Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Mostafa Rachwani (now) and Matilda Boseley (earlier)

Morrison says time to ‘move on’ from Aukus drama – as it happened

What we learned today, Wednesday 3 November

And with that, we will wrap up the blog for today. Here is what went down:

  • Missing WA four-year-old Cleo Smith was found “alive and well” in a home in Carnarvon, and a man was arrested, with the news welcomed across the country.
  • The fallout from the cancellation of the French submarine deal continued, with Ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault calling the PM’s decision a “stab in the back.”
  • Acting prime minister Barnaby Joyce shot back, saying “You can’t go around calling people liars.”
  • Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull weighed into the discussion, saying prime minister Scott Morrison had a “reputation for telling lies”
  • NSW recorded 190 new locally acquired cases and four deaths. Victoria recorded 941 new cases and eight deaths. The ACT recorded 15 new cases.
  • Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith said he is still considering his future despite his leader calling for him to quit politics following a drunken crash.
  • The Australian privacy commissioner ordered controversial facial recognition firm Clearview AI to cease collecting photos of Australians from the internet as part of its service.
  • Queensland will only open international borders for ‘safe’ countries, and will continue to enforce quarantine for returning international travellers from countries that aren’t deemed safe by the commonwealth.
  • WA border restrictions for NSW eased slightly today, due to the high vaccination rate and low case numbers.

If you’re looking for a wrap on the ongoing fallout from the French submarine deal, look no further than Katharine Murphy’s latest column:

And you can read Elias Visontay’s report on Cleo Smith’s rescue at the link below:

WA Police have released the incredible footage of the moment Cleo Smith was rescued:

An injunction to stop Victoria’s largest public health service from firing nurses who are refusing the Covid-19 vaccination or refusing to disclose their vaccination status has been thrown out by the federal court ahead of a trial challenging the vaccine mandate.

Nick Ferrett QC is representing about 90 nurses at Monash Health, and told the court on Wednesday that under Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, the nurses should be consulted before any disciplinary action is taken against them.

A directive from Victoria’s chief health officer under the Public Health Act makes it clear that health workers must be fully vaccinated, having received at least their first Covid-19 vaccine dose by 29 October, in order to work in a healthcare setting. They must provide evidence of vaccination to their employer.

But Justice John Snaden said there was “no evidence” that Monash Health was trying to prevent nurses from exercising their workplace rights by commencing disciplinary action to fire them.

You can read more on the court ruling in this report from Melissa Davey:

Sticking with Joyce for a second, he’s asked what he thought of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull saying Scott Morrison has a “history of telling lies”.

Joyce:

The marvellous thing about Malcolm is that I don’t think I would have ever heard John Howard say something like that, Julia Gillard, other former prime ministers. Malcolm, he is one-of-a-kind. I think he needs to reflect on what he is doing to his own legacy, and how people will remember him.

Wasn’t he talking about diplomacy? I mean, Malcolm, is this your example of ... is this from the book, chapter one of Malcolm Diplomacy, that you will also get yourself on international television bagging the living so-and-so, and the nation you once was the prime minister of?

Updated

'You can't go around calling people liars': Joyce on Macron

The acting prime minister Barnaby Joyce is on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, and was asked if leaking text private messages represented a low point in Australian diplomacy.

Joyce dramatically sighed, before echoing the PM’s call to “move on”:

This issue has got to go behind us. Lambasting in prosecuting again.

This issue regarding the submarines, it didn’t happen overnight. This went back to February when it was written about. They were looking through contingency plans. It was in the Senate back in June. We had shadow minister Penny Wong, and Rex Patrick, a former submariner asking questions.

We had the head of defence saying that they were looking at contingency plans. There is no surprise to theirs. The sort of feigning of it being a great surprise, I suppose that isn’t a great surprise but it is just not true.

Pushed on concerns around the leaked texts, (an increasingly exasperated) Joyce stands his ground:

We had a major political leader call the prime minister of Australia a liar, and you can’t do that, diplomatically.

You can’t go around calling other leaders of other countries a liar. Not the great nation of France. This isn’t some tinpot nation [in the] middle of nowhere. When a nation goes out it makes a great statement that you are a liar, what you do? You have to defend it and say, you are not.

So leaking messages is defendable?

If someone calls you a liar, especially for someone of the prominence of the French president, you should stand by your position.

It is obvious that the prime minister isn’t a liar. You can’t go around calling people liars.

He goes on to essentially say the leaks were justified because the PM was called a liar. An interesting take.

Updated

Victoria premier's office evacuated over suspicious package

AAP is reporting that a suspicious package has prompted the evacuation of Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’s electorate office in Melbourne’s south-east.

Emergency services were called to the Noble Park office on Wednesday afternoon following the discovery of the package.

“Safety checks are in the process of being conducted, with the building evacuated as a precaution,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

“There is no threat to the community and no one has been injured.”

Footage uploaded online shows the Princes Highway office has been taped off, with multiple fire trucks and an ambulance parked outside.

Fire Rescue Victoria has confirmed it is supporting police with a pumper and hazmat appliance on the scene.

Updated

WA police are due to give a press conference on the rescue of Chloe Smith shortly, and you can keep up with updates from Calla Wahlquist at the liveblog linked below:

Updated

Foreign minister Marise Payne was just on 2GB to address the growing diplomatic stoush between Australia and France, echoing the prime minister’s indication that they want to move on.

Payne was asked about the strong language used by the French ambassador earlier today, and she stood behind the government’s decision:

I certainly understand that it has been deeply disappointing for France. We have acknowledged that, we’ve been very clear in saying we understand that.

But our job in working together as nations in the Indo-Pacific is to work to work through this and to prioritise, if you like, the security and the stability of this region. Certainly that is the the approach that we have been endeavouring to take and when we make a decision in Australia’s national interests, we will be clear with Australians as to the nature of that decision.

Asked what she thought of French president Emmanuel Macron calling Scott Morrison a liar, Payne pointed out that the PM “swiftly clarified that” and he “set out the timeline”.

The foreign minister Marise Payne.
The foreign minister Marise Payne. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

A British woman who worked as a waiter in Sydney has won a long-running legal dispute against Australia’s “backpacker tax” in the nation’s highest court.

On Wednesday the high court ruled in favour of Catherine Addy, finding the tax which slugged working holiday-makers thousands of dollars more than Australians discriminated against her on the basis of her nationality and infringed upon a treaty Australia signed with the UK.

