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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Mostafa Rachwani (now) and Matilda Boseley (earlier)

TGA provisionally approves Moderna booster shot – as it happened

Covid test
A passenger takes a PCR test for Covid-19 at Sydney Airport. Cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in Victoria and Queensland for the first time. Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images

What we learned today, Wednesday 8 December

And with that, we’ll wrap up the blog today. Here’s everything that went down today:

  • Australia will impose a diplomatic boycott on Beijing Winter Olympic games.
  • Prime minister Scott Morrison said George Christensen “should quietly go into retirement” after appearing on a far-right podcast.
  • The PM also said he suspects former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian may not run for the blue-ribbon seat of Warringah at the forthcoming federal election.
  • The prime minister’s office condemned the actions of a staffer working for federal Liberal MP Andrew Laming, calling his choice to dress up as Kyle Rittenhouse “completely inappropriate”.
  • NSW recorded 403 new Covid cases and one death, Victoria recorded 1,312 new cases and five deaths. The ACT recorded eight new cases and one death. South Australia also recorded three new Covid cases today.
  • Victoria recorded its first case of the Omicron variant today, with two further cases awaiting genomic sequencing.
  • Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath said the state had found two lineages of the Omicron variant in returned travellers, both currently in hotel quarantine.
  • The TGA has provided provisional approval for Moderna booster for over 18s, with approval from Atagi still required.
  • Novak Djokovic has been included in the Australian Open’s draw, amid speculation about the Serbian’s eligibility to enter the country.
  • Australia has reported another annual drop in the number of registered births, with a 3.7% decline in 2020 from the previous year to 294,369 new bubs.
  • Junkee Media, publishers of Junkee, has been bought by the RACAT Group, a digital publishing business headed by media entrepreneur Piers Grove.

Updated

A $4bn offshore windfarm in Victoria could allow the Alcoa Portland aluminium smelter to go completely green.

Australian power company Alinta Energy is hoping to build the windfarm off the coast of Victoria, with a 500 sq km patch being considered for the 1,000MW windfarm, dubbed Spinifex.

Alcoa’s Portland smelter is the states largest energy consumer, and the hopes are the windfarm would allow it to draw its power from 100% renewable energy.

You can read more on the story from Royce Kurmelovs at the link below:

Updated

The Victorian government earlier today announced it would invest $16.3m into youth mental health infrastructure.

The Andrews government will work towards providing one-on-one mental health support to young people, saying that more than 560 additional Victorians between 12 and 25 years old will be helped by mobile outreach teams.

The hopes are that mobile teams will meet young people where they feel comfortable, to reach them instead of asking them to seek services themselves.

Deputy premier and mental health minister, James Merlino, said the investment reflected the challenges facing young people, especially with the disruption caused by the pandemic.

I want every young Victorian who is struggling with their mental health to know that support is available.

This is a profound investment in young Victorians with complex needs – with outreach support to make sure nobody falls through the cracks of our mental health system, no matter what their life circumstances.

Updated

Western Australian premier Mark McGowan has dismissed the idea his state needs to rebuild its reputation with the east coast, labelling any such ideas as a “rubbish argument” perpetuated by commentators “trying to find column inches and create stories”.

Speaking to reporters earlier today, McGowan was bullish about his state’s popularity outside of its border, after two years of strict border closures:

I think this is all a rubbish argument to be frank, that somehow we have to rebuild relations with the east and so forth.

It’s just people trying to fill column inches and create stories.

We carry Australia. I know over east I don’t think they get that. A lot of the journalists over east, a lot of the media commentators or politicians, they don’t get it. A lot of them haven’t been here, they wouldn’t have a clue about Western Australia. That’s the fact, and it’s always been that way.

So we’ll continue to support them, we’ll continue to carry them, but we don’t really expect appreciation because there never has been anyway.

He also addressed the loss of the fifth Ashes test, which was stripped of Perth due to border closures, saying cricket had been unwilling to abide by the states rules:

We didn’t want to have different rules for cricketers to everyone else in the community. Cricket didn’t want to abide by that, that was their choice.

We managed to work through the issues with football, basketball, a range of sporting codes over the course of the last few years that allowed them to play their sports here with appropriate quarantine. Unfortunately it didn’t work for international cricket.

Australia’s fertility rate has dropped again, with new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing a decrease of 3.7% from 2019.

It resulted in registered births dropping below 300,000 for the first time in 14 years.

The data revealed longer term trends such as a reduction in the number of younger women having children, while the number of those aged between 40 and 44 giving birth has tripled in recent decades.

The decline in the fertility rate was largest among women aged 15-19 years, decreasing by nearly two-thirds to 7.8 per 1,000 women. Babies born to women aged 40-44 almost tripled, to 15.2 per 1,000 women.

You can read more in Peter Hannam’s story, linked below:

Updated

On the topic of Djokovic, I just wanted to pull some lines from Elias Visontay’s story, linked below, with Tennis Australia completely denying they would be seeking an exemption for the world number 1, and sticking to their decision to exclude any unvaccinated players or staff.

Any suggestion that Tennis Australia is seeking ‘loopholes’ within this process is simply untrue. Adjudicating on medical exemptions is the domain of independent medical experts.

We are not in a position to influence this process and nor would we.

Any application for a medical exemption must follow strict government guidelines based on Atagi (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) clinical advice.

This is the same process that applies to any person wanting to enter Australia.

Updated

Djokovic included in Australian Open draw

Novak Djokovic has been included in the Australian Open’s draw, amid speculation about the Serbian’s eligibility to enter the country.

Djokovic’s name features in the Australian Open 2022 main draw player list released by Tennis Australia this afternoon, hours after the organisation hit back at suggestions it was seeking to exploit a “loophole” in border entry rules so unvaccinated players can compete in the January tournament.

The world No 1 has repeatedly refused to reveal his vaccination status, and on Wednesday morning, Victoria’s deputy premier, James Merlino, responded to a report that the world No 1 had the backing of Tennis Australia – the organisers of the Open – to apply for an exemption on medical grounds.

“My view on this is really clear and really simple,” Merlino said on Wednesday. “Everyone’s looking forward to the Australian Open and everyone who will attend – spectators, players, officials, staff – everyone is expected to be fully vaccinated.”

