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

Scott Morrison says ‘can do capitalism’ will lead climate action – as it happened

What we learned today, Wednesday 10 November

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

  • Former prime minister Paul Keating was at the National Press Club, and said Australia “has lost its way” and that the government’s submarine deal was ‘a handful of toothpicks at the mountain.’
  • The Theraputic Goods Administration announced it has granted provisional determination to Moderna, to allow it to apply to have its vaccine used in children aged 6-11 years old.
  • Accused Sydney drug smuggler and fugitive Mostafa Baluch has been re-captured after more than two weeks on the run.
  • Prime minister Scott Morrison doubled down on his climate action plan, saying his government’s policy will be “can do capitalism” not “don’t do” government policy.
  • He also told the Victorian chamber of commerce that international students should be able to return to Victorian by the end of the year.
  • Labor’s Chris Bowen called the government’s proposed new emission reduction fund “all spin and politics”.
  • Victoria recorded 1,003 new cases today and 14 deaths. NSW recorded 216 new cases and three deaths. Queensland recorded three new cases.
  • The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners called for urgent action to ramp up vaccination rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Updated

The parents of the man shot dead by NSW police yesterday have spoken out, saying they are “shocked and appalled” by the shooting.

Gomeroi man Stanley Russell, 46, a father and grandfather, was shot yesterday after what a police spokesperson described as a “physical confrontation” at the house, where they had gone to execute a warrant.

His parents, Ted and Helen Russell, spoke out about their grief and loss:

We are shocked and appalled by the shooting by New South Wales police of our second son Stanley Russell yesterday morning when he was inside his Aunty Pam’s house in Seven Hills.

It is terribly painful for us to learn suddenly that we will never see Stanley’s smile again. His children will suffer from never seeing him again.

There are many questions about the killing of our son Stanley by police that we will seek to have answered through the coronial inquest. We will keep going in our struggle for justice, to ensure that deaths in custody must stop.

You can read more on the story from Lorena Allam and Nino Bucci at the link below:

Updated

The Victorian anti-corruption commission is calling for anyone with information about the alleged sharing of a photograph of the former AFL coach Dani Laidley to come forward.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, which oversees the Victorian police force, made the call after the Age published a story on Tuesday that revealed allegations of officers sharing an image of Laidley attending a country race meeting. The image was accompanied by transphobic comments, the article said.

Victorian police officers have been charged in relation to sharing a separate photo of Laidley when she was in custody last year.

Ibac said in a statement that it was:

Appealing to anyone who may have information in relation to allegations a photograph taken of former AFL coach Dani Laidley at Geelong Racecourse was shared by Victoria Police officers via text message alongside transphobic comments.The unsolicited photograph was allegedly taken at the Ballan Cup, held at Geelong Racecourse on Saturday 6 November.

Ibac is asking any member of the public or police personnel who witnessed the photo being taken, or has information about the photo in a text message being sent or received, to contact Ibac.

Updated

Cases involving high-risk family violence are far more common than previously thought, according to data released by the federal circuit and family court.

Half of cases triaged as part of a pilot project included four or more risk categories, the court says.

Chief justice Will Alstergren used the release of the data to call for national funding of the program that helped uncover it, which is known as the Lighthouse Project.

Alstergren said in a statement:

The increased prevalence of risk in family law cases makes it critical that the project be extended nationally to ensure risks are appropriately managed in all locations, including regional Australia to ensure safer outcomes for all vulnerable parties and children involved in family law disputes.

Alstergren singled out Launceston, Newcastle, Wollongong and Townsville, where more than two-thirds of litigants said they had been exposed to family violence, as places where the project should be permanently funded.

Initial court data taken at the point of cases being filed showed:

  • 54% of parties allege a child has been abused or is at risk of abuse
  • 64% of parties allege they have experienced family violence
  • 57% of parties allege a child has experienced family violence
  • 39% of parties allege that drug, alcohol or substance misuse has caused harm or poses a risk of harm to a child
  • 40% of parties allege that the mental ill-health of a party has caused harm or poses a risk of harm to a child

Hayley Foster, the CEO of Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia, said:

There is now undeniable evidence that the majority of family law matters involve high risk family violence and abuse. The Lighthouse [Project] is changing the way in which the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is handling these matters, putting safety first in family law. But it’s not uniformly available across Australia. It’s time we expanded the pilot to make it national.

More information about the project is here.

Updated

The Bureau of Meteorology is urging people across Victoria to prepare for severe weather toward the end of the week, with Friday and Saturday expected to see the heaviest rainfall.

Western Australia has recorded no new cases today, with 66.4% of the state’s eligible population now fully vaccinated.

Following on from Matt Kean’s comments, NSW opposition leader Chris Minns also appeared on the ABC this afternoon, and largely backed the state government’s climate policies.

Asked if there needs to be a more ambitious target for state government, Minns gave a diplomatic answer:

We support it, we think it is appropriate.

Australia has been pretty terrible at electric vehicle uptake, we required no lease operators or large purchases of electric vehicles to have any particular requirements when they go about their purchasing strategy, and as a result it’s often been dumped on the Australian market over the last 10 years.

So it’s good the New South Wales government has got an incentive in place, they’ve already rolled out about half $1bn for electric vehicle charging stations particularly in the regions which is important as people move towards electric vehicles.

And I think that in some ways, and a small way we are seeing changes from the federal government, we need to keep going further, [but] states have obviously led the way, in New South Wales in particular.

Asked if the federal Labor party should release its midterm targets, Minns was more avoidant:

I don’t want to, I guess, jump in front of what will be the federal Labor policy proposal.

I’m sure it will be in keeping with the obligations that every political party has to meet these climate change goals and to ensure that we’ve got realistic targets but ambitious targets that can be met over the coming decades. We need these things entrenched not just in law but obviously in a ranges of policy decisions because it is not just going to have to be the heavy lifting of the NSW government or the state Government in Victoria, it will require federal leadership for us to meet our obligations.

Updated

New South Wales treasurer and minister for energy and environment Matt Kean was on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing earlier, and had some choice words about the commonwealth’s EV plan.

Asked about the federal government’s EV “plan”, and if it was a “chance missed”, Kean tried to keep it economical:

Put it this way. We are spending $600m to ensure that New South Wales consumers can enjoy all the benefits that this new technology has to offer.