You can read more from Paul Karp’s report here:

Updated

South Australia has once again recorded zero locally acquired Covid cases. The state also has zero active cases for the first time since 1 February.

Updated

And a curt Scott Morrison wraps up his presser, but not before a journalist gets in one last question on what it would take to “work through this.”

The PM gave another short, almost irrelevant answer:

The objections to the Australian decision not to proceed with those submarines, and go forward with nuclear powered submarines, was made in the interest of Australia, those who have elected to that decision have objected for various obvious reasons, for various obvious motives, but I know what side I’m on. Thank you.

Updated

A reporter has asked how any world leader can trust Morrison in light of the leaked text messages.

I have outstanding relationships with so many leaders around the world.

It appears to be a recurring theme here today.

Morrison is asked point blank what he will do to repair the relationship with France, in light of the ambassador claiming he had stabbed France in the back.

I’m going to move on and get the job done.

Claims were made and claims were refuted, what is needed now is for us to move on, that is what is important the Australian people, the United States and UK get on with the historic agreement we came to to deliver an incredibly important capability to Australia to keep us safe and defend and protect Australia. That’s the most important thing, that is what is at issue here, that is the thing that matters most to Australians that we do everything we can to ensure the Australian defences are the best they possibly can be and the men and women who serve get the best. That’s what I was seeking to do if others have other motives, others have other agendas, well that’s for them.

Updated

Ok we’ve gotten to the juicy part, with a reporter asking if leaders should be wary of dealing with him, in light of the leaks.

Morrison summed it: We should “move on.”

I was very clear about what that communication was, and what was necessary in the matters raised, I don’t think there is any further profit for anyone continuing down this path, we made the decision we did to make in the Australian national interest, we understand the concerns and actions that have come in relation to that, they were understood when we made the decision and this was the decision Australia needed to make in our national interest and that something I’m responsible for and I’m very keen to make sure now we move on and deliver that capability. That certainly will be my focus.

So the PM has given a rough summary of his perspective on the Glasgow summit, largely repeating some of the points he made during his speech earlier in the week:

In terms of where we have just been, over in Glasgow, those talks will continue. Australia was able to go there and outlined very clearly not just what our commitments were, because Australia always meets and beats our commitments. But when it comes to addressing the real threat of climate change.

Not just in terms of emissions reduction but support for developing country, particularly in our part of the world our Pacific family and Southeast Asia, to deal with the adaptation challenges they have right now. Australia has been a leader in that area providing that support for resilience in countries and has also been an important part of Cop26, which is of course about reducing emissions but also about dealing with the impact right now.

Our technology led approach was well received by all of those I spoke with and they understand, like we understand, that if we want to actually deal with this, you must drive the costs of low emission technologies down. They are realising and scalable so it is affordable not just in developed countries like Australia but realisable and affordable in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam and of course China and India.

Updated

A tired looking prime minister is speaking from Dubai, and began by paying tribute to WA Police for their work in returning Cleo Smith home:

The fact that that nightmare has come to an end and our worst fears were not realised, is just a huge relief. And a moment for great joy.

This particular case, obviously, has captured the hearts of Australians as we felt such terrible sorrow for the family. I want to thank, particularly, all of the police and all of those who were involved in making sure that Cleo is safe. And we are so thankful, thank you so much for what you have done. I know you do it every day.

I know that you feel a great sense of satisfaction in the work you have done to bring her home. But we know each and every day, they are out there doing the same thing. And trying to keep our kids safe and keep our people say. So thank you so much. And thank God that Cleo is home and that she is safe.

Updated

We’re also expecting a press conference from the prime minister shortly. Should be interesting.

Updated

Lost among the flurry of news earlier today was NSW premier Dominic Perrottet warning that Covid cases and hospitalisations may rise again, as the state again recorded another day with fewer than 200 cases.

Perrottet told reporters that he did not intend to release his current modelling on case numbers, but asked people to remain vigilant.

Let’s not rest on our laurels here.

The reality is case numbers will increase, hospitalisations will increase, we need to learn to live alongside this pandemic - it’s not going away.

Ultimately we’re in a very strong position.

Ultimately governments get judged on their record and the reality is all about instilling confidence.

If I believe it’s in the public interest to release certain information then I will release it, but ultimately it’s not about the government providing volumes of information every week from the health and economic teams, it’s about instilling confidence.

Updated

Ok, lets talk Victorian MP Tim Smith. He earlier gave a very dramatic press conference where he announced he’d take time out to “reflect”, but denied his political career was over.

Smith appeared to dig his heels in, after opposition leader Mathew Guy yesterday publicly said he had asked Smith to retire at the next election.

Smith, though, was (unsurpsingly to some degree) not having it:

Does one error mean a career is over forever?

I’m not unwell, I’m an idiot.

It was a terrible, terrible error, a massive error, the worst of my life.

Smith repeatedly avoided the question of whether his leader had asked him to resign, saying “recollections may differ.”

He vowed to not touch alcohol again while in “public life.”

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced an enticing deal to encourage people to get vaccinated: $10 vouchers for a pub feed.

If only I was offered a schnitty for my vaccine. In any case, the state has hit 64.71% fully vaccinated, with authorities pushing to lift the vaccination rate.

Updated

House prices may be on the up and up but the same can’t be said of the supply, at least for September.

New figures out today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show approvals for new dwellings fell a seasonally adjusted 4.3% in September, reversing some of August’s 7.6% spurt.

“The decline in the total number of dwellings approved in September was driven by a large fall in approvals for private sector houses, which fell 16%. Private sector dwellings excluding houses rose by 18.1%,” Daniel Rossi, ABS’s Director of Construction Statistics, said:

“The decline in private house approvals over recent months can be largely attributed to the end of federal and state stimulus measures. Despite the fall in September, the series remains 18.2% higher than the pre-pandemic level in September 2019.” Rossi said.

South Australia posted the biggest decline with dwelling approvals off almost 23%, while NSW went the other way, with a 27% rise driven by new apartment approvals. For houses alone, though, NSW posted a 13.9% drop in new approvals.

Australia’s housing market is now worth $9.1 trillion (with a ‘t’), with prices soaring more than a fifth over the past year, CoreLogic said earlier this week.