“They’re the rules. Medical exemptions are just that – it’s not a loophole for privileged tennis players … It is a medical exemption in exceptional circumstances if you have an acute medical condition,” Merlino said.

Tennis Australia, in a statement released later on Wednesday that did not mention Djokovic by name, said “all players, participants and staff at the Australian Open have to be vaccinated”.

“Any suggestion that Tennis Australia is seeking ‘loopholes’ within this process is simply untrue. Adjudicating on medical exemptions is the domain of independent medical experts. We are not in a position to influence this process and nor would we.”

On Tuesday, Djokovic was announced as part of the Serbia team competing in the ATP Cup in Sydney in early January, fuelling speculation he could seek to enter the country via New South Wales, and may seek a medical exemption to circumvent the rules that apply to unvaccinated travellers.

You can read more about Djokovic and vaccination status for the Australian Open here:

Updated

Bonza, the new ultra-low-cost airline set to take to Australian skies from mid next year, has unveiled plans to grow to a fleet of eight aircraft within its first 12 months of operating.

Speaking at the Centre for Aviation (Capa) summit in Sydney on Wednesday, Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan explained the airline – which plans to establish new routes between larger cities and regional holiday destinations and mostly avoid flights between capital cities – will operate eight Boeing 737-8 MAX planes across 40 different routes in its first year.

Jordan said about 40 regional airports had expressed an interest in being among Bonza’s initial destinations, with flights set to begin in the second quarter of 2022 pending regulatory approval.

Budgie smugglers and bikinis bearing the airline’s purple branding will be among merchandise sold on board each Bonza flight, Jordan said, noting he expects an onboard atmosphere shaped by “holidaymakers, bachelor parties, leisure and fun”.

Jordan said the airline will achieve ultra-low-cost fares by only flying three or four frequencies per week on routes that aren’t currently operated by other carriers, and will target only leisure travellers. “(We’ll be) connecting points A and C without an inconvenient stop at B,” he said.

He said the first destinations would be regional councils and airports who can see the “bigger picture” in drawing in new domestic tourists, suggesting Bonza would be seeking to negotiate cheaper airport fees.

Jordan, in a discussion about the benefits of the under-construction western Sydney airport, also raised the idea of opening up Bankstown airport – a metropolitan airport in Sydney that caters to flight schools and charter operations – to more passenger operations to become the city’s third airport.

“The more airports the better. If there could be three airports in Sydney, beautiful. Beautiful absolutely,” he said.

You can read more about Bonza here:

Updated

Richard Marles, deputy opposition leader and shadow employment minister is on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, and is having an interesting conversation on vaccine mandates.

He was first asked what he made of the anti-vaccination protests in Melbourne, and how Labor would “engage” with the protesters:

People have a right to express their view in a free society. We obviously acknowledge that.

I do think it’s important that within politics we engage with this. Having said that, at least some of the demonstrations have occurred in a way which certainly causes me anxiety.

The exercising of free speech needs to be done in a way which is peaceful and civil and obviously when you are walking down Spring Street with gallows, that does not meet the criteria and there is absolutely no place for that and that kind of protest should be called out.

In terms of the substance of the issue, vaccines is what gets us to the other side of the pandemic. Vaccines are the pathway to getting back to ... We know that based on science but then there is the right.

Marles is then asked his thoughts on vaccine mandates in the workplace, and uses the question to condemn the leadership of the government during the rollout:

When you think about vaccine policy in the workplace, if I can put it in those terms, the industrial relations, the workplace is a measure a federal responsibility.

The federal government has essentially said it does not seek to go into that space. I think that is a failure of leadership.

But the point I really want to make is the state as a government needs to, and so the thing I really support at the end of the day, is the right for governments, in this case state governments, to make orders in respect of public health. That is what they have done. I think they have struck the balance in the right way in Victoria, with respect to vaccine mandates and around the country, and so I very much support what they do. But the state governments have done. In that sense, I do not agree with those protesting against them.

Updated

In what is becoming increasingly common, thunderstorms are forecast for Sydney (again), in addition to potential flash flooding, hail and damaging winds:

Brisbane - the host city of the 2032 Olympic Games - says it will not send civic representatives to Beijing.

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, earlier said state officials would abide by the federal diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

A Brisbane City Council spokesman said:

We will follow the State Government’s approach to sending representatives to the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Good luck to all of the Australian athletes.

'Completely inappropriate': PM's office condemns Laming staffer's Kyle Rittenhouse costume

The prime minister’s office has condemned the actions of a staffer working for federal Liberal MP Andrew Laming, calling their choice to dress up as Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who was last month acquitted on all charges after shooting dead two Black Lives Matter protesters last year, for a delayed Halloween party as “completely inappropriate”.

Today the Guardian revealed that electoral officer Barclay McGain – who was sacked (and later rehired) by Lamming over a controversial schoolies video that denigrated Indigenous Australians – had posted a photo of himself on Facebook holding a gel blaster gun that bears resemblance to an assault rifle, dressed as US teen Kyle Rittenhouse on the night he killed two men during protests for racial justice in Wisconsin last year. Rittenhouse was last month cleared of all charges related to these deaths and the injury of another man after his lawyers argued he acted in self-defence.

A federal government spokesman said McGain behaviour was “completely inappropriate and the prime minister’s office has contacted Mr Laming to raise its serious concerns and options for further action”.

The employment of electoral staff is the responsibility of individual MPs, and while McGain used to be a member of the Liberal party he resigned after being suspended in relation to the schoolies video.

When contacted by Guardian Australia, McGain said he was “not particularly worried” that the costume would affect his employment status, as it was outside work hours and Rittenhouse had been found not guilty. He said that costume was for a delayed Halloween party, was designed to entertain people and that “The notion that I was impersonating a murderer or glorifying a murderer, I just don’t think it stacks up.”

In the 2009 schoolies video, McGain interviewed school leavers about whether the Australian flag should be changed and was seen laughing when one school leaver said: “I mean we’ve got to stop celebrating a culture that couldn’t even invent the bloody wheel for God’s sake. We’ve got to start enjoying and living in western culture.”

