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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy (now) and Matilda Boseley (earlier)

TGA recognises two more Covid vaccines as international border reopens – as it happened

What we learned, Monday 1 November

With that, we will wrap up the blog for this fine evening. It has been quite a day in Copenhagen and at home. Here are the major developments:

  • The French president Emmanuel Macron has accused Scott Morrison of lying about Australia’s intentions to withdraw from the two countries’ submarine contract. Morrison said he’d spoken with Macron “several times” over the past few days and his decisions were made in the national interest.
  • Barnaby Joyce dismissed the severity of the situation, telling reporters “we didn’t steal an island. We didn’t deface the Eiffel Tower. It was a contract.” Marise Payne met the French ambassador this afternoon, and had a “constructive discussion”.
  • Back at home, international travellers began landing in Sydney and Melbourne without having to quarantine for the first time in nearly 20 months. There were many teary reunions, but WA premier Mark McGowan is still standing firm on his own hard border stance.
  • Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian faced her final day of Icac hearings, telling reporters she was ready to “move on” with her life. It was today revealed Daryl Maguire told Berejilkian to get a private phone and download WeChat before fronting his own hearings.
  • NSW recorded 135 local Covid cases and four deaths while Victoria recorded 1,471 local cases and four deaths.
  • South Australia could suffer between four and 51 deaths amid a 27% chance of a significant Covid-19 outbreak once the state’s borders open later this month, new modelling shows.
  • And Canberra disability support workers and community aged care staff will be mandated to get a Covid-19 vaccine.

Updated

The new safety measures have been introduced to prevent needless deaths in racing.

Oh no it’s too early for this.

Updated

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) has released a statement calling for the commonwealth to urgently assess the physical and mental health status of all 47 refugees and asylum seekers held in the Park hotel building in Melbourne.

The RACP is “seriously concerned” about reports almost half the refugees and people seeking asylum have contracted Covid and are reporting a lack of timely medical care.

RACP president professor John Wilson:

Reports that as many as 20 asylum seekers in the Park hotel building have contracted Covid are disturbing. They suggest that some are not getting the necessary and timely medical attention or medical supplies they need.

We are obliged to give asylum seekers the same medical attention and support that is provided to other people in hotel quarantine under their human rights. That means access to medical support and provision of medical supplies, as well being offered transfer to hospital if recommended by a qualified healthcare professional.

We have very serious concerns for these asylum seekers in this hotel. Covid can be deadly and medical advice must be urgently sought and implemented in keeping with national standards.

Physicians are calling on the Australian government to ensure that all Covid-care standards are upheld by urgently addressing this extraordinary outbreak.

Updated

South Australia could suffer between four and 51 deaths amid a 27% chance of a significant Covid outbreak once the state’s borders open later this month, new modelling shows and AAP reports.

Data prepared by University of Adelaide scientists, part of the broader Doherty Institute network, looked at three potential scenarios.

In the worst scenario, which involved dropping local restrictions and introducing vaccine certificates for high-risk activities, the state could suffer more than 400 deaths.

So far, SA has had four deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The Liberal government says it plans to follow scenario one, which allows for the borders to open to fully vaccinated people from 23 November, when the 80% vaccine target is reached, and keeps all existing health measures, including mask-wearing, in place.

This predicts a 27% chance of an outbreak, which is defined as “averaging more than 100 cases per day over any three-day period”.

Premier Steven Marshall said it was the “safest way forward”:

South Australia would be able to safely manage hospital and ICU demand from Covid infections generated in the community as long as there are high testing rates, contact tracing is maintained, and cases and their close contacts are quarantined.

Under scenario two, which drops some local restrictions, SA would have a 64% chance of an outbreak and under scenario three, the most relaxed, the chance would rise to 84%.

Under scenario one, hospital demand is considered manageable with ward occupancy to peak at around 36 beds. Peak ICU occupancy is estimated at a median of nine beds with an extremely small chance of demand exceeding 30.

The median prediction for total deaths under this scenario is 13 over 300 days, with a total range between four and 51.

Marshall:

No death is palatable but what we’ve got to do is be realistic that the Delta variant cannot be kept out of South Australia forever. We’ve relied on the evidence to suggest what is the best way for prudently opening the borders.

More on the Victorian feral horses deal announced today from Lisa Cox.

The Victorian government will recommence aerial shooting of feral horses in the Alpine National Park under a new plan to deal with growing population numbers.

Feral horses are a major threat to ecosystems in the alpine region because they graze and trample on habitat and damage waterways.

Parks Victoria said on Monday that additional control measures were now necessary because there had been limited interest from the public in rehoming captured horses, despite repeated callouts.

The plan says aerial shooting will occur in “exceptional circumstances” where other control methods - including capture and rehoming - have failed. Ground shooting will also be used.

“It is critically important to increase efforts to protect this rare and sensitive landscape which has been in decline for decades,” a Parks Victoria spokesperson said.

The most recent feral horse surveys, conducted in 2019, found the feral horse population in the Australian Alps had doubled from about 2300 horses to 5000 in the five years from 2014 to 2019.

James Trezise, of the Invasive Species Council, welcomed the plan, which he said, if implemented, would protect Australian wildlife and ecosystems in the park for future generations.

He said this would include the complete removal of horses from the Bogong High Plains and a significant reduction in the eastern Alps population:

Australia has the largest population of feral horses in the world. Our native ecosystems did not evolve with hard-hoofed animals such as feral horses, which degrade and destroy sensitive habitats.

It is vital feral horses are removed from sensitive alpine wetlands, including areas along the Bogong High Plains, and this plan aims to do just that.

NSW and Victoria are currently eligible for the travel bubble but this may expand.

It’s official – Dr Jeannette Young has been sworn in, and she’s in good company, joining a female chief justice and female premier.

Updated

Kristy McBain has commented on a story that has just dropped from Paul Karp on Liberal MP Christian Porter.

The story says Porter will be formally asked by a powerful parliamentary committee to explain his declaration that legal fees for his defamation case were part-paid by a trust with funds from unknown sources.

McBain told Afternoon Briefing:

It was a real shame last week and the week before in the house that we had the government not advocating in favour of sending that matter to the privileges committee. It wasn’t an admission of guilt, it was simply to seek the privileges committee to have a look at it. Their own speaker said it was a prima facie case for that.

I think it is a step in the right direction and I hope the privileges committee does get cooperation because at the end of the day, all people across this country want to know that their politicians are acting in the utmost faith to the electorate. That includes letting people know who has contributed, whether it is to legal cases, the election, political donations, whatever it is, be upfront about it. So people know exactly was going on.