Compare that to the commonwealth who are spending $250m across the entire country. So the proof is in the pudding.

Asked what he thought of the PM facing questions about his own rhetoric about EVs in the leadup to the 2019 election, Kean tried to dodge the question without dodging the question:

Look, what I do know as someone that drives an EV is it won’t ruin their weekend, they will make it even better. That will revolutionise not just the weekend but every single day of the week.

That is a matter for the prime minister, but what I say as someone that drives an EV is that they are a great product, they are good for the environment and cheaper to run and we want to see those advantages rolled out so everyone who wants one can afford one.

NSW minister for energy and the environment, Matt Kean (centre), with Andrew Constance (left) and Dominic Perrottet, inspect electric cars at Carriageworks in Sydney in June.
NSW minister for energy and the environment, Matt Kean (centre), with Andrew Constance (left) and Dominic Perrottet, inspect electric cars at Carriageworks in Sydney in June. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Updated

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) is recommending mandating vaccines for all disability support workers, adding that all first doses should be administered by the end of November.

In a statement that also details their recommended national definition of a disability support worker, the AHPPC recommended the vaccine be mandate for all workers delivering at-home services as well.

AHPPC notes mandating of vaccination for disability support workers providing services and supports to people with disability provides an important protection for people with disability during this emergency.

The committee also recommended that exemptions be “limited” and “consistent with the national framework endorsed by AHPPC for residential aged care workers.”

The group, which is made up of the country’s chief medical officers, said vaccinations should become a condition of entry into the homes of NDIS recipients.

TGA says Moderna can apply to give vaccine to children

The Theraputic Goods Administration has announced it has granted provisional determination to Moderna, to allow it to apply to have its vaccine used in children aged 6-11 years old.

The granting of the determination means Moderna can apply for provisional approval for the vaccine use in children, not that its use has been approved immediately.

In a statement, the TGA said it considered both the clinical data in relation to the use of the vaccine in children, as well as the impacts the pandemic was having on children’s education:

In making its decision to grant Moderna a provisional determination, the TGA considered evidence of a plan to submit comprehensive clinical data in relation to use in children. The TGA also considered infections in children and the impacts of COVID-19 in relation to children’s participation in school and sporting activities.

Updated

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) are warning that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities are facing elevated risk as the country opens up.

The RACGP said that vaccine rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities continue to “lag behind non-Indigenous populations”.

They said only 54.5% of eligible adults among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are fully vaccinated, and 66.2% have received one dose, compared to the double-vaccinated rate of all Australians, which sits at 80.6%.

RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health chair, Prof Peter O’Mara said it was essential that governments ramp up outreach and vaccination programs:

The fact that there remains a serious gap in vaccine coverage between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people in our country is a national shame.

We urgently need to ramp up vaccine access and education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly for younger community members and certain jurisdictions, including Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, which we know are really lagging behind.

We have already seen devastating outbreaks in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly in the eastern states, despite the considerable work that went into ensuring these communities were isolated from the virus.

A pop-up Covid-19 vaccination clinic at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, Sydney.
A pop-up Covid-19 vaccination clinic at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, Sydney. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Updated

So, earlier today, the Australian government has ranked dead last by the Climate Change Performance Index for its response to the climate crisis.

The assessment looked at the climate response of 60 countries, and the current government’s lack of policies, high per capita greenhouse gas emissions, weak targets, low levels of renewables and high levels of energy use.

Australia slipped four places on the index from last year, and was the only country allocated a score of zero in the climate policy category.

You can read more on the assessment in the story from Graham Readfearn, linked below:

WA police have confirmed the arrest of two men after they allegedly drove through a border checkpoint.

In a statement, police say a 17-year-old male driver and his 24-year-old male passenger were attempting to return to WA by road from NSW, via Victoria and South Australia, but his G2G pass had been rejected multiple times for “failing to meet the threshold to be granted entry from an ‘Extreme Risk’ location”.

A subsequent G2G Pass application was accepted on 7 November, suggesting he had been in South Australia for the previous fortnight.

They attempted to cross the border on Monday and were turned around. Police say the car returned later that day, and attempted to drive through the checkpoint.

About 6:25pm the same vehicle re-attended the checkpoint and it will be alleged the vehicle was driven through the checkpoint at high speed, failing to stop for police.

The vehicle was later located about 20km east of Norseman. The two occupants were arrested without incident and have been tested for COVID-19.

Both men have been charged with three counts of Fail to Comply with a Direction.

Updated

The Australian Aged Care Collaboration (AACC) is urging the Victorian government to rethink its decision to allow unvaccinated visitors to residential aged care homes.

The state government eased the restrictions on visitors on 29 October, allowing each aged care resident up to five visitors per day, as well as allowing unvaccinated visitors, as long as they avoided common areas and visited outdoors or in the resident’s room.

But the AACC, along with Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) and Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) have raised concerns at the decisions.

The AACC said in a statement they had written to chief health officer Brett Sutton, seeking a meeting on the matter.

The AACC has written to the Victoria Chief Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton seeking a meeting as a matter of urgency. The AACC is a group of six aged care peak bodies representing more than 1000 aged care providers delivering care to nearly a million older Australians.

None of us want to experience the high rate of disease in facilities again given the traumatic experience in Victoria last year.

There are still high rates of community transmission in Victoria and even though the workforce and a high proportion of residents are vaccinated the presence of unvaccinated visitors poses too much of a risk particularly to vulnerable older residents.

Vaccination is one of the most important defences available to protect our older Australians. We therefore, urge the Victorian Government to reconsider this position.

NSW, the ACT and South Australia only allow fully vaccinated people to visit at aged care facilities.

Updated

Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, taking the blog into the evening. Before we dive in, a quick thanks to Josh Taylor and Matilda Boseley for their work this morning.

And with that, I will hand you over to my excellent colleague, Mostafa Rachwani, who will take you through the next little while.

Canberra hospitals are now free of active Covid-19 patients for the first time since the beginning of the Delta outbreak in the ACT, AAP reports.

It comes as the national capital recorded nine new cases in the latest reporting period.

ACT health authorities reported there were no Covid-19 patients in the territory’s hospitals, the first time the milestone has occurred since Canberra went into lockdown in mid-August.

Vaccination levels have risen to 95.6% of over-12s being fully vaccinated.