You can read the full coverage of the story below:

Updated

TGA provides provisional approval for Moderna booster for over 18s

Federal health minister Greg Hunt has announced the TGA has approved Moderna booster shots for anyone over the age of 18.

It still needs approval from Atagi, but Hunt has welcomed the decision:

Australians will have two options for boosters very, very shortly. I think this is another important step – every day we are making new strides, new progress with the vaccine program.

We have now reached 93% of Australians with a first dose, 88.5% of Australians with a second dose, 580,000 Australians with a booster, and over 99% of those 60 and over have had a first dose. But the booster program is fundamentally important ...

Inevitably there will be more variations, we know booster will keep us safe.

Updated

South Australia has recorded three new Covid cases today, a man in his 60s and two women in their 30s and 50s.

Of the three cases, one is locally acquired infection, a close contact linked to the Norwood cluster.

Another acquired their infection interstate, while the last case acquired their infection overseas, and has been in hotel quarantine since their arrival.

Updated

China responds to Olympic boycott

The Chinese embassy has released a statement on the Australian government’s decision to not send any officials to the Beijing Olympics.

The statement bemoans the decision, quotes an old saying and blames Australia for the tense relationship:

The Chinese embassy in Australia noticed that today the Australian side announced that its officials wouldn’t attend the Beijing Winter Olympics, and also noticed that Australian Olympic Committee president shared information on Australian athletes’ participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics not long ago. We wish the Australian athletes excellent performance at the Winter Olympics and believe they will also witness a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympics in China.

According to Olympic rules, dignitaries are invited by their respective National Olympic Committee (NOC) to attend the Olympic Games. It is up to the NOC to decide whether to extend invitations or not. “Mountains can not stop the river from flowing into the sea.” Australia’s success at the Beijing Winter Olympics depends on the performance of Australian athletes, not on the attendance of Australian officials, and the political posturing by some Australian politicians.

As we all know, the blame for the current predicament of China-Australia relations lies squarely on the Australian side. China once again urges the Australian side to take practical measures to create favourable conditions for improving bilateral relations. The Australian side’s statement that it will not send officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics runs counter to its publicly pronounced expectation to improve China-Australia relations.

Visitors at the venue for freestyle skiing and snowboarding at Shougang, a former power plant that also houses the headquarters of the Beijing Organizing Committee.
The Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboarding venue at Shougang, a former power plant that also houses the headquarters of the Beijing Organizing Committee. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Updated

Tennis Australia have hit back at suggestions they are seeking to exploit a “loophole” in strict border entry rules so unvaccinated players can compete in the upcoming Australian Open, amid speculation about Novak Djokovic’s ability to enter the country.

On Wednesday morning, Victoria’s deputy premier, James Merlino, responded to a report that Djokovic had the backing of Tennis Australia – the organisers of the Open – to apply for an exemption on medical grounds after repeatedly refusing to reveal his vaccination status. Merlino said:

They’re the rules. Medical exemptions are just that - it’s not a loophole for privileged tennis players ... It is a medical exemption in exceptional circumstances if you have an acute medical condition.

Government officials have been adamant for months that only fully vaccinated players, their entourages, staff and fans will be granted entry to Melbourne Park for the season’s first grand slam, from January 17-30.

However Djokovic, the world No.1, was this week announced as part of the Serbia team that would compete in the ATP Cup in Sydney in early January, fuelling speculation he could seek to enter the country via New South Wales and may seek an medical exemption to circumvent the harsh rules that apply to unvaccinated travellers.

Tennis Australia, in a statement released later on Wednesday that did not mention Djokovic by name, said “all players, participants and staff at the Australian Open have to be vaccinated”.

Any suggestion that Tennis Australia is seeking “loopholes” within this process is simply untrue. Adjudicating on medical exemptions is the domain of independent medical experts. We are not in a position to influence this process and nor would we.

Updated

Labor supports diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics

Labor senators Penny Wong and Don Farrell have released a statement backing the government’s decision to not send officials and dignitaries to the Beijing Winter Olympics.

We hold deep concerns about ongoing human rights abuses in China, including towards Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities, and about athlete safety given questions about the treatment of tennis player Peng Shuai.

The Australian government must ensure out team is supported by embassy staff on the ground.

Updated

Perrottet says older generation 'ruined' aspects of Sydney and it's 'millenials' role to fix it'

Going back to Perrottet, and in a very Sydney discussion he is asked if he really will do something about the Cahill Expressway, which he says he wants to turn into a walkway:

We’re knocking down the 70 structures that lurk at the back of Macquarie Street which really disconnect the built environment of the city to the greenery of the Domain and the garden so that impedes an access and it slows down. The reality is beauty deals culture and for too long those older people, your generation in the 60s and 70s, ruined many aspects of our great city and it is the millennials’ role to fix it and as a premier I will.

Now, unfortunately, the cost of the Cahill Expressway in tearing it down is pretty substantive and the biggest mistake was that when Paul Keating was offering cash to John Faye to actually do it, he should have done it then and now we would have a much greater Circular Quay.

I will commit to a great party on the Cahill Expressway, between announcing the budget this year from two years onwards as we transform the Cahill Expressway ... and eventually when the tunnel comes in, you could dispense with the Cahill Expressway and potentially have one of the great walks in the world from the Cahill Expressway from the Quay or Macquarie Street to Barangaroo.

The walkway along the Cahill Expressway is seen empty during lockdown in June.
The walkway along the Cahill Expressway is seen empty during lockdown in June. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Victoria records first Omicron case

Victoria Health has confirmed it has recorded the state’s first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Authorities say genomic sequencing found the case, which is in hotel quarantine at the moment.

It comes as two other cases are undergoing genomic sequencing to determine if they have the new variant.

Both the cases are in the community, sparking concern the variant could be spreading.

None of these cases are linked to international travel and their source of acquisition is under investigation.

The Department has interviewed the cases and is taking a conservative approach to the designation of their contacts, including in non-household settings.

Updated

Perrottet is then asked about whether his proposed reforms include wanting states to have more of a say on international relations:

As I learnt early on as Premier - I think within a week and said, “We’re getting red rid of hotel quarantine,” I was quickly told by the Prime Minister that he’s the one that controls the borders and I was put back in my place.