Updated

Karvelas:

You said you wanted them to release the modelling and we still haven’t got them, what do you think of that?

Canavan:

I don’t think it is the right way to go about things. As I have said, modelling has been released around every other climate change debate that has occurred, including the Coalition and from Labor governments over the past decade. I would like to see this analysis supported in the Senate and it still isn’t out there. This has been the government’s best few days to release the stuff that has been paid for by your viewers and we should have the right to see them.

Updated

Nationals senator Matt Canavan is on Afternoon Briefing talking all things submarines.

He says the prime minister “has not cheated on a lover” or “requested a divorce” with the nation of France:

I back our prime minister in Australia making decisions on its own national interest, that is what the PM and the Australian government has done here, they have acted in the national interest ... we had to act in this way. I don’t agree with the French president’s description of this, what happened here was we terminated a business contract, that was always within the rights of the Australian government to do, we are not walking away from our contract, under that but it was always the right to end the business relationship.

We have not cheated on a lover here or some how requested a divorce, we have changed a business arrangement and done so in the best interest of our country.

Updated

The foreign minister, Marise Payne, says her talks with the French ambassador were “constructive”.

She said:

“I met with France’s ambassador Jean-Pierre Thébault today. We had a constructive discussion for over an hour. Australia is focused on moving forward in our relationship with France, and this is another important step in that process, building on discussions between our countries’ leaders. Australia looks forward to regular engagement continuing.”

Updated

Wong says Morrison should have taken a stronger 2030 target to Glasgow:

What we have seen is the G20 making clear that the majority of the world is moving in a direction which Scott Morrison hasn’t wanted to move in. Barnaby Joyce certainly doesn’t want to move, whether it is net zero by 2050 or a stronger 2030 target which the PM should have taken to Glasgow.

The reality is climate change is real but equally the economic reality of nations response to climate change is real, and we want to make sure not only we get cheap energy but we continue to protect and build Australian jobs into the future ... the problem with this government is they are not sincere on this ... does anyone believe anything Barnaby Joyce signs up to on climate is real? He has campaigned for over a decade on no action, they are not sincere.

Updated

Patricia Karvelas:

The prime minister will have potentially another opportunity at this Glasgow meeting to have another exchange with Mr Macron, how should he handle it?

Wong:

A little more respectfully than he how he has handled things right now.

Karvelas:

Should he apologise?

Wong:

He should remember when he sits at the table he represents the country, his own ego and his own stubbornness to deny he made mistakes and give them a lecture, that is his personal character on display, he is leading the nation and representing Australia, he should try and manage that discussion, with Australian interests at heart not Scott Morrison’s interest.

Penny Wong is up on Afternoon Briefing, condemning Scott Morrison’s handling of the botched submarine deal:

People can make their own judgement about the prime minister from his past behaviour, but ... the reality is, we have a demonstration of how to deal with it better and that is the Americans. Look at president Joe Biden. France, America’s eldest ally withdrew their ambassador over this for the first time, America managed to find a way through that involved Joe Biden acknowledging what had occurred and acknowledging the French experience of that.

We don’t have that kind of leadership from Mr Morrison and the problem with that is it damages the nation’s interest not only its reputation ... it is unprecedented to see a world leader so bluntly assert that we are led by a man whose work he doesn’t trust.

Updated

An impressive feat for Victoria’s regions, particularly after lagging vaccination rates in some LGAs like Greater Shepparton.

Updated

Some 81.8% of South Australians aged over 16 have received their first vaccination dose.

Tonga will enter a snap lockdown at midnight.

It managed to avoid Covid for the entire pandemic until late last week.

Two additional Covid vaccines recognised by TGA

TGA has recognised that Covaxin, manufactured in India and BBIBP-CorV, manufactured in China aren’t registered in Australia but are widely used internationally for the purpose of establishing a traveller’s vaccination status.

This recognition is for travellers aged 12 and over who have been vaccinated with Covaxin, and those 18 to 60 who have been vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV:

Recognition of Covaxin, and BBIBP-CorV, along with the previously announced recognition of Coronavac (manufactured by Sinovac, China) and Covishield (manufactured by AstraZeneca, India), means many citizens of China and India as well as other countries in our region where these vaccines have been widely deployed will now be considered fully vaccinated on entry to Australia.

This will have significant impacts for the return of international students, and travel of skilled and unskilled workers to Australia.

In addition, with input from the TGA, Atagi have determined that those who have received two doses of a TGA-approved or recognised vaccine at least 14 days apart are regarded as fully vaccinated from seven days after the second dose (with the exception of Janssen vaccine, where they are regarded as fully vaccinated seven days after the single dose). This includes homologous (two doses of the same vaccine) and heterologous (two doses of two different TGA-approved or recognised vaccines) schedules.

Updated

Some 355 emergency calls for assistance are still active as of midday today following wild storms that battered parts of Victoria last week.

Help is now on the way with crews from SES NSW to work from tomorrow to Thursday.

Many active calls are on the Mornington Peninsula which saw the brunt of the storm and include large and complex roof issues that require specialists.

More calls for emergency assistance are expected as people return to their homes and discover damage.

Updated

Dr Jeannette Young has just been sworn in as the 27th governor of Queensland.

Updated

The Victorian Electoral Commission has clarified unvaccinated people won’t be banned from voting in next year’s state election.

Marise Payne meets with French ambassador

The Australian foreign minister has met with France’s ambassador – just hours after the French president accused the Australian prime minister of lying about the now scrapped submarine contract.

Marise Payne met today with Jean-Pierre Thebault, the French ambassador who was recalled to Paris shortly after the Aukus nuclear submarine plans were announced in September. Thebault returned to Canberra a couple of weeks ago and finished his stint of quarantine at the weekend.

The meeting is understood to have finished. We’ll bring you more details as soon as we have them.

Updated

The Pacific Islands Forum secretary general has welcomed climate commitments by Australia and New Zealand heading into Cop26.

Henry Puna:

We welcome the recent commitments to tackle climate change from New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand and Australia are the two developed country nations in the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, but as one Blue Pacific and in accordance with Forum Leaders’ Kainaki II Declaration for Urgent Climate Change Action Now, we are all taking concrete action to address climate change.

New Zealand has pledged to reduce net greenhouse emissions by 50% (below 2005 levels) by 2030 from its previous target of 30%.