The territory’s high vaccination rates have led to the easing of restrictions being brought forward by two weeks.

From Friday, visitor limits to households will be scrapped, density caps will be lowered in hospitality and retail, stadiums and entertainment venues will be able to open at 100% capacity, and nightclubs will be allowed to open their doors.

There are now 150 active cases in the Canberra community.

Testing levels remained relatively high, with 1,910 tests conducted on Tuesday.

Canberra hospital in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
Canberra hospital in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

The federal government is attempting to lead new “super-secret” evidence against Bernard Collaery in the Timor-Leste spying case, prompting fury from Collaery and warnings from a supreme court judge that it may cause a “perpetual vortex” of delay and secrecy.

Collaery, a barrister charged for his role in exposing Australia’s bugging of Timor-Leste, won a major victory last month, when the ACT court of appeal overturned orders shrouding much of his looming trial in secrecy.

The court found the risk posed to national security by hearing the case in public was minimal, while open justice was crucial in deterring “political prosecutions”, among other things.

On Wednesday, however, lawyers for attorney general Michaelia Cash told the ACT supreme court that they wanted to introduce “updated” evidence about the national security risks posed by hearing aspects of the Collaery case openly.

They argued the national security situation had changed significantly in the 20 months that it has taken for Colleary’s appeal to be heard and resolved.

The government now wants to produce new “court-only evidence” – evidence only the judge can see, and not Collaery – on the security risks. It wants to appoint its own special counsel, paid for by the commonwealth, to examine the material on behalf of Collaery.

Collaery’s barrister, Christopher Ward, SC, criticised the move as a “carte-blanche” attempt to reopen the case by leading fresh evidence.

“It’s described gently as being updated evidence, but it’s fresh evidence, your honour,” he said.

The process that the commonwealth want to take to get the new evidence before the court would take months and may trigger another appeal, extending the timetable further.

Justice David Mossop questioned whether there would ever be an end to the case, if the attorney general wanted to continually produce new evidence updating the court on new developments in national security.

“Is there any prospect of this matter ever being completed? Or will we be stuck in a perpetual vortex of updating,” he said. “You may not want to answer that but I’m just telling you what I think, and perhaps thinking out loud a little too much.”

Outside of court, Collaery slammed the move, saying he was wholly opposed to the commonwealth relying on new “super-secret evidence” that was kept from him and his lawyers.

This takes the commonwealth’s hypocritical obsession with secrecy to new heights when one considers recent events.

I strongly object to the court being given and relying on evidence we can’t see. It’s a shameful mockery of open justice.

Updated

Pretty wet across much of Australia today, as hinted by this recent satellite image from Japan’s Himawari satellite.

Satellite image of Australia on 10/11/2021
Satellite image of Australia on 10/11/2021 Photograph: Supplied

Flooding is possible across five states and territories in coming days, as we have already seen in those pics of flooding near Alice Springs earlier today on this blog.

Emergency services are gearing up for quite a lot of flooding, according to internal details circulated to staff about “potential adverse weather”.

The deep low pressure system moving across the continent is interacting with very humid tropical air, and watch out behind it because some chilling winds are coming and snowfalls in alpine areas of southern NSW are possible.

For NSW at least the ranges, western slopes and plains and the north-east are likely to cop the heaviest falls. Some areas will top 150mm and require some record refreshing for November totals, the internal information states.

Mind you, there’s a lot in the public domain too, including a lengthy list of areas in NSW facing the prospect of widespread flooding, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

BoM’s national warnings include flood risks in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland, along with the ACT and NSW.

The risks have been amplified by previous falls making catchments pretty saturated to start with, and more than a few major inland dams close to full if they are not already.

Thunderstorm activity, which is harder to predict precisely, carries the threat of flash flooding but also hailstones, if you’re unlikely enough to be under one.

And we mentioned here yesterday, most of us can expect a wetter than usual few months to come.

Updated

Keating then stated the US misunderstands its role in our region:

The US is still pretending to be the security guarantee of Asia, not just the Atlantic, despite the fact that China is already 1.25 times larger and will soon be two times larger. What it should be is this, the United States should be the guarantor and the leader of the west, it should be the balancer and consolidator.

I’d bring you more, but the ABC just cut away from the Keating interview to analyse the Keating interview. My colleague, Daniel Hurst, who was there, should have more soon.

Updated

When asked whether Australia should be concerned that Chinese president Xi Jinping is effectively president for life, Keating says he would like to see Chinese leaders have 10-year term limits, but stresses that western nations do not understand the mindset in China:

China is broadly a Confucian society that believes in harmony, in authority and it is with this background that it accepts, I think broadly, the role of the Chinese Communist party. I mean, the idea that we have, if you don’t vote local ballot box, that is, if you are not a Jeffersonian liberal, then you are a savage, it belies the fact that China has a 4,000-year history which has these characteristics about it.

He says Xi has been at war against corruption, but says that does not excuse the use of facial recognition technology or attempts to control the internet and the content on the internet.

But nevertheless, there is a background in Chinese society which is about harmony, which has a Confucian basis to it, we don’t understand in the west and we have never had in the west. Does all that add up to mean, this guy is better with another term? I don’t think it does.

University students display the flag of the Communist party of China to mark the party’s 100th anniversary.
University students display the flag of the Communist party of China to mark the party’s 100th anniversary. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Keating was asked about the destruction of sacred sites, with regard to the Native Title Act, but he didn’t want to go into too much detail except to say he was proud of the legislation.

I’m proud of the Native Title Act and every political skill and heft I had took every effort to get that through. Indigenous Australians now have, correct me if I’m wrong, but about 67% title to the landscape of Australia. And through that title, they enjoy autonomy and overtime wealth. 200 years after we stole the titles from them. There is no doubt, I mean, I’ve made speeches in the past about reversing the onus on native title, native title groups not having to prove that they have unbroken association with the land, is a more literal translation of this by the high court since is said, by and large, we did make a lot of progress with the Native Title Act but I don’t think this is the time for me to discuss it, thank you.

Updated

In response to a question from my colleague, Daniel Hurst, on how Australia can have a sensible relationship with China while also speaking up on human rights issues in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang, Keating says Australia should always reserve its right to speak out on human rights issues, but it can’t be the only conversation:

You can speak powerfully about the rights of citizens of these countries, but it can’t be the whole conversation. That doesn’t displace the wider country to country nation to nation conversation about the states.