But we were all impacted by those borders being closed. Our businesses in New South Wales are impacted by labour shortages in this state right now. Many people who rely on international students - our largest service export and our second-largest export overall - there are tens of thousands of people who rely on that great industry here in New South Wales to provide for their families.

So we do have an interest in our trading partners. We do have an interest in China. Because it is a significant market in New South Wales, particularly in relation to students going forward. So I wouldn’t see it as an area that would be at the top of the list in terms of the other issues that are more substantive, like health and education.

But what we have learnt through the pandemic is that matters in relation to immigration, leading to skills and labour shortage in this state, are substantive and need to be addressed.

The government website where Australians stuck overseas throughout the pandemic could register for assistance to return home is being shut down.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade register was initially set up in 2020 to help Australians and permanent residents who became stranded overseas access commercial and government assisted flights into Australia.

On its website, Dfat explains the assistance portal is being closed to new registrations because of international travel relaxations and the end to hotel quarantine for vaccinated travellers that came into effect in some states from November.

“Following the changes to international travel that came into effect on 1 November 2021, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Covid-19 Registration portal is no longer open for new registrations,” the website states.

“This temporary portal was established in the context of Australia’s Covid-19 border settings. The process of expressing an interest in seeking consular assistance has reverted to pre-Covid settings.”

Tens of thousands of residents were registered for assistance at any given time over the past year, with the number fluctuating due to progressive changes in border rules and strict hotel quarantine arrival caps.

The number of Australians registered as stranded with the government is understood to have peaked at about 45,000, which occurred when Australian states were struggling to contain Delta outbreaks and redirected hotel quarantine staff to the local front line.

Australians who had already registered for assistance via the portal can continue to access their accounts.

Updated

Dominic Perrottet says Icac plays 'important role'

First question to Perrottet is a juicy one: does he agree wth federal MP Jason Falinski, who this week said that most people in New South Wales have discounted the Icac?

Does he intend to overhaul it? Has he lost faith?

I don’t agree with his assessment.

And I think it’s incredibly important that we have strong integrity agencies in our state.

Now, I believe the Icac here in New South Wales plays a very important role in preventing corruption and uncovering corruption. Now, there’s probably different levels of that. But ultimately, what we should be doing, particularly in the public, to Jason’s observation, is instilling confidence, not taking it away.

There will always be issues from time to time ... in relation to any area of government. But ultimately, I think where the commission is today plays an important role.

Always has, and has a strong role to play in the future of our state.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet addresses the National Press Club on Wednesday.
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet addresses the National Press Club on Wednesday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Returning to Perrottet, he’s maintained his thesis on the need for states to work together, but shifted to making the case for reform – specifically, reform on GST distribution.

He laid out two areas – education and health – both hit hard by the pandemic.

But the core of his speech was centred on the need to rethink financial relationships between the states and the commonwealth:

Fiscal financial relations in this country stand in the way of good reform. Fixing this problem is long overdue. But we must have the will to look past politics. Politics is what gets you the Western Australian GST deal, where both sides of federal politics continue to openly support it. This is disappointing, to say the least.

The distribution of GST is supposed to broadly equalise service delivery and infrastructure across the states. Specifically by taking into account each state’s own revenue-raising capacity, understood as the principle of horizontal fiscal equalisation. But this year’s Western Australian budget made an absolute mockery of that principle.

When states like Victoria and New South Wales have had their budgets hit hard by the pandemic, giving WA more GST this year was totally unjustifiable. And that’s why, when all this happened, the Western Australian premier went on the offensive, warning other states off his cash even before we’d become aware of it. Now, I might not have handled that situation in the most diplomatic way, calling him “Mark McGollum”, but sometimes you need a bit of colour to draw attention to the travesty.

And the fact is, the current GST settings are a piecemeal arrangement. They are not fit for our federation in the long run, and our people deserve betterment so let’s just get on with fixing it properly.

Updated

Experts cautious to declare new 'strain' of Omicron in QLD

Earlier today Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath said the state had found two lineages of the Omicron Covid variant in returned travellers – both currently in hotel quarantine.

Infectious disease physician and microbiologist at the Australian National University Peter Collignon said the two lineages are created by the Omicron variant having different genes.

“It is mainly at the moment an issue about the technicalities on how they are picked up,” he said.

“If the genes have been deleted, and there’s another lineage where the gene hasn’t been deleted, you may not think it is Omicron when in fact it is.”

While they may behave differently, there was no evidence yet that the vaccines wouldn’t work on both lineages, he said.

“We don’t have enough data for Omicron, let alone sublineages of it. It’s a technical issue about how you might classify it.”

Catherine Bennett, the chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, said it was important to understand that this “was not new” and that every variant had different genes.

“70% or so of Omicron variants don’t have the S-gene dropout. We have variation within strains,” Bennett said.

She said the S-gene “was interesting” because it could be picked up by the PCR test - which meant health authorities knew it was an Omicron case quicker.

“The pity is, we miss out on the PCR screening when it would have been nice to distinguish it,” she said.

“It just takes longer to do, instead of having a result in six hours, it means you have to wait the extra day.

“If they’re connected cases then we would expect it to be Omicron or Delta. It’s really about what happens on our borders, we should be treating everyone as if they have Omicron.”

Updated

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, says her government’s officials will abide by a federal diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Brisbane is the chosen host of the 2032 Summer games and it had been expected that Queensland officials - including Palaszczuk - would attend as guests of the International Olympic Committee to assist in ongoing preparations.

Palaszczuk said in a statement:

Attendance of government representatives at the Beijing Winter Olympics is a matter for the federal government.

The federal government’s decision includes Queensland.

We wish our athletes every success.

Updated

So Perrottet’s thesis today is a relatively interesting one – that state governments should take a more proactive and collective approach to both working together, and towards federation reform.

He cites the “success” of the Board of Treasurers as a blueprint for the reinvigoration of the Council for the Australian Federation, which he says last met in 2018.

Now, I’m fairly certain it’s met since then, and I’m told apparently that we’re actually meeting again tomorrow. But the lack of visible action says a lot about the prominence of this body in the life of our nation.

My priority will be to enhance the council’s standing as a vehicle for proactive, state-driven leadership and reform from the frontline. And I’ll work with my fellow premiers and chief ministers to make this happen.