This was in addition to an earlier announcement to increase its climate finance commitment to $1.3bn from its current levels of $300m.

Last week Scott Morrison announced Australia’s commitment to net zero by 2050.

These enhanced contributions are the sort of action we need from all developed countries at Cop26. We have been very clear that the future of our Blue Pacific and the future of our Blue Planet depends on international efforts to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

Updated

New superannuation laws come into effect

Superannuation will now follow Australians when they change jobs after new laws came into effect today, AAP reports.

Superannuation accounts will now be stapled to workers, ensuring new employers pay super contributions into existing accounts in a bid to avoid expensive double ups and lost money.

Treasury estimates $2.8bn will be saved from duplicate fees and lost interest returns over the next decade, with around 850,000 duplicate accounts created every year.

Employees are still able to nominate a different super account. The new laws address a key recommendation of the banking royal commission and build on measures implemented under the Your Future, Your Super reforms.

The government estimates these reforms will save Australian workers almost $18bn over the next decade.

Updated

It comes as 75% of New Zealanders are now fully vaccinated.

The number of people with disability parking permits in NSW is increasing but there aren’t enough places for them to park, AAP reports.

Mobility parking permits have increased by 60% since 2007 but despite almost 400,000 drivers with a disability holding a licence in NSW, “there have been no attempts to keep pace with the growth in accessible spaces”, the NRMA says.

Shopping centres require 2% of parking spaces to be accessible, while residential areas require 1%, but 8% of NSW drivers have a mobility parking permit.

Disability parking signs.
Disability parking signs. Photograph: Simon McGill/Getty Images

Permitted parkers are also in competition with other drivers, with almost 13,000 fined in the last financial year for parking in spaces for which they had no permit displayed.

A review of accessible parking suitability and enforcement of violations will deliver “long overdue improvements” and “reduce barriers for people with a disability to access mobility parking spaces”, the NRMA said alongside Spinal Cord Injuries Australia.

Some of those improvements include using real-time technology to monitor parking spaces, signposted warnings about the consequences for parking in accessible parks without a permit, and harsher penalties for repeat offenders.

SCIA CEO Dianne Lucas said cities need to take into account a growing population of disabled drivers. Almost a quarter of her organisation’s workforce have physical disabilities but need to drive to be independent, Lucas said.

Updated

The premier of South Australia Steven Marshall says the state has to take a “realistic” view to reopening:

Information provided to the Australian Electoral Commission by people considering standing as a candidate for parliament will be reviewed via a new inquiry into the qualification checklist relating to section 44 of the Australian constitution.

The proposed checklist responds to recommendation one of the joint standing committee on electoral matters’ report on the conduct of the 2019 federal election.

Committee chair senator James McGrath:

Although the candidate checklist worked well in the 2019 election, there were some critical elements, such as requiring information on a candidate’s date and country of birth, that were not required as mandatory data. This information is highly relevant to ascertaining a candidate’s citizenship status.

It is important to examine the proposed amendments to the Candidate Qualification Checklist and ensure there is adequate time to incorporate any revisions before the next election.

Updated

Catch up on another big day here:

The federal government has provided further detail on two dedicated visa streams that will allow people from Hong Kong to claim permanent residency in Australia.

WA premier stands firm on state's hard border policy

Mark McGowan is refusing to budge on his hardline border stance as a returned overseas traveller pleads with the West Australian premier to be reunited with his sick mother, AAP reports.

There were emotional scenes on Monday as Australians returned home to Sydney and Melbourne, which have scrapped quarantine for vaccinated travellers.

The pathway to return to WA is considerably more narrow given the state has placed NSW and Victoria under “extreme risk” border restrictions.

Families reunited at Sydney International airport on Monday, 1 November 2021.
Families reunited at Sydney International airport on Monday, 1 November 2021. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

A man who arrived in Sydney from Los Angeles was in tears as he spoke of his desperate wish to travel to WA to see his sick mother after two years overseas.

He told Seven network:

I’m really scared and emotional because I really want to see my mum. The doctor said that she hasn’t got long ... she’s been in permanent care for a few years and it’s been so long since I’ve seen her. I love her heaps and I just want to get back there.

Under the extreme risk border rules, most NSW and Victoria travellers are banned from entering WA and those who are permitted must enter hotel quarantine for 14 days.

McGowan said the man’s case would be assessed for a possible exemption on compassionate grounds:

Obviously these situations are very sad and very difficult. The police and the chief health officer will analyse his case if he makes an application so that a decision can be made.

Any decision on reopening WA’s borders will be delayed until after the state has reached 80% full vaccination, a benchmark expected to be reached by early December.

WA premier Mark McGowan.
WA premier Mark McGowan. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

McGowan has insisted WA is well-placed to make a “soft landing” out of the pandemic, reaching high levels of vaccination whilst avoiding the need to reimpose restrictions such as capacity limits and mask-wearing within the state:

We have a virtually unique opportunity to get to very high levels of vaccination before such time as we have Covid come in. Really, it’s a matter of a few months. We’re heading towards the end of this, we’re just going to remain safe whilst we get there.

The premier has outlined mandatory vaccination requirements for most of the state’s workforce, including a 31 January deadline which would coincide with the end of the school holidays and potential reopening of borders.

WA’s cap on returned overseas travellers will double to 530 once it reaches 70% full vaccination.

Opposition health spokeswoman Libby Mettam said another “horror month” of ambulance ramping figures showed WA’s health system was not prepared for a possible Covid outbreak.

Updated

The hard hats are out, baby!

Updated

It may not seem like it but house price rises are easing ever so slightly.

Figures from CoreLogic out today saw values rose 1.49% for the month, down from 1.51% in September, and remain at close to half the 2.8% monthly pace in the consultancy reported in March.

Sydney’s rise was pretty much bang in line with the national rate, while Melbourne’s trailed at just under 1%, and Perth notched its first negative monthly result since June, dropping 0.1%. You can also see the drop if you squint.

Brisbane topped the monthly growth rate among the capitals with a 2.5% rise in October.

As CoreLogic’s research director Tim Lawless (aptly named, perhaps, given the market) said national house prices are now 21.6% higher than a year ago, an incredible advance when you consider how the increase compares with wages:

Housing prices continue to outpace wages by a ratio of about 12:1. This is one of the reasons why first home buyers are becoming a progressively smaller component of housing demand.

Those still desperate to get into the market may take some solace that gains in new listings and tighter regulations on credit assessment that come into force today may take some of the fizz out of the market.