Interestingly Reserve Bank Governor, Philip Lowe, said his board did not dwell (so to speak) on house prices during yesterday’s meeting. He also tried to calm expectations of a near-term rise in interest rates although he did bring forward marginally the likely timing of such a move to late 2023 from previous predictions of 2024.

Updated

And so an extraordinary National Press Club address from ambassador Thebault comes to an end, but not before he is asked why the French government had sent experts to Australia to work through issues raised by the PM at a dinner in June.

The question was raised so we made sure that we had the answer. That is exactly what happened for five years every time Australia had a question, we mobilised our best resources to answer it.

He is then asked directly if, at the time, French authorities knew the Australian government was looking at alternative options:

Not at all.

Updated

Ambassador Thebault has addressed the leaking of private text messages from the French president, and typically didn’t hold back:

You don’t behave like this on personal exchanges of leaders. Doing so also sends a very worrying signal for all heads of state.

Beware, in Australia there will be leaks. And what you say in confidence to your partners will be eventually used and weaponised against you one day.

At the same time, I will tell you, there is something interesting in these leaks. It completely demonstrates that until the last minute we did not know where things were heading to. It completely demonstrates that nothing has ever been told to us. It completely demonstrates that we were concerned about all the questions that we were ready to address and tried to address in order to make the program work as was required for us.

So, the way it was done is a new low. The way it was done is not the direction of building confidence.

Those leaks are not the actions we are looking for, but if it is Australia’s answer, it is sad. But once again, we don’t say this to Australians. If this is the Australian government answer, it is sad. But we will not consider that this is the way Australia likes to react and the way Australians behave.

French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault at Canberra’s National Press Club
French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault at Canberra’s National Press Club. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Ambassador Thebault is asked if it would help if Scott Morrison were to offer an apology, and he gives a wry answer:

Eating one share of humble pie may sometimes be difficult. It’s up to everyone to make his own decision.

Fundamentally, there is no shame for a leader to act in the best interests of its country. Even if the relation between the two countries is so important, ways, words and initiatives will be found. If it’s not, if short-term is better, you know, this is a sovereign decision also.

Updated

And you can read Daniel Hurst’s report on the speech here:

Updated

So, ambassador Thebault has wrapped up his address at the National Press Club, and I just wanted to share some more highlights.

To summarise, these new developments are all the more concerning as the deteriorating strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific region makes it necessary to reduce uncertainty.

France will always be a close and loyal friend of Australia.

No artificial wedge, despite attempts, can be put between our people. If there is a problem today it is with certain aspects of the ‘Canberra bubble’ and its ‘secret city’ practices.

French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra
French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

He goes on:

Following the breach of trust caused by the attitude of this Australian government, I was recalled to Paris for in-depth consultations. I return to Australia with two specific missions:

  • To strongly defend the interests of all companies and individuals, Australian and French, who trusted the solemn promises which were made, once, and are now in difficult positions, in the concrete implementation of the decision to end the future submarine program.
  • To help redefine the terms of our bilateral relationship moving forward, considering all the consequences of the major breakdown of trust with this Australian government.

Updated

Anthony Albanese has held a doorstop at Plumpton in Melbourne’s western fringe.

The Labor leader was brutal in trashing Scott Morrison’s honesty, picking up on comments by Malcolm Turnbull about his dealings with Morrison in government.

Albanese said:

Well, Malcolm Turnbull has called out Scott Morrison. One of the things about Scott Morrison is that those people who know him best, who’ve worked with him the closest, can attest to the flaws in his character, particularly when it comes to truthfulness. And we see that when after president [Emmanuel] Macron made the comments that he did about our prime minister, he did two things. Firstly, he tried to say that journalists were just taking selfies, something that wasn’t true in itself. And then he tried to say that it was a sledge on Australia and it was an insult to all Australians. Whereas, quite clearly, that wasn’t the case at all. It was very much a personal comment made about Scott Morrison.

And on the text messages, Albanese said:

But even the text message that was released by the prime minister’s office, one would assume, is a private text message from a private phone to a private phone. Even if it showed something of significance, you wouldn’t release a private text message between people. That’s not the way that you build relations between countries. That’s not diplomacy. That’s causing major problems. Just as the release of information to the United States is also of real concern. But what that text message says was when the Australian bureaucracy was in touch with the president’s office to organise a phone call, was essentially saying, ‘What is it about?’.

And, of course, it could have been about a range of things, they could have changed their scope. It had been aware that there were some issues and France was attempting to deal with that. The prime minister can’t have it both ways. On the one hand, he says he couldn’t tell the French president, because that would undermine the potential relationships with the UK and the US. On the other hand, he implies that somehow he should have known. Both things can’t be true. The prime minister’s own statements contradict themselves within single press conferences.

Updated

French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra
French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thebault speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

So I want to begin at the National Press Club, where the French ambassador to Australia, Jean-Pierre Thebault, is giving an extraordinary address, blasting the Australian government (and perhaps specifically the PM, without having mentioned him yet).

Here are some choice quotes:

On September 16, this Australian government abruptly announced the cancellation of the future submarine program. This decision was deliberately kept secret for months, even years. Even as the French president, the French minister for foreign affairs and defence, countless high-level working groups, as provided by the intergovernmental agreement, myself on the ground, were engaging regularly in good faith with our interlocutors.

One should try to say we should have understood by ourselves that some ambiguous attitudes should have made us realise, in fact, we should have been able to read in coffee grounds. This is fiction.

What is a hard fact is that still on the 3 August, French and Australian ministers of foreign affairs and defence had a dialogue, and they agreed a joint communique. It was available to the public and widely acclaimed for its ambition.

It agreed the following sentence, the two countries underline the importance of the future submarine program. Do you agree on such a communique when there’s the slightest doubt on something so massive as the official backbone of your cooperation? Maybe on Mars, but not that I know on this planet.

The deceit was intentional.

Because there was far more at stake than providing submarines, because it was a common agreement on sovereignty, sealed with the transmission of highly classified datas, the way it was handled was plainly a stab in the back.

But the way this Australian government decided to turn its back on our solemn and far-reaching partnership without ever frankly consulting with France, when there were countless opportunities, without having shared frankly and openly, or having looked for alternatives with France, is just out of this world.

Updated

Good afternoon, and a quick thanks to Matilda Boseley for her excellent coverage as always. Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, there is still much going on so let’s dive in.

Updated

With that, I shall hand you over to the amazing Mostafa Rachwani who will bring you all the updates from the French ambassador to Australia’s press club speech, which is starting now.