This is not about fighting the commonwealth. It’s about working constructively and bringing more to the table, including at the national cabinet. In my experience, the Board of Treasurers actually improved the working relationship between the New South Wales treasury and the commonwealth treasury, because there is now an expectation that serious, considered ideas are being put forward. Usually, with the buy-in of multiple states so they deserve serious consideration.

A reinvigorated Premiers’ Council can have the same effect.

Updated

NSW premier begins press club address on Australia's federation

Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, with thanks to the always brilliant Matilda Boseley for her shift this morning.

We begin with NSW premier Dominic Perrottet, who is speaking at the National Press Club this afternoon. He is discussing the “future of federation in a post-Covid world”, beginning by pointing out the pandemic had acted as a “stress test” for the federation.

It has demonstrated its many strengths and obvious weaknesses in a way that is tangible to our people.

So now, whilst the results are fresh in our mind, we have a rare opportunity and, I believe, an obligation to apply the lessons that we have learnt and make our federation stronger. What the pandemic has put beyond doubt is the importance of strong states to our nation’s fortune.

Updated

With that, I shall hand you over to the fantastic Mostafa Rachwani who will bring you all the updates from the NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s National Press Club speech.

Thanks. I hate this.

Births drops 3.7% in 2020 as fertility rate falls to record low

Australia has reported another annual drop in the number of registered births, with a 3.7% drop in 2020 from the previous year to 294,369 bubs.

That was a bigger decrease than the 3% decline in 2019.

As Matilda Boseley, your blog host, noted earlier this year, 2021 may snap the decrease in births as Covid conceptions kick in, so to speak.

Demographers will be crawling over today’s data but some longstanding trends seem clear. The total fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.58 babies per woman, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

ABS director of demography Beidar Cho said the low rate may have been linked to the first year of the pandemic:

The record low total fertility rate can be attributed to fewer births and birth registrations in most jurisdictions in a year marked by COVID-19 disruptions.

The median age for parents is also at a record high, at 33.6 years for males and 31.6 years for females. The two-year age gap between females and males has been pretty much steady since the ABS began releasing figures for both genders in 1975.

The total fertility rate has gradually declined since 1990, when it was 1.9 babies per woman. The biggest reduction has been for those aged 15-19 with a two-thirds drop to 7.8 per 1,000 women over the period. The rate for women aged 40-44 has gone the other way, tripling to 15.2 per 1,000.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, the total fertility rate was 2.25 births per woman, compared with 2.32 in 2019.

Registered baby births fell 3.7% in 2020, the ABS says.
Registered baby births fell 3.7% in 2020, the ABS says. Photograph: UK Stock Images Ltd/Alamy

Updated

You can read our full coverage on the newly announced Australian diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games below:

Prime minister Scott Morrison says he suspects former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian may not run for the blue-ribbon seat of Warringah at the forthcoming federal election.

Berejiklian, who stood down as a result of an Icac investigation which is yet to deliver its findings, is being lobbied by federal Liberals to run for Tony Abbott’s former seat, to win it back from independent MP Zali Steggall.

In recent days, a string of senior Liberals, including Abbott and former prime minister John Howard, have publicly backed Berejiklian to make the switch to federal politics despite the incomplete Icac investigation.

A Guardian Essential poll published on Tuesday found NSW voters were sympathetic to the former premier, with most agreeing with Morrison’s criticism of the anti-corruption probe.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

ACT records another Covid-19 death and eight new cases

A man in his 80s with Covid-19 died yesterday in the Australian Capital Territory, taking the territory’s total death toll during the pandemic to 12.

This comes as the ACT records eight new Covid-19 cases overnight.

Updated

A pause on the return of visa holders to Australia will likely end on schedule next week, the prime minister has indicated, reports AAP.

Scott Morrison said it was likely visa holders would be allowed to enter from overseas without the need for a travel exemption from December 15.

Their return was delayed by two weeks from the initial date of 1 December, following concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Morrison told reporters in Sydney on this morning:

All of the information we’re receiving points to that, it was a pause.

The Australian government will keep moving forward and I think that’s really important.

The government estimates more than 233,000 visa holders will be allowed to come into the country under the border reopening plan.

While the pause was initiated following worries about the Omicron variant, experts have indicated the new strain causes milder symptoms despite being more transmissible.

The prime minister said vaccination rates in every state and territory would likely pass 80% fully vaccinated by the end of the week, while national rates were also set to reach new milestones.

We are going into the end of this week where we are going to be very close to hitting 90 per cent double dose vaccination around the country.

That is an extraordinary achievement for Australians.

Updated

Back to Queensland for a second. The health minister, Yvette D’Ath, the second case of the Omicron variant detected in Queensland – a person in hotel quarantine who travel from South Africa – is actually a separate lineage of the virus to the other case.

Unlike the conventional Omicron variant, it doesn’t have the “S-gene drop out”.

Deputy chief health officer Peter Aitken says this strain lineage will be classified as “Omicron-like”.

We now have Omicron and Omicron-like. It’s a reminder to us all that as we open our borders this doesn’t mean that the Covid journey has finished – in many ways Covid’s journey is just starting.

Updated

Some more flood warnings to note in NSW:

Also, I think something big has just happened in the Test cricket!

Australia just got a wicket on their first ball against England and from the looks of it on Twitter this is a big deal!

If you want more knowledgeable updates about those dudes in full formal dinner attire out on the grass you can follow along on the fantastic Geoff Lemon’s Ashes live blog below:

Updated

Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath has confirmed that a Nigerian man in hotel quarantine in Cairns is infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Good news for Queensland. The state has recorded no new local cases today, despite fears that a small cluster on the Gold Coast could grow.

Updated

We should be hearing from the Queensland health minister with a Covid-19 update in about ten minutes.

This press conference was delayed by two hours, although it’s unclear if this is due to any big breaking news or just logistical reasons.

Stay tuned to find out!

Here is the clip of Scott Morrison discussing George Christensen that I mentioned earlier.

Shayna Jack is on the verge of returning to competitive swimming after serving her two-year drug ban. Jack has entered five events at the Queensland state championships in Brisbane which start on Saturday and her first competitive swim will be on Monday in a heat of the 100m freestyle.