Rents, meanwhile, were up 0.7% for the month, up from a pace of 0.6% in September.

Other stats out today also point to an easing of demand for housing. The ABS reports new loan commitments in September reached $20.7bn, down 1.4% seasonally adjusted from August. While down for a fourth consecutive month, the amount remains 21% higher than for September 2020, and 49% higher than pre-Covid levels in 2020, Katherine Keenan, head of the ABS’s finance and wealth unit, says.

Victoria’s new loans went backwards by 12.7% in the month, while states like NSW saw another rise. The average loan in the state has now climbed to a record of $750,000, the ABS said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it is investor demand that is driving the prices up. The number of new loan commitments (not their size) dropped for an eighth month in a row, dropping 5.6% in September, the ABS said, adding they are now 11.4% down from the same month a year ago.

More hints of how much momentum the wider housing market could lose may be clearer tomorrow after the RBA holds its monthly board meeting on interest rates, with a verdict known at 2.30pm AEDT.

A change to the record low official case rate of 0.1% is not expected but market watchers and anybody on a variable loan rate will be watching for any prospect that official rates are heading higher.

The RBA’s stated aim has been to keep the rate at its record low into 2024 to ensure the wider economy withstands the Covid storms but the commercial banks are tipping increases to start towards the end of 2022.

Not surprisingly, the AFR are among those reporting a big jump in people switching to fixed-rated mortgages before the inevitable increase kicks in.

Updated

Crown Resorts says all visitors to its Sydney and Melbourne venues will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19, effective immediately, AAP reports.

The policy includes customers, workers, and contractors.

A similar policy at Crown’s Perth casino is still being finalised and is expected to be implemented from 31 January.

Crown Resorts chief executive Steve McCann said the new rules were critical to stop the spread of the virus.

We must do whatever is in our power to help limit the potential for further impact at our resorts – whether that be to our people, our guests or to business continuity.

McCann said the move had overwhelming support from stakeholders. The company announced a vaccine incentive scheme in September, offering workers three hours’ paid leave to get the jab as well as extra sick leave for those who needed it.

A recent royal commission into Crown Resorts castigated the company for “illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative” behaviour, but stopped short of recommending it should lose its Melbourne casino licence.

Earlier this year, the NSW Bergin report found Crown had “enabled or facilitated” money laundering at its Perth casino.

Updated

More on the Extinction Rebellion protests in Perth, where a lone protestor has been arrested after glueing herself to the ground.

Over in Victoria, the feral horse action plan has been released today for the Alpine national park.

Parks Victoria will continue to work closely with our partners in the humane control of feral horses to reduce their impacts; including removing small, isolated populations and preventing spread into new areas using the most humane, safe and effective techniques, including lethal and non-lethal methods. The preferred methods of managing feral horses include trapping and rehoming, tightly managed shooting and construction of small-scale exclusion fences.

Updated

Good reminder.

The ambassador of France to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault is set to address the Press Club this Wednesday.

It will be very interesting watching following Macron’s rather explosive language this morning.

Updated

Queensland health authorities are providing an update as its vaccine mandate comes into effect.

Health minister Yvette D’Ath says home quarantine rules for fully vaccinated travellers will be released “very shortly”, but apartment dwellers won’t be able to home quarantine, even at 70% vaccination rates.

Over in Sydney, Elias Visontay has been at the airport where families and loved ones are reuniting after 583 days of ongoing border restrictions.

As expected, it is a tear jerker.

Just one case detected in hotel quarantine in Queensland today.

Meanwhile in Australia, acting prime minister Barnaby Joyce has secured $150 million for “neglected unsealed roads”.

The Liberal and Nationals launched the “Remote Roads Upgrade Pilot Program” today, which Joyce said would target unsealed roads throughout remote Australia, offering councils between 80% and 100% of funding.

It comes after closed negotiations on net zero targets.

Joyce:

This is not about sealing roads; it is about making them safer. It is about putting down gravel to stop parents getting bogged in the rain when they drive their kids to school; it is about removing dangerous corners. Many of these remote roads haven’t been touched since the Great Depression.

The Liberals and Nationals government will partner with local government in delivering this new funding to address many neglected roads that are out of sight to most people.

Our regional towns are the lifeblood of our nation, and every Australian deserves safe and efficient roads regardless of where they live.

More from Matthew Guy’s presser this morning:

Many thanks as ever to the talented Matilda Boseley.

I’ll be with you for the rest of the day.

With that, I shall hand you over to the amazing Caitlin Cassidy who will guide you through the afternoon’s news.

See you all tomorrow morning!

Two people have died overnight from Covid-19 in the ACT, as the territory recorded five new infections in the past 24 hours, reports AAP.

A man in his 60s and a woman in her 70s were the latest deaths from the virus in the ACT, taking the death toll from the current outbreak to 10.

ACT health authorities said both were in the intensive care unit before their death.

There are now eight people in hospital with Covid in the ACT, with just three of those in intensive care, all of them on a ventilator.

The territory’s vaccine rate has increased slightly to 92.6 per cent of over 12s being fully vaccinated.

Testing, however, was down to just 978 negative tests in the past day.

There are now 170 active cases in the community.

Extinction Rebellion are also demonstrating in Perth this morning.

New Zealand records 162 new Covid-19 cases

New Zealand has reported 162 new cases of Covid-19 today, all of which were in the North Island.

The country’s daily case numbers are expected to grow over the next month, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said, before vaccination rates begin to eat into transmission.

According to the ministry of health, 88% of eligible (those aged 12+) people have now had at least one shot, and 75% are fully vaccinated. Among Maori, 72% have had at least one shot and 53% are fully vaccinated. Among Pacific New Zealanders, 85% have had at least one shot and 69% are fully vaccinated. In Auckland, the centre of the outbreak, 91% have had at least one shot and 81% are fully vaccinated.

The government has committed to shifting to a “traffic light” system that will lift most restrictions for vaccinated people once district health boards across the country have reached 90% fully vaccinated.

53 people are in hospital with the virus, with 3 in intensive care.

Updated

“Time can bring you down,” Adnan Choopani sings, his words echoing off the walls of the detention centre compound, “time can bend your knees”.

Time is something Adnan, and his cousin Mehdi, know only too well.

For eight years they have been held by Australia’s immigration detention regime, offshore and on.

They have watched friends burn themselves to death and known the despair that has led them to attempt suicide themselves. They have been beaten and abused, jailed without reason.