See you all tomorrow.

Updated

There’s an interesting development from NSW estimates this morning, with the new NSW Nationals leader, Paul Toole, declaring he won’t support coal exploration in a region near the western edge of the Wollemi national park.

I covered this issue in my previous guise at the Sydney Morning Herald, because the NSW government had listed the Hawkins and Rumker areas as part of its next set of regions to be opened up for coalmines.

Toole’s declaration this morning looks like the first time he has clearly reversed a policy of his predecessor since John Barilaro decided to step down as Nationals leader and deputy premier about a month ago.

There are about a dozen areas that the NSW government had set up as potential exploration sites as part of its strategic plan for coal. One of those is the historic town of Wollombi, which was also quickly identified as an unlikely place to open up a “(not very) greenfield” coalmine.

Toole’s comment today will likely raise the prospects that public pressure could see the government backing off opening up other new mining areas. That strategic plan is anyway probably already out of date despite being released only last year.

For one thing, it predicts global demand for thermal coal imports remaining near 500m tonnes annually by 2050 – a result that doesn’t square with most of Australia’s customers’ net zero emissions goals.

My colleague Adam Morton, meanwhile, also reported overnight that Australia still has some 100 coal and gas projects in the planning pipeline – just probably not Hawkins and Rumker anymore.

Updated

Want to see me stick a cue tip up my nose? Check out our video taking you step by step through the correct way to use an at-home rapid antigen test!

Just in case you wanted that WA border news colour coded.

McGowan confirms Victoria will remain an “extreme risk” area.

WA border restrictions for NSW ease slightly

McGowan says due to the high vaccination rate and low case numbers in NSW, WA will now slightly ease border controls, downgrading the state from “extreme risk” to “high risk”.

But that still means only approved travellers from NSW will be allowed to enter WA. This now includes WA residents who have recently travelled to NSW and have a “legitimate right to return”.

McGowan:

Firstly, to be approved for travel from NSW into WA, travellers must meeting one of the following criteria:

  • Certain senior government officials.
  • Certain active military personnel.
  • Members of the commonwealth parliament.
  • A person carrying out functions under the law of the commonwealth.
  • A person carrying out a limited range of specialist functions as posting given approval by the state emergency coordinator or an authorised officer.

The final category includes those West Australians who may have travelled to NSW recently, living in WA and have a legitimate right to return, subject to relative relevant quarantine conditions and required evidence in addition to the exemption criteria.

Approved travellers into WA from NSW must be fully vaccinated, provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test in the 72 hours prior to departure, complete 14 days of self-quarantine, undergo Covid-19 testing within 48 hours of arrival and on day 12. And they must use the G2G Now app whilst in quarantine.

Updated

OK! And Mark McGowan has confirmed Western Australia has recorded its 18th day with no new Covid-19 cases.

Updated

McGowan is mostly speaking about the Cleo Smith case at the moment. You can get all those updates on the live blog below.

I’ll jump back in when we get some Covid-19 updates.

WA premier Mark McGowan is speaking now. Both about Cleo Smith and the state’s health plan in relation to Covid-19 and vaccinations.

If you want to stay up to date on all the Cleo updates you can follow Calla Wahlquist’s live blog below.

Updated

Facial recognition firm 'interfered with Australians’ privacy', OAIC finds

The Australian privacy commissioner has ordered controversial facial recognition firm Clearview AI to cease collecting photos of Australians from the internet as part of its service.

Clearview AI is a facial recognition service that claims to have built up enormous databases – reportedly containing more than 3bn labelled faces – through the controversial practice of scraping Facebook and other social media sites.

Last year, it was revealed Clearview had offered trial services to police in Australia – specifically Queensland police, Victoria police and the Australian federal police.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) launched an investigation, and today found Clearview had interfered with Australians’ privacy through the collection of these images, and ordered the company to delete all images of Australians collected through the service in 90 days, and no longer collect any images of Australians in the future.

The OAIC’s investigation found the company did not have any paid customers in Australia, but in the free trials used by the aforementioned police, officers successfully searched for suspects, victims and themselves in the Clearview database.

Clearview has blocked Australians from signing up to the service since March 2020.

Privacy commissioner Angelene Falk said:

When Australians use social media or professional networking sites, they don’t expect their facial images to be collected without their consent by a commercial entity to create biometric templates for completely unrelated identification purposes.

The indiscriminate scraping of people’s facial images, only a fraction of whom would ever be connected with law enforcement investigations, may adversely impact the personal freedoms of all Australians who perceive themselves to be under surveillance.

Updated

'Just bullshit': Turnbull slams government's plan for nuclear sub engines

Australian government officials have said the US technology to be acquired under Aukus allows the nuclear reactor to be sealed and put into the submarine for the life of the submarine – rather than having to be refuelled every decade.

Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull
Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

But Malcolm Turnbull said in Glasgow overnight:

The idea that a nuclear reactor, with enough weapons grade uranium to make many, many bombs, can be treated like a power pack from Bunnings is incredible. I mean, it is just bullshit. I’m sorry.

And everyone in the naval industry, particularly people in nuclear propulsion, know that. So this is absolute nonsense. I mean, are we seriously going to say that we’re going to have nuclear-powered submarines that we can neither build or maintain. Seriously? I mean, it’s crazy.

Updated

Queensland will only open international borders for 'safe' countries

Queensland’s deputy chief health officer Peter Aitken says the state will continue to enforce quarantine for returning international travellers from countries that aren’t deemed safe by the commonwealth.

Only those countries that are considered “green” under the commonwealth safe travel zone system will be allowed to skip the two weeks of isolation when flying into Queensland, even if fully vaccinated.

This is a significantly different approach to NSW and Victoria, the only states who have currently opened their international border.

Updated

We are also expecting to hear from WA premier Mark McGowan with a health announcement at 11.30am (I assume that’s AEDT as McGowan often stands up around 8am Perth time).

He will also no doubt speak about the rescue of Cleo Smith, the four-year-old that was found safe and well after an intense nearly three-week search.

She was found in a home in Carnarvon around 1am. A man was taken into custody.

If you want to stay up to date on all the Cleo updates you can follow Calla Wahlquist’s live blog below.

Updated

No Covid-19 for Queensland again today by the way!

A reminder that we are expecting to hear from Tim Smith again at 12pm AEDT when he fronts the press pack for the first time since the crash.