The 23-year-old has also entered the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 1,500m freestyle and 50m butterfly. Jack was initially banned for four years after testing positive to Ligandrol on 26 June 2019, almost three weeks before the world championships in South Korea.

The Queenslander appealed her ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which reduced her suspension to two years, finding Jack did not knowingly ingest the substance.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

Big battery news for Melbourne:

Junkee Media bought by the RACAT Group

Junkee Media, publishers of youth website Junkee, has been bought by the RACAT Group, a digital publishing business headed by media entrepreneur Piers Grove, one of the men behind the Betoota Advocate.

“It will be a huge thrill and responsibility to lead Junkee in the months and years to come,” Grove said. “Our mission at RACAT is to own and operate media companies that in one way or another add something to our world and Junkee does exactly that.

“We are huge fans of Junkee’s brands, its loyal audiences and the huge array of content it delivers every day. We value the exceptional team that make Junkee the go-to news and entertainment source for millions of young Australians every month.

RACAT’s portfolio includes Australian Geographic, game developer and publisher Runaway Play as well as Northern Pictures, the production company behind TV shows Love on the Spectrum, Hardball and Lukewarm Sex.

Junkee Media was bought for $11m in 2016 by Out of Home media company oOh!.

All editorial and sales staff will move across to the new owners.

Updated

Reporter:

Coalition members have now appeared in US shows that are riddled with conspiracy theories. Are they undermining public health measures in Australia and for what gain?

Morrison:

Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea to promote what they’re saying by constantly drawing it to people’s attention. I’m not seeking to do that. I don’t agree with them.

We are going into the end of this week where we are going to be very close to hitting 90% double-dose vaccination around the country and hopefully, by the end of the week, every state and territory will have gone past the 80% double dose vaccination mark.

That is an extraordinary achievement for Australians and I’m very proud of Australians that we have one of the lowest death rates in the world from Covid, we have one of the strongest advanced economies, coming through this pandemic, and we now have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

Updated

PM says George Christensen 'should quietly go into retirement'

OK, we are jumping around a bit, but the prime minister has been asked about the National MP George Christensen’s appearance on the InfoWars webcast.

Christensen has already announced he will not contest the next election and the prime minister said he “should quietly go into retirement.”

Reporter:

George Christensen laughed about a comparison between quarantine and a concentration camp. What do you have to do to be kicked out of the Coalition?

Morrison:

I thought those comments were appalling and I have spoken to George directly about them. I think they’re absolutely appalling. George is not a candidate for the LNP at the next election and I think George should quietly go into retirement.

Updated

Reporter:

You just painted yourself there as the strong government in terms of China. And how does that play in seats like Banks and Reid, which have large numbers of Chinese-Australians?

Morrison:

I’m doing it because it’s in Australia’s national interest, it’s the right thing to do. Full stop.

Updated

Further CCP sanctions following Olympic boycott would be 'utterly unacceptable': PM

Morrison says that any further economic or political sanctions from the Chinese government in response to Australia’s diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games would be “utterly unacceptable”.

That would be completely and utterly unacceptable and there would be no grounds for that whatsoever.

I’ll always stand up for Australia’s interests and what Australians believe is right, and we are living in an uncertain time.

Updated

OK we are back to the evergreen topic of if former premier of Gladys Berejiklian (and current subject of an ongoing Icac investigation) would be supported in a run at the federal seat of Warringah.

And the prime minister is all in:

Morrison:

I think she was an outstanding premier. I think she was an outstanding treasurer and an outstanding transport minister. And she has been one of the strong female leaders in our country and so do I think that she has more to offer to Australia in that regard? Of course, I do.

If she wished to put herself forward, of course I would welcome her. That’s simply the point that I have made. That’s a decision for Gladys ultimately and she may choose not to go ahead here, I suspect. That’s a matter for her, and I respect her choice.

But when the issue was considered, do I think that she would make a continued strong contribution? Of course I do. I think people right across New South Wales would agree with that. I don’t find it surprising, I don’t find it surprising at all that if you had someone of Gladys Berejiklian’s calibre wishing to go forward, that I in any way wouldn’t be anything other than welcoming of that.

But if she doesn’t wish to, I equally respect that decision. I know it’s been a very difficult time for her in recent times. She has suffered terribly in terms of things that have been aired publicly and I think that was – that was just awful, awful to watch, terrible. And so I can totally respect that if she didn’t want to go ahead, then that would be totally her choice about what she wants to do and the contribution she wants to make going forward.

Updated

But don’t worry, Morrison is being very careful not to peeve the International Olympic Committee too much. We wouldn’t want to endanger our 2032 Games now, would we!

Morrison:

And I also want to wish the IOC all the very best for the Games. Australia will host the 2032 Summer Olympic Games in Brisbane and we’re very committed to that. The Australian government has been – will be more involved in these Games than any other Games. In fact, those Games will not have been secured were it not for the direct role that our government played in securing those Games, together with the Queensland government.

It’s been a very good partnership. So I want to wish the IOC all the very best for those Games. I want to wish all the athletes a very successful Games and the officials who make these great sporting events spectacular.

Updated

Australia to impose a diplomatic boycott on Beijing Winter Olympic games

Morrison has confirmed that Australia will follow the US’s lead in imposing a diplomatic boycott on the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

Australia’s athletes will attend, however:

We have always been open to meet with the Chinese government to talk about their concerns, whether it’s their concerns with our foreign interference legislation or foreign investment rules where Australia takes a strong stand, standing up for Australia’s interest. They have been critical in Australia in our efforts to ensure we have a strong national defence force. Most recently to our decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

But the human rights abuses in Xinjiang and many other issues that Australia has consistently raised, we have been very pleased and very happy to talk to the Chinese government about these issues and there’s been no obstacle to that occurring on our side, but the Chinese government has consistently not accepted those opportunities for us to meet about these issues.

So it is not surprising, therefore, that Australian government officials would, therefore, not be going to China for those Games. Australian athletes will, though.