In other words, you can’t let human rights discussions completely supplant the relationship between the countries.

Updated

Keating says while there is no doubt that China is more authoritarian with surveillance, but at the same time it wants to be part of the world, and contrasted it with the ongoing fracturing in the US.

He says China is seeking to have the extremes of wealth moderated, and have platforms like Facebook, Google and others “operating in a socially good way.”.

He says he believes, authoritarianism aside, that China “will become a more civil society than the United States.”

There were 83 school shootings in America since 2018. Eighty-three. Eighty-three people carried guns around. I mean, it is a crazy land. Twenty-four schools get attacked by shooters every year in the United States. It is not civil. You saw what Donald Trump did, trying to overturn the election. You still have a big bowl of Republicans that still believe that the current president was not legally elected – a big bunch of Republicans. A great challenge for the United States is for its re- modernisation.

Updated

Keating says Australia treated France, the only European nuclear power “appallingly” and suggests the government had other reasons for not continuing with France and seeking nuclear submarines.

This is all about, what young guy that works ... Andrew Shearer? This is Andrew Shearer? Well, can’t wait to get the staplers back onto the Americans and you have the ambassador, a local Sydney genius telling us now, no. Why would we need submarines in defence of Australia that are able to stand off the Chinese coast 13 flying hours away if it is not to attack Chinese naval assets?

When you start attacking Chinese assets you are a different state. The Chinese, is hard nosed as they are, Australia have these Collins submarines, but they are not in our field, we are not going down there. We don’t care. No, no, no, no, we have a better story for you. We are going to get nuclear attack American submarines and we will hunt your submarines down into the shallow waters of your continental plate. Beauty. Beauty.

Updated

Submarines project 'a handful of toothpicks at the mountain'

Former prime minister Paul Keating has called the federal government’s planned submarine project under Aukus “a handful of toothpicks at the mountain” and will be “very old boats” when they’re ready by 2040:

Eight submarines against China in 20 years time, a handful of toothpicks at the mountain. Kim Beazley and I ... built the Collins. I built the Anzac frigates, they were built for the defence of Australia.

Their range was to stop any incoming vessels, military vessels against us. What Arthur is talking about is our attack class submarines to contain Chinese submarines, hunter killer submarines and knock them out. What has that got to do with the defence of Australia and what possible impact could we have militarily with eight submarines Arthur Sinodinos?

These submarines were designed in the 1990s. By the time we have half a dozen of them, it will be 2035, they will be 60 years old. In other words, our new submarines will be old tech, like buying an old 747. And here we are, we’re going to wait 20 odd years to get the first one and 35 to 40 years to get the lot. For what will be then very old boats.

He says the French nuclear submarines would have been the newest in the world.

If we were unhappy with diesels, the obvious choice was the most modern submarine in the drawing board, which is the French nuclear submarine. No no, we are rushing over, this has the Liberal party fingerprint all over it, they’re going to rush back to the Americans, to a data design but the whole point of these hunter killer submarines is to round up the Chinese nuclear submarines and keep them in the shallow waters of the Chinese continental shelf before they get to the Mariana Trench and become invisible. To stop them having nuclear capability towards the United States.

Updated

Keating also referred to ABC’s Insiders as “a peak-a-boo show for insomniacs”. Just so you know.

What should be done to repair the China relationship? Keating says China wants acknowledgement of the validity of how far it has come.

What do we leave them with? Do we hang around in poverty five families to a little house, one toilet, bad sanitation, no education for 20% of humanity? Twenty percent of humanity drags themselves out of poverty and we say ‘No, no, this is not right, you’ve got to stay in the mud. Know your place, stay down there in the mud’ and the Chinese say, ‘Hang on, it’s taken us 40 years to get the $10,000 per head, isn’t that good for you, isn’t it good for us, isn’t it good for Australia and the world? Cheaper goods, buying your iron ore, selling a cheap, flatscreen TVs, all the rest, isn’t that good? Isn’t it better the 20% of humanity is dragged out of poverty?’

We should say yes. I think what the Chinese want is acknowledgement of the validity of what they have done and what they have created. The legitimacy of the rise of China from its colonial past and from poverty.

Updated

Keating says Taiwan is “not a vital Australian interest” and Australia should not be involved in military engagement over Taiwan.

The first point is, Taiwan is not a vital Australian interest, let me repeat that, Taiwan is not a vital Australian interest. We have no alliance with Taipei, none. There is no document you can find. We do not recognise it as a sovereign state right? And under Anzus, Anzus commits us under an attack on US forces but not by US forces. We are committed under Anzus to an attack on US forces but not an attack by US forces which means Australia should not be drawn in my view into a military engagement over Taiwan, US sponsored or otherwise. As Xi Jinping said otherwise recently, we will try to resolve this harmoniously.

He says the only time China attacks or gets involved with Taiwan is if the Americans and Taiwanese try to declare a change of status of Taiwan, and if it stays as is, then things will be harmonious.

Former prime minister Paul Keating appears virtually to address the National Press Club in Canberra.
Former prime minister Paul Keating appears virtually to address the National Press Club in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Keating says China will do a great deal to bring stability into the Asia region, and the US must be a part of that – the US cannot do it alone.

He questions when the “ning-nongs” at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age will notice this.

Updated

Keating says the debate about China in Australia is not the full view because it is “informed by spooks”:

It’s informed, our foreign policy debate now in Canberra is informed by the security agencies. You are not getting a macro view. A macro view of what China really is. China wants its front doorstep and front porch, that is Taiwan, the sea, it doesn’t want American naval forces influencing.

Keating slams the G7 meetings, and the Glasgow conference for the absence of China and Russia, and reiterates his point that Australia is losing its way in seeking security through other parts of the world:

My point is that, China is now so big and it is going to grow so large, it will have no precedents in modern social economic history and is therefore our challenge is to have the United States remain as a balancing and conciliatory power in Asia which I’ve said over and over again but haven’t come to a point of accommodation where it acknowledges China’s preeminence in East Asia and the Asian mainland, in which case, we can start to move towards a sensible relationship again with China.