They have grown from boys into men in that time. Fifteen and 16 when they arrived in Australia seeking sanctuary, they are now 23.

Despite their claims for protection being formally recognised more than half a decade ago, they remain in detention.

You can read the full story below:

This has not been independently confirmed by Guardian Australia but the ABC is reporting that a number of Victorian Liberals believe the former shadow AG Tim Smith’s position in parliament is untenable after he resigned from cabinet after admitting to driving above the legal blood alcohol level.

Updated

Oh, Extinction Rebellion is out and about the Australian capitals this morning, to mark the first day of Cop26.

Here is their demonstration in Melbourne.

ACT records five new Covid-19 cases overnight

The Australian Capital Territory has recorded five new cases overnight, and a whopping 92.6% of its over 12 population fully vaccinated.

Hmmm, a lot of big talk about emissions from Albanese, but the Labor leader still won’t commit outright to phasing out coal entirely.

Reporter:

There’s a fair few calls for some sort of global plan to phase out coal-fired power. Do you reckon that’s worth considering?

Albanese:

Well, nation states are making their decisions, and they have implications for what happens in terms of the energy sources. And we know that that will occur going forward.

We know that we need to move to a clean-energy economy and that is something that’s needed to happen globally. So, that is having an impact. It will continue to have an impact.

All of our major trading partners have adopted targets of net zero by 2050. In China’s case, net zero by 2060, but that has real implications for the energy mix. And here in Australia, we know that the cheapest form of new energy is clean energy.

It’s the energy that we see behind us here at this wind farm, that can power over 200,000 homes. That is what we see occurring right around Australia. And we see similar initiatives, of course, happening in other parts of the world.

And of course, Albanese has mentioned the French incident this morning.

You’ve seen president Macron make some very serious statements about his view of what Scott Morrison said to him prior to Scott Morrison cancelling the contract between Australia and France by text message. Australians need a leader who can be trusted.

Albanese seems sure that Morrison’s showing at Glasgow will be viewed negatively across the world.

Scott Morrison is overseas, saying that he supports net zero by 2050, but also saying that there are no new policies being announced from last Tuesday. Yesterday, we saw Angus Taylor unable to answer basic questions about the cost and government expenditure relating to the 2050 target, relying upon technology that hasn’t been invented yet, being vague and basically saying, “We’ll get there just through the vibe.”

Well, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation wasn’t just a “vibe”, it was actually a vehicle to drive investment, as was the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, as were Renewable Energy Targets.

The former Labor government put those in place and the current government has relied upon them for any reduction in emissions which has been achieved up to now.

The fact that they had no policy going forward will be exposed when the Prime Minister is at Glasgow. You can’t have an Australian prime minister just saying, it’s the vibe,” when the rest of the world wants to see concrete steps towards net zero by 2050.

OK, why don’t we have a listen into the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, who is speaking about renewable energy from Tamworth today.

And yes, there are windfarms in the background of his press conference.

Albanese says the world has “no confidence” in Australia’s ability to meet the challenge of climate change:

Australia is behind where we should be because of the almost a decade of denial by Scott Morrison and the Coalition government. I don’t think there are opportunities for New England in new energy, I know there are. And we can see it right here.

Barnaby’s second time as a leader is just one more sequel that hasn’t led up to the original. It’s not as good as the first time, indeed. This time round, he’s tying himself in knots because he gained the leadership saying that he’d oppose net zero by 2050 and it wouldn’t be possible for the National party room to adopt it.

And now, of course, the National party room has, but he still says he’s opposed to it. Today, people will have no confidence in Australia being able to meet the challenge of climate change and take up the opportunities which are there, because it’s a day when Barnaby Joyce is the acting prime minister of Australia.

Updated

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

Sadly, NSW Health is today reporting the deaths of four people with Covid-19, two men and two women.

Two people, a man in his 70s and a woman aged 101, acquired their infections at the Mercy Place aged care facility in Albury. They were both fully vaccinated and had underlying health conditions. There have now been five deaths linked to an outbreak at this aged care facility.

A man in his 60s who died at Concord Hospital acquired his infection at Parklea Correctional Centre. He was not vaccinated and had underlying health conditions.

A woman in her 60s from south east Sydney died at Prince of Wales Hospital. She was not vaccinated and had underlying health conditions.

NSW Health expresses its sincere condolences to their loved ones.

There have been 518 Covid-19 related deaths in NSW since 16 June 2021 and 574 in total since the start of the pandemic.

The first quarantine free international flight to Melbourne has touched down. Although, it was far from packed.

A sign of the times:

Just in case you were wondering if the NSW premier Dominic Perrott has hand-fed a giraffe this morning, the answer is “Yes”.

OK! We will be hearing from the WA premier Mark McGowan in about 10 minutes time, 11.15am (ADET), 8.15am (AWST).

He will be discussing the rollout of booster vaccination shots. (And hopefully, someone asks him about those “lost his marbles” comments from Joyce this morning.)

Stay tuned!

Updated

Barnaby Joyce says WA premier 'lost his marbles' when asked about opening border

Joyce says the last time he spoke to WA premier Mark McGowan opening the border, the western leader “lost his marbles”.

Reporter:

And every state and territory, except for WA, has announced plans to reopen their borders. Do you have anything to say to the WA premier?

Joyce:

I did last time. But he lost his marbles with me. So I’ll just let him talk ...

All I’ll say is that we’re all going to be jumping on planes and flying to other parts of the world. If you want to live and stay in Western Australia forever more, I don’t think that your people will. Your people will want to go overseas with us.

Updated

The Nationals leader has been asked “what did [he] get” when going into the room to discuss Austalia’s plans to combat the climate crisis.

A whole range of things. Farms. Scope 3 emissions so the new exports sitting on that train so that we don’t account for where it lands in the world. You don’t have to pick up those emissions.

We talked about reviews. There are so many issues coming through where things weren’t implicit, we made them explicit. The sort of things that were floating around. You all heard about it. Methane emissions. They said it and said it probably the day after we came to the deal. They said that over in the United States and Europe, they’re talking about a 30% reduction by 2030.

How am I going to sell that one to the beef industry? How would that have worked? Well, we would be putting them out of a job. But the Nationals went in to bat so we wouldn’t destroy. But we would get a better deal.

We were going to be negotiators, not demonstrators, getting a better deal for regional Australians.

Joyce was asked if the nuclear submarine deal was “important enough” to justify this animosity with France.