New Zealand reports 100 new cases

New Zealand has reported 100 cases in the community, as the government announced it has signed a purchase agreement for 4.7m additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

There are now 3,733 cases in the August Delta outbreak, with 3502 still active. Of Wednesday’s cases, 97 are in Auckland and three are in the neighbouring region Waikato.

Forty-eight of the day’s cases have not been epidemiologically linked, bringing the total number yet to be linked to 441 in the past fortnight.

There are 58 people in hospital, with three of those in intensive care.

Roughly 85.5% of the population over 12 years old has had at least one dose of the vaccine, while 73.5% of the eligible population is fully inoculated.

The Covid-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins, says the latest purchase agreement for the vaccine will be scheduled for delivery throughout the next year.

This agreement will provide a continuous supply of the Pfizer vaccine next year for those who didn’t access the vaccine in 2021. But it also provides for us to extend eligibility to adolescents – 5-11 years – and of course, provides supplies for a booster program.

The director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the government is now waiting on safety approval for the vaccine to be rolled out to 5 to 11-year-olds.

In the meantime, of course, the best thing we can do to protect younger unvaccinated members in our communities is for everybody else who is eligible, to get vaccinated.

Updated

We reported earlier that Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull had intensified his criticism of his successor over the handling of Aukus. Here’s more from what Turnbull told reporters on the sidelines of Cop26 in Glasgow:

It’s quite clear that Emmanuel Macron is justified in complaining about Morrison’s conduct – Scott Morrison elaborately deceived the French ... It is just shameful and Morrison should apologise.

Turnbull said if Morrison had wanted to act honestly, he would have sat down with the French and said, “we want to move to naval nuclear propulsion” instead of conventionally powered subs.

He said France could have transitioned to providing Australia with nuclear-propelled submarines and “it actually would have been safer because they don’t use weapons-grade uranium”. The Americans would still be in the room because the combat system was being provided by the US.

You could have had an honest discussion between people who behaved in a trusting fashion – wouldn’t that be great? Isn’t that the way leaders are meant to act? Now, if you’d done that, then you wouldn’t have this debacle that we have.

Turnbull said the defence and foreign ministers of France and Australia met just two weeks before Aukus was unveiled, and agreed to a communique that underlined the importance of the future submarine program.

This is shocking, shocking conduct. Scott Morrison can bluster as much as he likes, but he’s not fooling anyone … I’ll tell you what Scott Morrison has done. He has sacrificed Australian honour, Australian security and Australian sovereignty. Now, that is a shocking thing for an Australian prime minister to do.

Turnbull also alleged that Morrison had “lied to me on many occasions”.

Scott has always had a reputation for telling lies … when a prime minister behaves disingenuously or dissembles or is dishonest, it will reflect on his or her credibility, it will reflect on the credibility of their party and the government. But when you do that, as the leader of the nation, internationally, it reflects on us all. Now look, deceiving people is is bad wherever you do it, but when you do it at an international level, it has much greater ramifications.

He said Australia had “always had a reputation as a trustworthy nation” – something that he described as “a national security asset”.

But this issue [with Aukus] has become so sharply defined, that people will say, well, if Australia was prepared, you know, to throw France under the bus, what would they do to us?

Updated

NSW Health has released the details of the four people infected with Covid-19 who died in the previous reporting period.

Sadly, NSW Health is reporting the deaths of four people – two women and two men.

One person was in their 50s, one person was in their 60s, one person was in their 70s, and one person was in their 80s.

Two people were from western Sydney, one person was from south western Sydney, and one person was from Queanbeyan.

Three people were not vaccinated and one person, a woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions, had received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

NSW Health expresses its sincere condolences to their loved ones.

There have been 526 Covid-19 related deaths in NSW since 16 June 2021 and 582 in total since the start of the pandemic.

Covid-19 news from the north of Victoria.

ACT records 15 new Covid cases

The Australian Capital Territory has recorded 15 new Covid infections.

The territory’s over 12 population is now 93.6% fully vaccinated.

Five people remain in hospital, two in ICU and one requiring ventilation.

Updated

And here is the photo!

An update from the Victorian Ibac hearings.

The Australian government has been criticised for prominently hosting a fossil fuel company at its pavilion at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.

The condemnation came as the Morrison government confirmed it would not join about 90 countries in backing the official launch of a global pledge to reduce emissions of methane – a potent greenhouse gas leaked during gas and coal extraction and released by livestock – by 30% by 2030.

The Australian pavilion in the Scottish Event Campus exhibition centre has been a hub of activity during the first two days of the summit. With numbers in the main plenary hall limited, Australians gathered there to watch Scott Morrison’s address to the conference on Monday.

Space in the pavilion has been dedicated to Australian businesses, including Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries, Sun Cable, Mineral Carbonation International and the oil and gas giant Santos.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

Federal treasurer and previously a close ally of Tim Smith, Josh Frydenberg, is speaking with Sky News now.

He has declined to say if he believes Tim Smith should resign from parliament.

Looks like we will be hearing more from Tim Smith today.

Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith says he is still considering his future despite his leader calling for him to quit politics following a drunken crash, reports Benita Kolovos from AAP.

Smith returned a breath test reading of 0.131 – almost three times the legal blood alcohol limit – after he crashed into a car and a Hawthorn home on Saturday night, narrowly avoiding a child’s bedroom.

His licence was immediately suspended and he is expected to be fined by police.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy on Tuesday said he had told the 38-year-old not to contest the 2022 state election.

But Smith told 3AW radio on Wednesday he is still “reflecting” on his future.

This is the most embarrassing, stupid pathetic thing that I have ever done. I’m asking people to forgive me as a person...

In terms of my role as a politician, I’m giving that due consideration at the moment and I accept that people are very, very angry with me, as they should be.

Smith said he would continue speaking with his friends, family and local branch members before he makes a decision on his career, noting he has some time before preselection nominations close on November 12.

Smith has also spoken to his GP about his alcohol consumption and has vowed not to drink again while in “public life”.

But he maintains he doesn’t have a problem with alcohol and didn’t believe he was over the legal limit when he got behind the wheel.

He said he had consumed “a few glasses of wine”.

I hadn’t eaten very much all today, so as a consequence I blew much more than I had ever thought I consumed.

Asked why he omitted the crash from a press release issued on Sunday, Mr Smith said he was in a state of “deep shock”.