If they are in the root phase, they are in the adolescent phase of their diplomacy, they have testosterone running everywhere, the Chinese, but we have to deal with them because their power will be so profoundly in this part of the world. So, you know, here we are, running to Cornwall, to find our security in Asia. I mean, really.

We are at odds with our geography and we have lost our way.

Updated

Keating makes the point Australia is the central part of Southeast Asian Nations, and cannot pretend otherwise:

The thing is ... The area that matters most to Australia, the area which should be our strategic habitat is the Indonesian archipelago. Across the northern reaches of Australia, a central part of Asean. This should be and in my time as prime minister is where I focus in particular, and others as well but particularly myself.

This is where we matter most but instead of that we have got this sort of fiction, this thing called the Indo-Pacific like a big rectangular box, India, Japan and another was we are not focusing on the middle of the box which is Indonesia and Asean. It is like a see-saw in the park. We are not in the pivot at the middle but on the wobbly ends. This is just a fiction.

There is no way India is going to fight itself with any naval military flotilla in the South China Sea to protect us from China, unless the Chinese somehow turn in a big position in the Indian Ocean. If the Chinese are not in the Indian Ocean, there is no way the Indians will be in the South China Sea.

Updated

Former PM Paul Keating says Australia 'has lost its way'

Former prime minister Paul Keating is at the National Press Club for the first time in 26 years, in conversation with Laura Tingle.

The focus of his discussion is on Australia’s place in our region, which was something he was very focused on as prime minister. He says Australia “is now very much at odds with its geography and it has lost its way.”

He said:

We are still trying to find our security from Asia rather than in Asia so here we have the prime minister going back to Cornwall, where James Cook had left 245 years earlier and where Arthur Phillip and the first fleet had left 233 years earlier. Here we are, they, to find our security from Asia. The ignominy of it speaks volumes. We have the capacity to enjoy the region, be part of the region and to celebrate the fact we have been here.

Updated

Progressive activist group GetUp is releasing a poll on Wednesday afternoon that shows overwhelming support for a robust federal integrity commission.

The UComms poll of 1,472 voters found more than 85% of voters support a national anti-corruption watchdog, including more than 74% of Coalition voters.

The polling found that recent political scandals, such as Christian Porter’s resignation from the ministry over a blind trust that funded his legal fees, had seen support for a national anti-corruption watchdog increase among more than 50% of voters, including more than 31% of Coalition voters.

The Coalition has pledged to pass a national integrity commission in this term of government, and the attorney general is currently refining an earlier proposed bill that was slammed as a “toothless tiger”.

Critics, including some Liberal MPs, want the legislation toughened up to include public hearings and to allow members of the public to refer matters for investigation.

At the same time, a separate federal integrity commission bill being backed by independent MP Helen Haines and senator Rex Patrick has also been introduced to parliament.

The GetUp poll finds more than 77% of voters support a national anti-corruption watchdog being able to hold public hearings, while more than 83% of voters agree that members of the public should be able to refer cases to a national anti-corruption watchdog.

Overall, 46% of people say supporting a federal integrity commission would be “very important” at the next election, including 28% of coalition voters.

Updated

With that, I shall hand you over to the amazing Josh Taylor who will take you through the rest of the day’s news.

See ya, everyone! Tweet me if any other politicians don a hard hat while I’m away.

Updated

The premier is speaking from Cherbourg, an Indigenous community north of Brisbane.

Cherbourg mayor, Elvie Sandow, says social media misinformation has been a significant obstacle when trying to get vaccination rates up.

There’s a whole heap of reasons why. Religious reasons, social media doesn’t help.

And you know, it’s our job to make it happen here and change the mindsets of our people.

Updated

One of Queensland’s deputy chief health officers has confirmed that the infected Warwick man was unvaccinated and active in the community potentially for 10 days.

The gentleman at the Gold Coast, a 32-year-old man, is in a hospital now and he was possibly infectious in the community for up to six days. The contact tracers are working very hard to identify any locations, any exposure and to contact anyone who may be a close contact. What we know so far is that three family members who are close contacts and one of those is a health worker, those people so far have tested negative...

Similarly for the case in Warwick, unfortunately, that person was not vaccinated and that person identifies as First Nations and they were infectious in the community for up to 10 days and again we will be posting if there are any exposure sites that you need to be concerned about.

If you have been to those locations, please do go and get tested. If you’re in the Gold Coast or in the Warwick area or have been south of the border into that Moree area, if you have any symptoms at all.

Updated

Queensland records three new local Covid-19 cases

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has confirmed that the state has recorded not just one, but three new local Covid cases.

The first is an infected 32-year-old Gold Coast man. He may have been in the community while infectious for up to six days and is currently unlinked to any known outbreaks.

The second case is detected in Warwick. Now, we need to make sure that the residents of Warwick are also getting vaccinated and getting tested. They have been potentially infectious in the community for 10 days and they attended the event in Moree. So we know where that link is. We do not know at this stage where the case from the Gold Coast has come from...

The third case is detected in hotel quarantine and we are not concerned about that. Recent travel from Melbourne and not infectious on the flight and was fully vaccinated.

Updated

Okay, but Tasmania/Western Australia rivalry wasn’t something I had on my 2021 bingo cards.

Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese is about to start his press conference in Sydney today. I’ll bring you any noteworthy updates!

Updated

New Zealand records 147 new Covid-19 cases

New Zealand has announced 147 new cases of Covid-19 today, as the country inches closer to its 90% vaccination target. According to the ministry of health, 89 percent of New Zealanders aged over 12 years have now had their first dose of the vaccine and 79 percent are fully vaccinated. When district health boards across the country hit the 90% fully inoculated target, Ardern has said most restrictions will be eased for the vaccinated in a new “traffic light” system.

So far 75% of Maori have had at least one dose and 58% are fully vaccinated.

New Zealand is now averaging 154 cases a day. All of today’s cases were based in the North Island, with 131 in Auckland, 14 in Waikato, and 2 in Northland.

The country has 81 people in hospital with the virus, and 11 in ICU.

Days after returning from the Cop26 climate summit, the prime minister Scott Morrison has released his long-awaited policy on electric vehicles.

Morrison, who in 2019 said Labor’s EV policy would “end the weekend”, on Tuesday said his plan was “built on the back of the core principles. Technology, not taxes. Choices, not mandates”.