Yes, it is. Defence of our nation comes absolutely 1st, 2nd and 3rd [priority]. ... our best platform is to protect our people, your people, your sons and daughters, your granddaughters and grandsons, to make sure that this part of the world is safe.

We are not an aggressive people. We are a very peace-loving people. But we will have a platform that deters people from taking our nation for granted. And if that is to go with nuclear submarines designed by the British or the United States of America, then that’s precisely where we go.

What other choice would the Australian people want? Say – oh, we’re going to go for another platform which probably can’t do the job of that one. Now, the Australian people want to see one thing.

They’ll say get the very best so that you can keep our nation as safe as possible.

Updated

Joyce sure France and Australia can 'get over this' submarine deal with time

The acting prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, has just been asked about the whole “French president saying Morrison lied to him” situation.

The Nationals leader says he is going to “back the prime minister” on this one.

There were stories that have been floating around the paper long before the cancellation of the submarine contract. And that’s a really important word – it was a contract.

We didn’t steal an island. We didn’t deface the Eiffel Tower. It was a contract. And contracts have terms and conditions and one of those terms and conditions and propositions is that you might get out of the contract.

We got out of that contract. We got out of it because the best outcome for our nation and the protection of our nation was to go to the platform that we now have, that we’re now going towards building. Now I hope, I hope, that President Macron understands that, ultimately, Australia and France have got so much more in common and so much into the future than a contract which is now in the past.

And you know, [I] understand the sentiment. I understand the views of the French people. And I’m certain that with time, like all things, we can get over this and move on.

Updated

The world’s gone mad! A mammal taking out the New Zealand bird of the year! Heresy.

A heads up to ACT readers, a number of the territory’s Covid-19 hotlines are out of service this morning.

US Open champion Daniil Medvedev said he is eager to play in the Australian Open in January but could not confirm his participation if only players who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 are allowed in Melbourne.

Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews said this week that no unvaccinated players would be permitted to play in the tournament despite prime minister Scott Morrison earlier saying they could compete but only after undergoing a two-week quarantine.

Medvedev refused to disclose his vaccine status and said he preferred to keep his medical records private, a stance similar to that of world No 1 Novak Djokovic.

Ahead of the Paris Masters the world No 2 said:

I always said it, that I really like Novak’s answer about this. I want to keep my medical, no matter if it’s about vaccine, leg injury, head injury... I want to keep my medical private for a reason.

You can read the report below:

Vaccine mandate for ACT disability workers

Canberra disability support workers and community aged care staff will be mandated to get a Covid-19 vaccine, reports Andrew Brown from AAP.

The new public health order in the capital will require workers to have received their first dose by November 15 and be fully vaccinated by December 13.

ACT health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the decision followed a large number of talks with the sector.

It was originally proposed workers would need to be fully vaccinated by November 29 but the mandate was pushed back by two weeks after consultation.

“Stakeholders considered that the ACT’s public health direction should be more consistent with the approach taken with NSW,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

“This is why we have a consultation process and I am confident that the direction to be signed today will meet the needs of the affected sectors while protecting the community.”

Healthcare workers and teachers in the ACT have already been mandated to be fully vaccinated.

More than 92 % of the eligible population aged 12 and over are fully vaccinated in the national capital.

It comes as Canberrans will be able to receive a booster shot from Monday.

People who have had their full course of a vaccine more than six months ago can now get the Pfizer top-up shot at a government clinic, regardless of which brand of vaccine they already had.

Immunocompromised Canberrans have already been able to get a booster shot.

Updated

Modelling reveals likely SA Covid deaths

South Australia could suffer between four and 51 deaths amid a 27% chance of a significant Covid-19 outbreak once the state’s borders open later this month, new modelling shows, reports Tim Dornin from AAP.

The state government has released the data prepared by scientists at the University of Adelaide, who are part of the broader Doherty Institute network, which looked at three potential scenarios.

In the worst of those, which involved dropping local restrictions and also introducing vaccine certificates for high-risk activities, the state could suffer more than 400 deaths.

So far, SA has had four deaths since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.

The Liberal government says it plans to follow scenario one, which allows for the borders to open to fully vaccinated people from 23 November, when the 80 % vaccine target is reached, and keeps all existing health measures, including mask-wearing, in place.

This predicts a 27 % chance of an outbreak, which is defined as “averaging more than 100 cases per day over any three-day period”.

Premier Steven Marshall said:

The modelling shows scenario one is the safest way forward ...

South Australia would be able to safely manage hospital and ICU demand from Covid-19 infections generated in the community as long as there are high testing rates, contact tracing is maintained, and cases and their close contacts are quarantined.

Under scenario two, which drops some local restrictions, SA would have a 64 % chance of an outbreak and under scenario three, the most relaxed, the chance would rise to 84 %.

Under scenario one, hospital demand is considered manageable, with hospital ward occupancy to peak at around 36 beds.

The modelling found there was an extremely small chance of demand exceeding 200 beds.

Peak ICU occupancy is estimated at a median of nine beds with an extremely small chance of demand exceeding 30.

The median prediction for total deaths under this scenario is 13 over 300 days, with a total range between four and 51.

Updated

Australia will reopen quarantine-free entry to fully vaccinated Singaporeans from 21 November.

The new travel agreement follows a meeting between Scott Morrison and the prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rome on Sunday.

The two governments have agreed that Singaporeans departing from Singapore can travel to Australia without having to quarantine after arrival. There will be no requirement to have spent 14 days in Singapore prior to departure.

Last week, Singapore announced Australia would be included in its vaccinated travel lanes arrangements. Fully vaccinated Australians will be able to enter the country without quarantining from 8 November.

You can read the full report below:

Does Dubbo just... not have an airport? Why did they land in a field?

Victoria records 1,471 new Covid-19 cases overnight

The Victorian numbers are in, with the state recording 1,471 cases overnight.

Speaking of uncomfortably close photos of politicians...

Emmanuel Macron has accused the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, of lying to him over an abandoned $90bn submarine contract, in a significant escalation of tensions between Paris and Canberra.

The French president levelled the accusation in impromptu comments to Australian journalists on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome. He said he had a lot of “respect and friendship” for Australia and Australians, but that respect between nations needed to be reciprocated.

“I just say when we have respect, you have to be true and you have to behave in line and consistent with this value,” he said.

When asked whether he thought Morrison had lied to him by not revealing Australia’s secret dialogue with the UK and US over the acquisition of nuclear submarines, a dialogue that ultimately became the Aukus pact, Macron was direct in his response. “I don’t think, I know,” he said.

