out, it is a big green light for us to build more coalmines.

Updated

South Australia is set to welcome the world - and Covid - in ...

Updated

There’s a push on for governments to set a date to ban cigarettes sales through retailers (look out for freedom protesters adding this to their grab bag of complaints).

Experts say the public health initiatives are not enough and that “cigarettes do not meet modern consumer product safety standards”, medical editor Melissa Davey writes:

Updated

More here from ABC chair Ita Buttrose on Liberal senator Andrew Bragg’s plan for a senate inquiry into the ABC...

Taxpayers are paying at least $59m for major government advertising campaigns to run in the lead-up to the 2022 election.

The campaigns span the topics of cybercrime and online safety, the jobtrainer program, domestic violence, recruiting a carer workforce and, most controversially, climate change, as the government seeks to explain its road to Damascus conversion on the net zero by 2050 target.

Paul Karp has broken it all down for you here:

More on the ABC saga – the Greens have called it an “abuse of process”. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Greens would “move to stop it” when the Senate sits next week:

The Morrison government has attacked the ABC relentlessly for eight years now, this is just another one of their witch hunts.

Updated

ABC chair Ita Buttrose has doubled down on her attacks on a Senate inquiry into the broadcaster’s complaints handling process. She has told ABC’s Radio National the relationship with the federal government is “strained”.

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg announced the inquiry despite an independent review already under way. At the weekend Buttrose accused the federal government of “political interference”.

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

She said she spoke to communications minister Paul Fletcher on Friday and says because the Senate is a “law unto itself” not even the relevant minister can intervene.

She wants the inquiry terminated or at least paused until the existing inquiry is finished, saying:

We are not the enemy.

Read the original story here:

Updated

Energy minister Angus Taylor says the federal government will make its “best efforts” to keep global warming to 1.5C. He told ABC’s Radio National this morning that the government is “confident” it will meet its emissions targets ...

... without phasing out coal. A change in Cop26 phrasing that was meant to ring the “death knell” for coal was downgraded from phasing it “out” to phasing it “down”.

Under questioning from Fran Kelly, Taylor said Australia’s coal exports “will be driven by customer demand”, not government policy.

Updated

Good morning, everyone. Hope you all had a “do nothing” weekend and are looking forward to a “can do” Monday.

It’s Tory Shepherd here, with one eye on the news and one eye on the doggo who is in the Bucket O Shame thanks to a grass seed in the paw.

Cop26 is over but there are plenty of lingering questions for the federal government. Adam Morton has put “Will Australia increase its 2030 emissions target?” at the top of his list.

(At the weekend Australia was named the conference’s “colossal fossil” for its contributions.)

And the community of Forbes in central west New South Wales is on high alert after heavy rain. Authorities are set to decide whether to evacuate residents today and are forecasting major flooding. More on that to come ...

On Covid, 70% of Queenslanders 16 and older are now double dosed, so some restrictions will ease in the sunshine state. The deadline for Victorian aged care staff to be fully vaccinated is today, and the NSW government says elective surgery will return to full capacity today.

Grab another coffee and stick with us as the day unfolds.

Updated

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