The release of the future fuels and vehicles strategy represents the first substantive announcement from the government on electric vehicles. So here is an introductory guide to what’s in it – and what’s not.

To find out all the answers, check out the explainer below:

And a little more:

Here’s some more footage of the flooding Todd River in Alice Springs - you know, that city in the middle of the desert.

Hard helmet alert! Hi-vis alert! Everyone take two big sips of their coffee.

A man has been trapped, surrounded by floodwaters in Alice Springs after his car was swept off the road last night.

Luckily, according to the ABC, rescue teams have secured him with ropes and a harness, but the operation is ongoing.

Unvaccinated man in his 30s among the three NSW Covid-19 deaths

NSW Health has also released a bit more detail on the three Covid-19 deaths recorded in the state in the last reporting period.

One of the fatalities was an unvaccinated man in his 30s.

Sadly, NSW Health is today reporting the deaths of three men with Covid-19.

A man in his 30s from south-western Sydney died at Royal Prince Alfred hospital. He was not vaccinated and had underlying health conditions.

A man in his 40s from south-western Sydney died at Liverpool hospital. He was not vaccinated and had no significant underlying health conditions.

A man in his 80s from south-western Sydney died at Royal Prince Alfred hospital. He had received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and had underlying health conditions.

NSW Health expresses its sincere condolences to their loved ones.

Updated

The Victorian department of health has confirmed that the ages of the 14 people who died from Covid-19 yesterday ranged from 50 to 90.

These deaths bring the total state death toll since the pandemic began to 1,206.

Of the total number of deaths in the current outbreak 83% were not fully vaccinated.

Updated

A flood watch has been issued for large parts of NSW, with heavy rain expected in the afternoon.

NSW’s Bureau of Meteorology says major flooding possible around the North West and South West Slopes.

By the way, we will be hearing from Annastacia Palaszczuk at 10.30am, Brisbane time, 11.30am, Sydney and Melbourne time.

As I mentioned previously, there are reports that she will announce a new Covid-19 case on the Gold Coast, unconnected to any recent outbreaks. However, this has not yet been confirmed.

Updated

Queensland’s premier reckons the state will hit 80% first-dose vaccination of its over 16 population tomorrow morning. This will spell the end of face masks being required to be worn inside, but likely not for another day.

Updated

While speaking this morning, Scott Morrison told the Victorian chamber of commerce that clean technology companies apparently do not want subsidies from the government.

When I was speaking to the cleantech entrepreneurs and financiers in Glasgow, I said, “What can we do?”.

They didn’t ask for subsidies ... not at least at that occasion. It was, simply, ‘can you please ensure that when we develop these technologies and we seek to establish manufacturing and we seek to do all these things that we will not be tied up in all these approval processes that put cost on to these things that do not have to be there?’

Updated

This is your hourly reminder, across this very wet weekend, to NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER DRIVE ACROSS A FLOODED ROAD! DO NOT DO IT! NOT EVEN ONCE!

Updated

The Gold Coast Bulletin is reporting there are been a new Covid-19 case in the city overnight.

They say it will be announced by the premier at her press conference today and is not linked to any of the recent clusters.

This has not been independently confirmed by Guardian Australia but we should learn for sure, one way or the other when Annastacia Palaszczuk stands up.

Updated

The New Zealand prime minister has been interrupted by a persistent heckler: her three-year-old daughter, who had “escaped” and was up past her bedtime while Jacinda Ardern was trying to give a live update on the country’s Covid response.

The prime minister was conducting a livestream about shifting public health restrictions when she was interrupted by an apparently wide awake Neve.

Midway through discussing increased certainty for businesses under a new Covid-framework, Ardern was distracted by something happening out-of-shot, and a faint voice could be heard off-screen asking: “Mummy?”.

“You’re meant to be in bed,” the prime minister replied. “It’s bedtime darling – pop back to bed and I’ll come and see you in a second.”

You can read the full, adorable report below:

Alice Springs has recorded its heaviest 24 hours of rainfall for more than a decade, with 95.8mm coming down since 9am yesterday.

As promised, more details on the crocodile:

A Queensland man has escaped the jaws of a crocodile by stabbing it in the head with a pocket knife as it dragged him into a river on Cape York, reports AAP’s Marty Silk.

Parks and Wildlife officers said the 60-year-old had been fishing on his property on the banks of a remote part of the McIvor River, near Hope Vale, last Wednesday.

He saw a bull standing on part of the bank he wanted to fish from so he shooed it away.

As he prepared to cast his line, a crocodile lunged out of the water and knocked him over.

The reptile then clamped its jaws around his boots and started dragging him down the bank and into the river.

The man grabbed a mangrove tree branch held on as the animal pulled him toward the water. Eventually he lost strength and let go, with the crocodile pulling him into the river.

The man used his pocket knife to stab the crocodile in its head repeatedly before he went into the water. The reptile suddenly let go and the man scrambled back up the bank to safety.

He then drove himself to Cooktown Hospital and from there he was flown to Cairns, where he is still recovering from his injuries.

Department of Environment and Science experts spoke with the man in hospital on Tuesday and found his injuries consistent with a crocodile attack.

They believe the animal was attracted to area by the bull.

The department said due to the remote location of property and lack of public access they won’t attempt to catch the crocodile.

Uh-oh! Chris Bowen has discovered Canva!

OK, I will be bringing you updates ASAP on this story from Queensland, which saw a man save himself from a crocodile by stabbing the creature in the head.

Updated

RACGP says urgent action is required to ramp up Indigenous vaccination rates

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is calling for urgent action to ramp up vaccination rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Australian summer holiday season approaches. They say increased domestic travel brings a real risk of potentially deadly outbreaks occurring in vulnerable communities.

The RACGP says Indigenous communities are critically underrepresented in the vaccination rates.

80.6% of all Australians aged over 16 are fully vaccinated with 89.4% having received at least one dose. In comparison only 54.5% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are fully vaccinated and 66.2% have had one dose.

This difference is exacerbated in areas, like WA and Queensland, that have avoided wide-scale outbreaks and lockdowns.

The RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health chair, Prof Peter O’Mara, is calling on governments and communities to act urgently to correct this before the Christmas travel period.

As Australia opens up and we move to a new normal of living with Covid-19 in the community, we are going to see many more positive cases. As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people already face considerable health inequities and higher rates of chronic disease they are more at risk of severe illness and death from this virus.