You can read the full report below:

The former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is speaking in front of Icac again today.

If you want to follow along with all the updates, check out Guardian Australia’s dedicated blog below, captained by the amazing Christopher Knaus and Michael McGowan.

NSW records 135 local covid-19 cases

The NSW Covid numbers are out. The state recorded 135 new local cases overnight.

If you haven’t listened to the “Australia vs the climate” series of Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast, honestly what are you doing!

10 News Journalist Stela Todorovic has disputed Scott Morrison’s claims that Australian journalists were taking “selfies” with French president Emmanuel Macron.

Updated

The Australian defence force has tightened its vetting procedures in a bid to prevent nationalist and racist violent extremists from joining.

The measures, which include better information sharing with the intelligence agency Asio, are driven by concerns that extremists have sought to join the ADF “to obtain training and capability”.

A defence spokesperson told Guardian Australia the organisation: “Works closely with law enforcement and intelligence agencies to understand and mitigate the threat of ideologically motivated extremism to Defence and within Defence.”

The spokesperson said the new framework “improves upon existing information exchange arrangements between Defence and Asio to assess whether someone is a ‘fit and proper person’ to serve.”

You can read the full report below:

Shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has slammed both Morrison’s net-zero by 2050 commitment and his dealings over the French submarine deal in one fell swoop while speaking to ABC Melbourne.

I just think the problem for Mr Morrison is his position at Glasgow is about as sincere as his conversations with the French president.

Updated

New figures will give some idea how Australia’s booming housing market was performing prior to the banking watchdog stepping in last month to tighten loan application rules, reports Colin Brinsden from AAP.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority increased the minimum interest buffer it expects banks to use when assessing the serviceability of home loan applications.

It wants banks to assess applications at a rate three percentage points above the interest rate product being offered rather than 2.5 percentage points previously.

The CoreLogic home value index is released on Monday for October.

Prices were 1.5 per cent higher in September, a marked slowdown from earlier in the year. However the annual rate of more than 20 per cent was the fastest since mid-1989.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will also release lending figures for September.

In August, mortgages to owner occupiers fell 6.6 per cent, while for investors they rose 1.5 per cent.

However, addressing senators last week, APRA chair Wayne Byres said one in five new loans that were approved in the June quarter were at more than six times the borrowers’ income.

“With lockdowns being lifted, and expectations that the economy will bounce back, APRA considered the balance of risks has shifted such that a timely adjustment to serviceability standards was warranted,” Mr Byres said.

The Morrison government has been warned its plan for carbon neutrality by 2050 will fail if it is solely reliant on investing in new technology.

The Grattan Institute’s Towards Net Zero report, released on Monday, has suggested the Australian government would need to pull many other policy levers to reach net zero, including vehicle emissions standards, energy efficiency obligations and rules on use of carbon credits.

The report’s lead author, Tony Wood, suggested that the Morrison government’s net zero plan, announced on Tuesday, failed to show how emissions reduction would be achieved outside the electricity sector.

Scott Morrison will attend the Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow from Monday without an increased 2030 emissions reduction target, despite international pressure from the UK, EU, US and Pacific island nations to significantly increase ambition.

You can read the full report below:

Georgia Steele, the ex-lawyer who is running as an independent in Hughes against the United Australia Party’s Craig Kelly, has spoken to Radio National about the government’s net zero target.

Steele said:

I think the voters are very aware of the government’s significant lack of action on climate change over the last eight years they’ve been in government. I don’t think the Morrison government will get a pat on the back for coming kicking and screaming to the table last.

Liberal MP Katie Allen – who is also likely to face a significant challenge from Labor and possibly an independent over the climate issue – has described the net zero commitment as a game-changer akin to John Howard’s gun reforms.

Steele isn’t having a bar of it:

I have to say I think that’s a little bit optimistic. Katie Allen is obviously a member of the government who made the announcement this week, so it’s not surprising she would say that ...

I think the Liberal government is out of step with what the actual constituents and their community want ...

I’m listening to what people are telling me about their extreme disappointment and even exasperation on climate change. I’m confident they’re looking for an alternative to step up and force the government, whoever that might be, to take positive, active steps on climate action.

Steele said Australia is in an “unbelievable position” to benefit from the transition to renewable energy but is letting the opportunity “pass us by”.

Updated

Rowland:

OK, I’ll put it this way. Pre-selections for Liberal seats open on Friday, including his seat of Kew. Do you support Tim Smith standing again, being again pre-selected as a Liberal MP by the party, given what’s happened?

Frydenberg:

Well, he will make his own decisions about ...

Rowland:

But you carry a lot of weight. As you and I both know, you carry a lot of sway in that particular part of Melbourne. Do you, Josh Frydenberg, support Tim Smith staying on as a Victorian MP?

Frydenberg:

Well, Tim has still got a lot of work to do to represent his own community, even though he’s not in shadow cabinet. But those deliberations and those decisions are matters for him ...

Events like this, actions like this, do have consequences. And in his own political career, it’s seen him resign his position straightaway from the shadow cabinet. And that was the right thing to do. And no one is condoning that conduct. It’s completely unacceptable and it’s dangerous, and he’s made a strong statement to that effect.

But as for his future, no doubt he will take some time to reflect on that.

Updated

Michael Rowland:

Before you go, Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith – a good friend of yours, as it turns out – drove drunk over the weekend. He was nearly three times the legal limit. He crashed into a car and into a house in Melbourne. He’s already quit the Victorian shadow cabinet. Does he deserve to stay in the Victorian parliament as an MP, given what he did?

Frydenberg:

Well, he made the right decision to resign from the shadow cabinet. And no doubt he will consider his own future. But my comments about drink driving would be the same whether it’s friend or foe, alike. It’s clearly unacceptable. It’s clearly dangerous. Thank goodness, in this instance, nobody was injured.

But there is a very powerful lesson to everyone watching your program today: Do not get behind the wheel if you have been drinking. It endangers not just your life, it endangers others. And these events have consequences. And as we’ve seen, they’ve already had consequences for Tim Smith.

Rowland:

Should Tim Smith be considering his future in politics?

Frydenberg:

Well, again, he no doubt will take some time to consider his future. But what I can say is that he’s made a very strong statement accepting the errors of his own judgement, and thank goodness in this case nobody was injured. But drink driving by anyone in our community is clearly unacceptable and is dangerous.