If Smith remains in parliament, Guy told reporters on Tuesday that he will remain a backbencher.

I made it very clear to Tim that he wouldn’t find his way on to the front bench of any parliamentary Liberal Party that I lead.

And I made it clear that I didn’t want him to nominate at the next election and that I didn’t believe he should nominate for the seat of Kew.

Smith has been one of Guy’s closest political allies and was instrumental in his return to the leadership of the party following a successful spill against Michael O’Brien in September.

Updated

Coalition MPs divided over government’s revised religious discrimination bill

Coalition MPs are split over the government’s revised religious discrimination bill, with the attorney general, Michaelia Cash, holding urgent meetings with MPs before parliament returns to try to resolve the issue.

The push to introduce a bill in the final sitting fortnight this year comes almost three years after the prime minister, Scott Morrison, promised to introduce a new religious discrimination act after a review into religious freedom undertaken by Philip Ruddock in 2018.

Cash, who took over the bill’s progress from Christian Porter when she became attorney general in March, is now consulting on a third iteration of the draft legislation in an attempt to overcome internal resistance and fulfil an election promise.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

A reminder that if you want to stay up to date on all the news surrounding Cleo Smith’s recovery this morning you can follow along on the dedicated live blog below.

This blog will focus more on the political and Covid-19 news, including the (likely furious) upcoming speech from the French ambassador, so I mean, probably worth having a tab open for both.

Students of Melbourne rejoyce, the State Library is back.

Former finance minister Mathias Cormann, now the head of the OECD, has spoken to Radio National about why he helped repeal Australia’s carbon price in 2014 but is now calling for a global carbon price.

Cormann:

I’ve always been of the view that if we had a globally sufficiently comprehensive and consistently applied carbon price, that would be the most efficient way to get to net zero by 2050, but you’ve also got to live in the real world, but we are a long way away from achieving that sort of consensus...

We should start a process similarly to the one we pursued on international tax reform to bring countries onto the same page so they can lift ambitions and effort without harming their competitiveness, causing trade distortions or shifting emissions to others parts of the world.

Cormann insisted he hadn’t changed his mind, and accused critics of misrepresenting his earlier comments about the Australian carbon price being a “hoax”. Cormann argued that “efforts in individual jurisdictions will only help if they contribute to a net reduction to emissions” – but if a carbon price shifts jobs, economic activity and emissions to other parts of the world it will not do that.

Asked about the EU’s proposed carbon adjustment tariffs, Cormann came quite close to giving them the tick of approval, saying they seek to “address precisely the same issue” he had raised, that if countries want to lift their targets without harming their local economies, they have to come up with mechanisms to prevent emissions going offshore.

Cormann said he “fully understands” why the EU is considering tariffs, but added in an “ideal world” it wouldn’t be necessary with a globally consistent approach.

Updated

Jumping back to Cop26 for a second, here is the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull barely hiding his smile as he tears Morrison to shreds over the ongoing spat with the French president.

Scott Morrison elaborately deceived the French. He doesn’t pretend he didn’t...

It is a shameful episode, just shameful. And he should apologise.

Updated

Tim Smith:

In hindsight, maybe I should have said that, but I put out a statement apologising. I put out a statement resigning. I put out a statement acknowledging accepting my full responsibility.

I’m sorry that the statement didn’t go far enough. I’m sorry that the statement, in your mind, didn’t seem to indicate the seriousness of the situation...

In all honestly, I was in deep shock ... I put out a statement that I thought it was. Um, well, nothing that I said in that assignment was untruthful.

I’m sorry if that [seemed] tricky, I didn’t mean to. I just put out the statement and to apologise again for my behaviour.

Updated

Mitchell has grilled Tim Smith about the statement he released on Sunday morning resigning from the shadow cabinet, which excluded many important details, including the fact he crashed his car into a home and blew nearly three times the legal limit.

The radio host suggested this was a deliberate attempt to downplay the incident.

Smith:

I’m not gonna do what others have done with regards to the variety of excuses that can be made. I’m here today I’m owning this. Manning up.

Mitchell:

Are you really owning it when you tell me that you only had a couple of glasses of wine? Because that’s clearly wrong.

Were you really owning it when you released a statement which seemed to downplay everything? I mean, it didn’t mention crash!

Smith:

I would like to clarify a few things. I’ve seen a lot of commentary about that statement. I was deeply deeply distressed on Sunday morning I put out a statement where I immediately announced that I was resigning from the front bench. Immediately.

I can’t have been any more upfront with regards to what occurred.

Mitchell:

Well, yes you could. You could have told us what the reading was. You could have told us that you clipped another car and went through a fence.

You gave the impression in that statement you’d been stopped at a random breath test.

Updated

Despite Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy saying he wants Tim Smith to resign from his seat in Kew at the next election, the former shadow attorney general says he is still deciding what the future of his political career will look like.

He says he will take several weeks to make his decision.

Tim Smith says as he understands it Victoria police are not pursuing any additional charges against him.

Neil Mitchell has begun questioning Tim Smith about exactly what he had drunk in the lead-up to the crash, and how much.

Smith:

I had been in a friend’s house for a couple of hours.

Mitchell:

What were you drinking?

Smith:

A few glasses of wine.

Mitchell:

How many?

Smith:

I had a couple ...

Mitchell:

You don’t get 0.13 by having a couple of glasses of wine over several hours.

Smith:

That’s what it was. I was clearly more intoxicated than I thought ... As I said, I had a few.

Mitchell:

A few isn’t 0.13. That’s a few bottles.

Smith:

I didn’t have a few bottles, I’m sorry.

Mitchell:

0.13 is not just a few glasses. You accept that?

Smith:

Absolutely. I’m not shying away from that.

Updated

Neil Mitchell:

If not mental health issues, it just shows an extraordinary level of bad judgment. An extraordinary level of bad judgment ...

Why should you be trusted in parliament if you’re stupid enough to sit down at 0.13? 0.13 is not “just over the limit”...

Did you really think you’re under the limit?

Tim Smith:

I hadn’t eaten very much all day, so as a consequence, I believed ... I’m not offering you any excuses.

Mitchell:

Did you say, “I’ll take a risk here,” or did you really think you were under the limit.

Smith:

It was the worst decision of my life and all I can say is completely sorry.

Mitchell:

Did you suspect that you should not be driving ... or did you genuinely think I’m under the limit?