The fact that there remains a serious gap in vaccine coverage between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people in our country is a national shame.

We urgently need to ramp up vaccine access and education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly for younger community members and certain jurisdictions.

We have already seen devastating outbreaks in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly in the eastern states, despite the considerable work that went into ensuring these communities were isolated from the virus.

We know so many more people will be travelling and visiting regional and remote Australia; while the tourism is needed, it brings enormous risk to communities not protected by vaccination ... We cannot leave anyone behind.

Updated

In 2019, a 29-year-old Yamatji woman – known as JC – was homeless, suffering from poor mental health and walking through Geraldton holding a kitchen knife when the police were called. Sixteen seconds after a police officer began to approach her, she was shot and later died. Last month a jury found the officer not guilty of both murder and manslaughter.

In today’s episode of the Full Story podcast, Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to ABC reporter Rebecca Trigger and Noongar human rights lawyer Hannah McGlade about the life of JC, and what happened in those 16 seconds.

You can listen by searching “Full Story” where ever you get your podcasts, or using the link below:

Updated

The truck driver carrying the container Baluch was found inside has also been detained, the spokesman for NSW police has confirmed.

The truck was stopped at Grafton just recently, just before we started this conference, in fact. That gentleman has been detained by police. He will be charged in relation to conveying the wanted person out of the jurisdiction. He will also face further inquiries about other related offences.

We’re going through that trucking company with a fine-toothed comb. We understand there will be very few trucks left on the road tomorrow when we finish.

Mr Baluch has a number of charges from our partners in the AFP, arising from Ironside and other inquires.

NSW police spokesman:

You may be aware we searched a number of houses last week and seized several hundred thousand dollars and other items connected with drug trafficking. We know for sure he had been at some of those addresses. We were close behind him all the way. We’ve identified what we will allege is a drug trafficking syndicate, which we’re now dismantling as a result of this investigation.

A member from NSW police is answering questions about the logistics of Mostafa Baluch’s arrest.

Spokesperson:

We received information he was likely to be travelling in a truck to escape New South Wales but it came down to the diligence of the Queensland Police Service to check trucks coming through Tweed Heads and they made that discovery.

They noticed some suspicious items with the container that wasn’t properly locked and other things that brought their attention.

Famously, there was a knock on the side of the truck and he knocked back. He was a bit shocked and ultimately good police work secured his arrest.

Reporter:

So Queensland officers over the past week had been tipped for trucks?

Spokesperson:

No, this is a recent development. This information was quite fresh and was acted upon as soon as it came in.

Reporter:

They knew it was a truck, but not specifically this truck?

Spokesperson:

We knew there was a truck. There was a lot of police work and diligence to find it.

Reporter:

How many trucks were checked?

Spokesperson:

Several. It was a large operation. Dozens. It was a large operation.

Elliott:

But this is such a very, very happy day for policing, for all of the work that’s been done, the critics of the way that they’ve been responding to the work that Critchlow particularly has done, that thought Mostafa would never be brought to justice, can now he reflect on the fact that first-class, world resourcing policing will never see a bad guy get away.

To say that government is thrilled would be an understatement. To say that it’s come at the right time because of the way that the international drug trade will probably evolve over the end of the Covid lockdown means that we can now go back to the world, our international agencies and the other state jurisdictions to say that policing is back when it comes to drug enforcement.

Updated

The NSW police minister has also issued an apologies to international law enforcement agencies, slamming the decision to place Mostafa Baluch on bail, before commending that “ruthless” policing that lead to his recapture.

David Elliott:

Can I also apologise to the international law enforcement agencies whose work led to the arrest, assisted us in the arrest originally of this individual. And of course, the anxiety that’s been caused over the last two weeks because of the very questionable decision to give him bail in the first place.

Credit of course to Superintendent Rob Critchlow and his team who have been ruthless over the last two weeks in making sure that they did not miss a beat when it came to monitoring and, of course, eventually capturing Mostafa.

I have already been in touch with my counterpart, the minister for police in Queensland, and I’m tracking down the constable that did the famous knock on the side of the truck. He’ll get a beer and a hug from me when the borders open and if that’s not an enticement for Queensland to open the borders, I don’t know what is.

Updated

NSW police minister David Elliott is out and about this morning talking about the arrest of alleged drug smuggler Mostafa Baluch who had been on the run for a number weeks.

Elliott appears to be attempting to link this police operation to the rescue of four-year-old Cleo Smith in WA by saying the arrest of the alleged smuggler was protecting “the kids”.

It is an absolute pleasure to be able to announce that overnight, Superintendent Critchlow and his team, alongside the Queensland police and with the support of the Australian federal police and the wonderful work that they’ve done, the New South Wales Crime Commission, we have brought back into custody a man who was seriously going to do harm to our children.

And the work that’s been done over the last two weeks, the way that the police and law enforcement agencies have embraced technology. They’ve worked within their own organisations seamlessly with the other agencies, has seen this ruffle result and I think on the back of last week’s work by the West Australian police with little Cleo, we can say that these are wonderful times for policing in this country and it’s proof positive to anybody that wants to do harm to our children, who wants to be involved in the drug trade, who wants to trade in the type of activities that we’ve seen both here and overseas, you are not safe in Australia.

Updated

Australia could soon be getting a new antiviral drug to fight Covid-19 after it was recently approved in the United Kingdom, reports AAP.

British health authorities will soon roll out the pill molnupiravir from manufacturer Merck later this month as part of a drug trial.

Australia has put out a contract out for the treatment, but it has not been approved by the country’s medical regulator.

However, infectious diseases expert at the Australian National University Prof Peter Collignon told Seven Network on Tuesday that the drug looked promising.

I think we will get it here.

It looks like they decrease the chance of you dying and decreasing hospitalisation if you get it early.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca will ask regulators to approve an antibody treatment to give vulnerable adults extra protection against Covid-19.

The company’s Evusheld has been granted provisional determination by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, meaning the company can apply to have the treatment registered for use in Australia.

The long-acting antibody is not a vaccine.

AstraZeneca cites data showing treatment with Evusheld led to a reduction of up to 67% in severe illness or death in mild-to-moderate infections.

It also estimates its vaccine given to 585 million people has prevented more than 105,000 deaths and 620,000 hospitalisations.