Updated

Here is the treasurer on international borders in NSW and Victoria opening:

It’s a day for celebration. The fact that Australians can move more freely in and out of our country without home quarantine, if they’re double-vaccinated.

The fact that you can move more freely between Melbourne and the regions, or Sydney and their regions. Whether you can also now move more freely between New South Wales and Victoria. All of this is good news for our economy. We’ve seen an additional $150 million a day being spent across New South Wales and Victoria since the restrictions have eased, and we’ve also seen ticket sales for airline travel going gangbusters.

Qantas says that they’ve sold half a million tickets in the last two weeks alone. That compares to selling just 20,000 tickets over a 2-week period in August. Jetstar has sold 75,000 international seats in the last 72 hours. And we also know Virgin has had very strong sales. So, that’s all gonna be good news for our economy, and it’s certainly gonna see families and friends reunited ahead of Christmas.

Updated

Frydenberg:

[France’s] disappointment is obvious, and it’s understandable too. I mean, this was a large defence contract that they were hoping to see through to completion, but it’s not going to happen that way – because of the Aukus arrangement.

With respect to the next steps, well, the prime minister and the president will, you know, no doubt talk about those in subsequent conversations. But we’re thinking about how to build that partnership back, the areas of activity where we can continue to cooperate.

France is an important player in the Indo-Pacific and our trading relationship is very important, worth nearly $8 billion a year. So there are opportunities for us going forward, but clearly there is real disappointment on the French side and there’s no hiding that.

Updated

Here is the treasurer Josh Frydenberg on ABC. His job this week seems to be mopping up Morrison’s mess from across the pond.

Just to recap, French president Emmanuel Macron says Morrison lied about backing out of the submarine deal. Morrison says he never lied.

Host Michael Rowland:

Do you believe Emmanuel Macron is lying? Somebody is not telling the truth here.

Frydenberg:

Well, the prime minister has made it very clear that he refutes those claims that have been made.

He’s also said, in other statements, that the French knew that we were considering various options and that that contract wouldn’t necessarily meet our strategic and national interests.

The partnership with Aukus ... hopefully will be a very fruitful and long-standing one in a broad range of areas. And so France and Australia again have been, historically, good friends and allies.

And as you know, we have participated side by side with them in many activities, and we hope to continue to do so in the future.

It’s a positive step forward that the prime minister and the French president have spoken, but there’s clearly a lot of work still to be done.

Updated

Here are some more photos from Sydney airport this morning.

Stay tuned while I google quote from Love Actually to add to these.

Ethan Carter arrives from LA
Ethan Carter arrives from LA, on his way to visit mother Joy in Perth. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian
A family reunited
A family reunited. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Updated

Tearful reunions at Sydney airport

Sydney airport has been a scene of tearful family reunions this morning, with Australians able to fly home and walk straight out of the airport for the first time in 583 days.

As fully vaccinated passengers on the first flights from Singapore and Los Angeles walked into the arrivals terminal shortly after 6am, they were greeted by family members.

In many cases, they had been separated for years – since before the pandemic began. Returning Australians were handed Tim Tams and hakea pincushion flowers as they made their way through a crowd of media.

“I’ve got to get to my daughter, I’ve got to hold her,” one mother said as she pushed past reporters to embrace her daughter. They hugged for about a minute.

Other passengers told Guardian Australia their Qantas flight from Los Angeles had only about 70 passengers.

Updated

Here is Scott Morrison on his tense relationship with Emmanuel Macron, this morning:

It will be some time, I think, to go down this process. But we’ve begun it. We’ve spoken several times over the last couple of days.

I’m sure we’ll speak a bit more before I head back to Australia. But let me be very clear. The decision I have taken as prime minister, that my government has taken, was in Australia’s national interest.

I don’t resile from it for one second. These decisions are difficult. Of course, it has caused disappointment and it has caused an impact on the relationship with France.

But I’m not going to put that interest higher than Australia’s national interest, and I don’t think any Australian would expect me to do the same.

Updated

There’s a lot of hugging happening at Sydney airport this morning …

An international traveller is embraced as she arrives at Sydney airport
An international traveller is embraced as she arrives at Sydney airport. Photograph: Jaimi Joy/Reuters
A traveller returns
Fully vaccinated Australians are being allowed into Sydney from overseas without quarantine for the first time since March 2020. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian
A family reunited
A family reunited. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
Qantas staff hold welcome signs
Qantas staff hold welcome signs. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/EPA

Updated

Speaking of the G20 conference, it has failed to produce much in the way of ambitious climate commitments, leaving Cop26 to do the heavy lifting.

Connie Hedegaard, the host of the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit has told ABC radio she is disappointed with the results.

Wait, did you say you would like to watch that full exchange via uncomfortably close iPhone footage? I got you!

Here is Emmanuel Macron accusing Scott Morrison of lying:

Now we cut to the reporter you can see filming in the background.

Updated

Good morning

Good morning, everyone! After two gruelling weeks of parliament with Amy Remeikis, it’s Matilda Boseley here back on deck, bringing you all the updates from Australia this morning.

We start the blog at the airport, where after nearly 20 months, international travellers have been allowed to touch down in Sydney without quarantining for the first time.

That’s right, the international border has opened (in Victoria and NSW at least) on a landmark day in Australia’s Covid-19 response. From Monday fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents will no longer have to undergo 14 days in hotel or home quarantine, so long as they provide a negative Covid-19 test within the 72 hours of departure and another 24 hours after arrival.

Flights from Singapore, LA and Tokyo have already touched down in NSW and Victoria’s first plane from Singapore is due to land later this morning.

Speaking of international travel, Scott Morrison has just finished up at the G20 in Rome and is on his way to Glasgow for the Cop26 climate conference.

But his trip to Europe doesn’t seem to have mended Australia’s fractured relationship with France, with President Emmanuel Macron accusing Morrison of lying about Australia’s intentions to withdraw from the two country’s submarine contract.

Here’s what he said to Australian reporters just hours ago:

I think it’s very bad news for the credibility of Australia and very bad news. Great partnership we could have had with Australia. I had a direct discussion with prime minister Scott Morrison about this issue ...

I mean, we have to unearth this common path and common values. But I think you can have disagreement. I do respect sovereign choices. But you have to respect allies and partners. And it was not the case with this dealing.

Reporter:

Do you think he lied to you?

Macron:

I don’t think. I know.

OK, with that, why don’t we jump into the news of the day?There is certainly plenty going on!

Updated

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