Australia’s a great sporting nation and I very much separate the issues of sport and these other political issues. They’re issues between two governments. [We would] like to see those issues resolved, they’re not resolved and Australia will not step back from the strong position we had standing up for Australia’s interest, and obviously, it is of no surprise that we wouldn’t be sending Australian officials to those Games.

Updated

Morrison:

Kids growing up today frankly have it a lot harder than we did, my generation. Every generation it’s different. And the biggest change between my generation growing up and these young girls are growing up today, it’s hard to go past the impact of the digital world and digital media and social media and the impact that it’s had on our society for better and for worse and this is such a high priority for us. It’s a high priority because we care about the mental health of our kids.

We care about the quality of our society and the way that people deal with each other in a kind way to ensure we can make our country stronger and, for our country to be stronger, all Australians have got to be stronger and that means particularly their own mental health.

There is always lots of issues that we need to address as a government, but I struggle to tell you an issue that is probably more important than families today.

Updated

Morrison is speaking today about the Coalition’s new proposed anti-trolling legislation. It’s a little complicated but if you want to quickly get up to speed you can check out our TikTok explainer below.

Prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking now.

A Queensland police officer is in a stable condition after he was deliberately hit by a stolen car he was trying to pull over in southern Brisbane, reports AAP’s Marty Silk.

Police say the officer had been conducting random speed checks on Orange Grove Road in Salisbury at about 6.30am.

When he stepped on to the road to flag down a car, the vehicle was allegedly steered towards him and struck him.

The officer is in a stable condition and undergoing medical assessment.

The alleged car drove off and was found a short time later abandoned on Eaton Place in Wishart.

Police are calling for anyone who saw a white Mercedes sedan in the Wishart area between 6.40am and 6.50am to contact them.

Updated

Melbourne institution Cherry Bar shuttered its doors for the first time in its history over the weekend as fallout from hospitality staffing shortages continue.

“I made a call I never had to make in 15 years and said ‘We can’t open because we don’t have any staff’,” rock promoter James Young said. “We had to close the fucking doors.”

The live music venue was due to hold a showcase event on Sunday with rock trio Cross Bones Boogie. But Young took to social media on the weekend to announce the band would be rescheduled.

“Everyone worked too hard and too late last night,” he wrote on Facebook. “Staffing is a real issue in hospitality at the moment … this has never happened ever before.”

You can read the full report below:

Victoria has recorded 1,312 new Covid-19 cases and five deaths

Updated

Looks like we will have to wait a little while longer for the Queensland update today.

NSW records 403 new Covid-19 cases and one death

The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, says the Covid-19 vaccine is safe for children, with a final decision on its approval imminent, reports AAP’s Andrew Brown.

Australia’s leading vaccination body is set to hand down its decision to the government later this week on whether to approve the Pfizer vaccine for five- to 11-year-olds.

The country’s medical regulator gave the green light to the vaccine for the cohort last weekend.

Frydenberg told the Seven Network on Wednesday that vaccine use among children in the United States was encouraging.

I think this is a positive development.

We are following what has happened in the United States with the rollout of the vaccines to younger kids, and it will provide another line of defence against the virus.

The US has already vaccinated more than 5 million children in the age group since regulators approved the immunisation.

At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said data from the US on reported side effects was reassuring.

Updated

The treasurer was also asked if Australia intended to follow the US’s lead and declare a diplomatic boycott on the Beijing Winter Olympics.

We have noted what the United States have done. We have had some preliminary discussions internally about Australia’s attendance at those Games. We will have more to say about that in due course.

I will leave that to the prime minister. What I can say, that we are working through it in a considered way. Recognising that we do have some important interests at stake.

Sport and politics, they are different realms as well. But we are looking closely at how we are represented.

Updated

Federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg has just spoken to the Today Show about these allegations of hacking but is being a little coy on the details.

I won’t go into the details of the specific allegations ... We are better resourcing our intelligence and law enforcement agencies. That is why we are working very closely with the private sector.

So that they can take their own measures to also enhance their own security. So the cyberspace is evolving. Technology is, obviously, rapidly improving. That is giving whether they are countries or non-state actors, the ability to cause great harm and great damage.

Updated

Hackers targeted Queensland power station

A Coalition senator has accused China of acting like a bully, following claims Chinese hackers tried to shut down two Queensland power stations, reports AAP.

Queensland’s CS Energy has confirmed a ransomware incident occurred on its ICT network on Saturday 27 November.

CEO Andrew Bills said in a statement on 30 November:

CS Energy moved quickly to contain this incident by segregating the corporate network from other internal networks and enacting business continuity processes.

We immediately notified relevant state and federal agencies, and are working closely with them and other cyber security experts.

Bills said the event was another example of a growing trend of cyber-attacks in Australia and overseas.

This incident may have affected our corporate network, but we are fortunate to have a resilient and highly skilled workforce who remain focused on ensuring CS Energy continues to deliver electricity to Queenslanders.

News Corp publications on Wednesday linked the attack, which could have shut down two thermal coal plants, to Chinese hackers, citing sources familiar with the matter.

“This just underscores how important it is to secure Australia and reduce our dependence on China, who are acting like a bully in our region,” Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan told Nine Network on Wednesday.

“This is not an attack or a suspected attack on an Australian government agency. It’s on a private company in Queensland. It’s important that we as the Australian government ... help private companies protect themselves.”

Updated

Labor Senator Katy Gallagher has attacked the Coalition leadership’s response to members “spreading disinformation and stoking division”, saying members like George Christensen only receive a “clip around the ear”.

She is speaking to ABC now:

I am pleased that the prime minister and deputy prime minister finally came out. It took a while and I think initially they would have preferred that it had just been dealt with by the National party here in Australia.

This is a pattern of behaviour. It happens again and again and these members of the government, they are members of the government, have been spreading disinformation and stoking division and fear and highly critical of Australia’s response to Covid-19 pandemic for the duration of this pandemic.

They get the occasional clip around the ear “Don’t say it” or “Stop saying it” but nothing else happens and it continues to undermine the vaccination program and the public health messaging that has been put in place. I believe the prime minister needs to act faster and stronger and there has to be real consequences for this.

If they’re not going to stop doing what they’re doing, which is highly critical of Australia, undermining the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, they shouldn’t be in the government.