Smith:

I genuinely thought that I was. I obviously knew that I consumed alcohol, but I genuinely thought that I was.

Updated

Neil Mitchell has asked Liberal MP Tim Smith if he is an alcoholic after the politician vowed never to drink again while in public life.

Smith:

I’m not an alcoholic but I certainly have consumed too much on too many occasions. And that’s precisely what I’ve been speaking to my GP about.

Mitchell:

Have you stopped to see that you could have killed a child? You could have killed others. You could have killed more than your career. You could have killed yourself?

Smith:

I haven’t stopped thinking about that the last couple of days.

Updated

Liberal MP Tim Smith will 'never drink alcohol again' while in public life

Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith is now speaking for the first time after crashing his car while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Neil Mitchell on 3AW has asked if Smith is “claiming mental health issues” caused the crash:

No, I’m not claiming mental health issues. I’m claiming to have done something shameful and stupid.

And I’m so so so sorry for the embarrassment and the harm that I have caused my family, my party, my leader.

It was an appalling lack of judgment. I’m just so incredibly sorry for what I’ve done ...

I certainly understand that people are quite rightly furious … I certainly spoke to my GP about not ever drinking again. Certainly while in public life – and I give you that undertaking.

Updated

Scott Morrison has been accused of putting his personal political interests ahead of healing Australia’s diplomatic rift with France after the leaking of a text message from Emmanuel Macron to the prime minister.

The release of a text received two days before the Aukus announcement – when the French president asked Morrison whether to expect good or bad news on the submarine project – was “highly unconventional behaviour between state leaders”, a leading foreign affairs analyst said.

The Morrison government also pushed back at the US government on Tuesday, with the defence minister, Peter Dutton, saying Australia’s key security ally was “kept informed of our every move” in a “no-surprises strategy” in the lead-up to the deal between the two countries and the UK.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

NSW records 190 new Covid-19 cases

The NSW numbers have also just been published, with the state reporting just 190 new Covid-19 cases overnight.

Sadly, four people have died in the latest reporting period.

Updated

Victoria records 941 new Covid-19 cases

Victoria has reported 941 new Covid-19 cases – the second day in a row with fewer than 1,000 infections.

Sadly, eight people infected with Covid-19 have lost their lives.

Updated

Carnarvon mayor says town deserves a day off to celebrate Cleo Smith's safe return

Carnarvon mayor Eddie Smith has just spoken to Perth radio station 6PR about Cleo Smith’s rescue:

The phone started ringing at 4am, I still haven’t absorbed it. I just feel so happy for Ellie and Jake that they’ve got Cleo back … I’m a bit emotional as well and I think the whole town is going to be emotional as well, that what we’ve hoped and prayed for has happened ...

I did [think they would find her] and most of our community remained positive, they didn’t change. We could see the effort that was going in to finding Cleo, the support, the power of positivity I think can’t be underestimated … it’s just wonderful.

Smith said the Carnarvon community felt “elated, thankful”:

I want to do a Bob Hawke and tell everybody to give everybody a day off, you’re a mug if you don’t.

It’s just so exciting and, to our police and to everybody who didn’t give up, thank you so much.

Updated

The lord mayor of Perth, Basil Zempilas, is speaking to Melbourne radio station 3AW about the rescue of Cleo Smith, and the relief the people of Western Australia are feeling:

Look, it is the best possible news ... I think people had started to think that perhaps the outcome was not going to be great. But to wake up this morning to the news from deputy commissioner ...

I’ve been doing breakfast radio for 20 years and, in that time, I’ve never woken up my wife ... It’s the first time in 20 years that I felt compelled to wake her up and tell her the news.

We’ve got three young children. For the eight-year-old, like many eight-year-olds in our community or kids of around that age have been a bit disturbed by this. It has been wall to wall on the news, a lot of kids asking questions, and my daughter, for example, wanting to sleep with a light on because she just hasn’t felt safe.

Updated

I’ve been waking up all the friends and family I can think of to tell them. You would think this national live blog would be enough but, honestly, it just feels really good to share this news.

Updated

Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith, who resigned from his position as shadow attorney general at the weekend after crashing his car while under the influence of alcohol, will speak publicly for the first time since the incident on Melbourne radio station 3AW.

I’ll bring you all the updates here.

Updated

NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller’s says his WA counterpart “broke down and cried” when he got the news that four-year-old Cleo Smith was found.

Fuller tells 2GB radio:

It’s unbelievable news. Absolutely. And I think whilst were all hoping and praying as the days went on, I think the chances of finding her alive was so slim ...

I called [the WA commissioner] to give New South Wales police’s congratulations and he said to me Western Australian police never gave up on Cleo and it was just good old-fashioned police work that resulted in her being found alive ...

He said when he got the call this morning, he broke down and cried, which I think you know, for a veteran in policing, you rarely see that.

So I think it just speaks volumes in terms of, you know, the amount of effort they put into finding her and I think it’s just such an amazing story.

Updated

Japan honours Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John has been awarded one of Japan’s highest accolades for her decades-long musical career, reports Andrew Brown from AAP.

The Australian singer has been conferred with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, in recognition of her contribution to music in Japan, as well as fostering relations between Japan and Australia.

An official conferral ceremony will be held at the Japanese embassy in Canberra once Covid-19 travel restrictions are eased.

The award is the third-highest honour bestowed by the Japanese government and is usually reserved for people who have made distinguished achievements.

In a video, Newton-John said she was surprised:

As an Australian, I feel very honoured.

The singer has visited Japan more than 10 times, her first trip being in 1972, and has performed in locations around the country.

She was the first foreign female singer to hold a memorial concert in Fukushima after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Japan’s ambassador to Australia Yamagami Shingo said Newton-John had a large legacy in the country:

Not only have the famous tunes been major hits in Japan, they have had a huge impact on Japan’s pop music scene and its development.

Updated

I’ll keep bringing you all the Cleo Smith updates throughout the morning, but just jumping back to the spat between Australia’s and France’s leaders for a second.

French president Emmanuel Macron, in a now-infamous media doorstop with Australian journalists, accused the prime minister of misleading him over the deal with the US and UK.

When asked whether Scott Morrison lied to him, Macron said:

I don’t think, I know.

Morrison has denied misleading the French government and insists concerns about the submarine project have been raised for some time.

Communications between the two leaders were also leaked to the media, with the French president reportedly telling Morrison:

I don’t like losing.