This has been going on for the duration of the pandemic. It is not a one-off slip-up, it is a comprehensive and systemic attack on how Australians have been trying to respond to this terrible pandemic and the sacrifices that we have all made over the last 20 months or so.

Updated

Actor Rebel Wilson has said her own team were opposed to her losing weight because she was “earning millions of dollars being the funny fat girl”.

The Australian actor, 41, documented her physical transformation on social media after embarking on a health and fitness journey a couple of years ago.

“I got a lot of pushback from my own team actually, here in Hollywood, when I said, ‘OK, I’m going to do this year of health, I feel like I’m really going to physically transform and change my life’,” she told BBC Breakfast.

“And they were like, ‘why? Why would you want to do that?’ Because I was earning millions of dollars being the funny fat girl and being that person.”

You can read the full report below:

Updated

Australian and English cricketers have been greeted by blue skies in Brisbane as the threat of rain spoiling the first Ashes Test eased, reports AAP.

Persistent heavy rain for the last month encouraged by the La Niña weather pattern had hampered preparations for both sides, while long-range forecasts pointed to a soggy Gabba this week.

But only afternoon showers are forecast on Wednesday, with the radar indicating a small amount of rain could fall on each of the next five days.

Gabba ground staff have also enjoyed sunny conditions over the past few days to prepare a pitch that, as is tradition on day one, should still offer plenty to the bowlers.

Australia retained the Ashes thanks to a 2-2 draw in England in 2019, while the tourists haven’t won a series in Australia for a decade.

Wicketkeeper Alex Carey will debut and Travis Head will return to Australia’s middle order after beating Usman Khawaja in the selection race, while England have left out veteran Jimmy Anderson but are yet to settle on their XI.

Updated

The federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, is prepared to override local branches to determine who will run in the key marginal electorate of Parramatta, amid allegations of unresolved branch stacking in the seat.

The move to replace the outgoing MP, Julie Owens, comes as the party’s left faction splits over whether to allow a rank and file ballot, and as the right faction makes a bid for the seat, arguing it needs compensation after Hunter was given to the left’s candidate, Dan Repacholi.

The soft left, or “Ferguson left” named after powerbroker Laurie Ferguson, which controls branches in the seat, is pushing for a rank and file ballot, but their support is said to be split between Granville state Labor MP Julia Finn, and Durga Owen, who ran for the state seat of Seven Hills at the last state election.

You can read the full report below:

Chester:

George will be what George wants to be. They don’t represent me, he doesn’t represent the majority of the National party room. I look at my colleagues, people like Michelle Landry in Rockhampton, a strong record of living and helping that community.

Mark Coulton trying to help his community with the floods, Anne Webster, these people are normal people working in their communities, very proud to be parliamentarians, they’re the people we should talk to rather than George’s latest conversations with a discredited conspiracy theorist in the United States.

Updated

I mention all of this because Nationals MP Darren Chester has been out and about talking to media this morning to attempt to make it clear that George Christensen’s views do not represent every member of the party.

He told ABC News Breakfast that he was happy that the party leader had published a statement condemning the comments.

Well, I certainly welcome Barnaby’s comments in pointing out that George wasn’t acting – I don’t believe, in any way, shape, or form – in a manner consistent with the National party’s values. He wasn’t acting in the national interest.

Members of parliament right across the political spectrum have a real responsibility to not talk Australia down. We have gone through a tough time as a nation, when you think about droughts, floods, bushfires, storms, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Our challenge as members of parliament, as parliamentarians, is to try to unite Australians, to work together with our communities to help them recover. We’re in a difficult situation as a nation where a lot of people are hurting, a lot of people are struggling, there’s disaster fatigue in our regional communities.

We need to work with the communities to make sure they get back on their feet. Going on these international conspiracy theory talk shows and talking Australia down is not helpful.

Updated

OK so there is plenty of George Christensen related news this morning. Here is a quick recap in case you missed it.

The Queensland Nationals MP used an appearance on US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ online show to advocate for protests outside international Australian consulates over the country’s Covid-19 restrictions.

At one point during the Infowars interview, Christensen laughed when Jones compared Australia’s quarantine facilities to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Here is what the prime minister had to say about it yesterday:

I denounce the comments in the strongest possible terms.

The Holocaust was an evil abomination. Respect for the victims requires that it never be referenced in such a trivial and insensitive manner.

Nationals leader and deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce tweeted from London that he had been made aware of the latest comments by Christensen.

Accordingly, I have contacted him twice in the night to affirm that any parallel of domestic policy with the abomination which was the Holocaust requires an immediate rebuke.

I have asked Mr Christensen to be far more aware of any platform he speaks on and to ask himself of the history of those platforms and if participation on it is wise.

Updated

Good morning everyone, it’s Matilda Boseley here with you on the blog this morning and I hope you are all feeling well because I have some Covid-19 news for you this morning.

According to NSW authorities, it’s likely that at least two of the five people diagnosed with Covid-19 after attending a party boat cruise on Sydney Harbour last week are likely to have contracted the Omicron variant.

All cases are isolating at home.

NSW Health says “preliminary results indicate two are likely to have” the Omicron variant, but genome sequencing is underway to confirm it.

Authorities are now racing to contact the about 140 people who signed in with a QR code before boarding the boat, which left King Street Wharf 9 at 7.30pm and returned about 11pm. Individuals who were on board and members of their households are being urged to immediately get tested and isolate.

Now jumping back in time a little bit, the ABC is reporting that new emails, from last year, show an “enthusiastic” Pfizer, hoping to engage with Australia about the purchase of the Covid-19 vaccine, long before the federal government secured their (underwhelming) supply.

ABC’s current affairs show 7.30 says it has obtained the email under the Freedom of Information Act.

It reportedly shows that, in early July 2020, Pfizer Australia emailed the federal health minister’s office with “some positive early data” from the beginning stages of the vaccine’s trials.

My global colleagues are enthusiastic to discuss this further, and possible opportunities in Australia, at a senior level at the earliest opportunity.

However, as we know, Australia made the choice to rely heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine, with supplies of mRNA options extremely limited during Melbourne and Syndey’s deadly Delta outbreaks this year.

OK, with that why don’t we jump right into the day! There is certainly plenty to get through.

Updated

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