Days before the announcement, Macron reportedly messaged Morrison, asking:

Should I expect good or bad news for our joint submarine ambitions?

Deutsche Presse-Agentur cited a source close to Macron as saying on Tuesday that publishing a personal text messages from one leader to another is an “inelegant and unacceptable method, to say it politely”.

The source reportedly told DPA it was “not up to the standard of a head of government” and a “last desperate attempt” by Morrison to save his honour.

Updated

You can read more about the rescue of missing four-year-old Cleo Smith below:

Here is the full video that WA police released a short time ago:

Updated

Australians urged to avoid Christmas shopping scams

The federal government is urging Australians to be wary of online shopping scams in the lead-up to Christmas sales.

The government says the Australian Cyber Security Centre received more than 11,000 reports of online shopping cybercrime last year.

The assistant defence minister, Andrew Hastie, said Australians should “be alert to the Christmas grinches who are seeking to steal their money and personal information” via online shopping fraud.

In a statement, he said:

Just as Australians are picky about where they shop in the real world, they also need to choose their online stores wisely so they’re not exploited or targeted.

Watch out for cybercriminals who use tricks like selling products that don’t exist, impersonating well-known brands but offering spectacular sales, or asking for personal and payment information they don’t need. If an online deal seems too good to be true – it probably is.

Authorities are urging people to only buy from trusted sellers, always use secure payment methods like PayPal or a credit card at checkout, and never click on a link in an email or SMS to verify an order.

More advice can be found at cyber.gov.au.

Updated

My mistake! The prime minister has managed to put out a statement, saying the news that Cleo Smith has been reunited with her parents is “our prayers answered”:

Updated

The prime minister, I believe, is still in the air, but here is the Labor leader’s reaction to the news of Cleo Smith being found alive and well:

Updated

For those who haven’t been following the story, four-year-old Cleo Smith went missing nearly three weeks ago from the remote Blowholes campsite, 80km north of Carnarvon, during a camping trip with her parents.

Yesterday acting police commissioner Col Blanch told ABC radio police were “getting closer and closer” to tracking down every person who was at the campsite on the night of her disappearance:

And we’ve tracked down people that we didn’t know, we’ve found them and we have eliminated them, and that’s our focus at the moment – eliminate as many people as possible.

He also said police were searching the dark web for signs of the missing girl.

Updated

Cleo Smith reunited with her parents after police rescue

WA police have released a short statement. Deputy commissioner Col Blanch:

It’s my privilege to announce that in the early hours of this morning, the Western Australian police force rescued Cleo Smith. Cleo is alive and well.

A police team broke their way into a locked house in Carnarvon at about 1am. They found a little Cleo in one of those rooms.

One of the officers picked her up into his arms and asked her what’s your name? She said “My name is Cleo.”

Cleo was reunited with her parents a short time ago.

This is the outcome we all hoped and prayed for. It is the outcome we’ve achieved because of some incredible police work and I want to thank Cleo’s parents, the Western Australian community, and all of the volunteers. And of course, I want to thank my colleagues in the Western Australian police force.

I can confirm that we have a man from Carnarvon in custody, who is currently being questioned by detectives.

We’ll have more to say on the rescue of clear as the day unfolds. But for now, welcome home Cleo.

Updated

Missing girl Cleo Smith 'alive and well'

Missing WA four-year-old Cleo Smith has been found “alive and well” in a home in Carnarvon, and a man has been arrested.

More details to come.

Updated

Good morning

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to hump day. Once again it’s Matilda Boseley here on deck, so grab a coffee and settle in because it’s bound to be a big one.

Prime minister Scott Morrison and energy minister Angus Taylor are heading home from Cop26 after reaffirming to global leaders that Australia will play a role in helping other countries reduce emissions.

Taylor said Australia was willing and able to share emissions-reducing technology to enable the world to reach the goal of net zero by 2050:

Getting costs down to parity is essential to unlocking widespread, global deployment [of solar, batteries and hydrogen].

Ultra-low cost solar – generating electricity at $15 a megawatt-hour – would be one of the six priority technologies under the second of the government’s low emissions technology statements.

But Morrison’s overseas trip likely wasn’t as focused on reducing emissions as he would have liked (never thought I would type that sentence), with the ongoing spat between France and Australia overshadowing his somewhat underwhelming climate pledges.

It looks as though that’s only going to get worse today with French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thébault set to address the National Press Club in Canberra.

Thébault and his US counterpart were recalled to Paris in September after Morrison revealed that Australia would work with the US and UK on a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines under the new Aukus partnership, and now he will outline how his nation plans to redefine its relationship with Australia in the wake of the dumping of a $90bn submarine deal.

Buckle in, people. Thébault can be fiery and this one will definitely be worth a watch.

OK, with that, let’s jump into the day.

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Noah Wyle: ‘This is the most brilliant decision we made about The Pitt’
Actor thinks this is why viewers have become so obsessed with medical drama
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sir Paul McCartney Was Not Banned From Reddit — Moderator Says A Bug Incorrectly Flagged His Account
Sir Paul McCartney's Reddit account was briefly flagged as banned due to a technical bug, but moderators confirmed he was never actually banned.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Woman Tries To Parallel Park. Then She Looks Out Her Window And Sees What A Group Of Men Is Doing: ‘That Would Piss Me Off'
A woman documented an acute bout of performance anxiety she experienced while attempting to parallel park her vehicle. TikTok user Vanessa Sosa (@vanessa_sosa_95) posted a viral clip of her attempting to get her vehicle into a vacant space situated between two other cars.
Motor1
Motor1
Dallas woman grabs cart at Aldi. What she sees inside stops her in her tracks—lowkey traumatizing her: ‘People are dying to shop at Aldi I guess’
Aldi is a fan favorite grocery store in the United States, where consumers flock to find better quality food for lower prices. Besides this, there are many things you can find at the supermarket chain that you didn’t know even existed, most notably, the mountainous variety of snacks and the…
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
Pet Microchipping: Is It Really Necessary?
Losing a pet is one of the most stressful experiences for any pet owner. Despite precautions like collars and ID tags, pets can still go missing without a trace. This is where microchipping comes into play as a reliable identification method. A microchip is a tiny electronic device implanted under…
Times Pets
Times Pets
Rowntree’s trust appoints Keon West to tackle brand’s colonial history
Author and academic says role is a chance ‘to make real, meaningful changes’ as trust confronts enslavement links
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play