Updated

NSW records 216 new local cases and three deaths

NSW has also published their numbers. The state recorded 216 new local Covid-19 cases.

Sadly three people infected with Covid-19 have died in the last reporting period.

Victoria records 14 Covid-19 deaths and 1,003 new cases

Victoria has recorded 1,003 new Covid-19 cases today, with 14 people infected with the virus dying in the last reporting period.

International students to return to Victoria by the end of the year, PM says

Scott Morrison has told the Victorian chamber of commerce that international students should be able to return to Victorian by the end of the year.

Some unbelievable scenes coming from the protests across the Tasman yesterday.

Updated

The Australian government’s policy response to the climate crisis was ranked last in an assessment of 60 countries released at the global climate summit in Glasgow.

The Morrison government’s lack of policies, high per capita greenhouse gas emissions, weak targets, low levels of renewables and high levels of energy use, saw the country given an overall ranking of 54 among individual countries.

As a major fossil fuel exporter, Australia’s resources minister, Keith Pitt, said this week the country would continue to produce as much coal as other countries will buy.

You can read the full report below:

Scott Morrison is doubling down on his “capitalism will solve climate change” rhetoric today, as he speaks at the Victorian chamber of commerce.

OK, let’s have a chat about the weather.

Basically, if you are in the eastern states, expect some heavy rain, wild winds and general misery for a decent chunk of the week.

Updated

Scott Morrison speaks at Victorian chamber of commerce

Prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking this morning at the Victorian chamber of commerce, where he is making it clear that Australia won’t be heading back into rolling, month-long lockdowns as long as he can help it.

Updated

Accused drug smuggler Mostafa Baluch captured

Accused Sydney drug smuggler and fugitive Mostafa Baluch has been re-captured after more than two weeks on the run.

The 33-year-old was found in the early hours of Wednesday, hiding in a car on a truck travelling from NSW to Queensland, reports AAP.

Acting on a tip-off, Queensland police stopped the truck as it crossed the border into the state at about 1am.

Officers searched inside a container on the back of the truck and found Baluch hiding inside a grey Mercedes.

He was arrested and taken to Southport Watch House, where a warrant was executed for breaching bail.

NSW police organised crime squad detectives are travelling to Queensland to seek his extradition when he appears at Southport magistrates court later on Wednesday.

Baluch was last seen in Bayview on Sydney’s northern beaches on 25 October, just days after he was granted bail and released from custody under strict conditions.

He had been charged with a string of drug offences related to a 900kg shipment of cocaine into Australia that had a street value of $270m.

Updated

The technology in the Coalition’s cut-down version of the NBN cost up to three times more than originally forecast and was closer to the initial estimated cost of a revised version of Labor’s full-fibre plan, according to figures the government has sought to keep secret for almost a decade.

The previously redacted 2013 figures detailing the estimated cost of the Coalition’s alternative model – relying on trouble-plagued pay-TV cables and fibre-to-the-node technology – show the true scale of the NBN cost blowout over the past eight years.

When the Coalition won government in 2013, then communications minister Malcolm Turnbull commissioned a strategic review into the national broadband network to validate switching from rolling out fibre-to-the-premises for 93% of homes to a mixture of older technology using Telstra and Optus cable networks and fibre-to-the-node which then utilised existing copper lines to premises.

You can read the full, exclusive, report below:

Shadow energy minister says emission reduction fund 'all spin and politics'

Now, speaking of the government’s proposed new emission reduction fund, wouldn’t it be great to see what the shadow energy minister has to say about it?

Well, we are in luck because Chris Bowen has just appeared on ABC News breakfast to chat about just that!

And he says he isn’t convinced this scheme is anything more than just a PR exercise.

Firstly, of course we’ll look at the detail. Our objections have been the diversion of money for renewable energy into other technologies.

The government’s spin says this is new money, but we’ll look at the details. This is all about politics. When you see the prime minister’s comments in the newspapers and the government’s backgrounding, it’s all about some sort of fight with Labor, not about doing something for the climate. It’s all spin and politics.

They setting it up as a fight with Labor. Every time the government tried to change the CEFC legislation, it’s failed. They dropped it because of the National party, trying to put coal and nuclear into the CEFC legislation. This is a test for Matthew Canavan and Gerard Rennick. Are they going to make attempts to put coal and nuclear in?

Thirdly and finally, just two weeks ago the prime minister said he didn’t need any new policies, it was all based on existing policy and technology, because of political pleasure, we’re seeing a policy a day. All this comes after Glasgow because the government’s feeling the pressure.

Updated

David Littleproud says the government has difficulties getting workers on international agricultural visas to come “forward and being prepared to name and shame these farmers” who are exploiting their workforce.

But ABC radio host Fran Kelly has questioned whether government rhetoric has contributed to that.

Kelly:

You talk about the cultural difficulties of not coming forward and naming and shaming. I mean, as we discussed with border force yesterday, the government has launched a campaign to try and dissuade the farmworkers ... from quitting the farm that they’re tethered to. It includes a warning, that they’re bringing shame on their families, and if they do this the scheme might be stopped, and that would harm their countrymen and women.

I mean, you know, doesn’t that sound like part of the problem? They’re being told, within their cultural heritage, that things are at risk if they behave differently and step out and name and shame.

Littleproud:

I would suspect what that is trying to achieve is to keep those workers within the boundaries of the scheme where there are those protections. Where those workers have gone outside that scheme, then we don’t have the oversight that we should have and that’s where they can be exploited. And that’s what puts in jeopardy, our reputation internationally.

And that’s why we have to continue to look at these programs. If we can’t tidy this up, then there is going to be reputational damage and that’s what we’re trying to fix and that’s what we’re working through.

What we’re saying to these workers is, “Please don’t step outside the program because once you step outside the program we have less sight over your safety, over your security and it’s important you stick to that program because that’s the best way to keep you safe and it gives you a framework in which to come forward and to name and shame anyone that abuses.”

Updated

Federal agricultural minister David Littleproud is speaking with ABC radio about the new agricultural visa scheme, which the ACTU has warned could place international crop workers at a higher risk of exploitation.

But Littleproud isn’t happy with that characterisation:

I think what the ACTU has done is a disgraceful generalisation and demonisation of Australian farmers ...

Whether they come in under the agricultural visa or under the pacific schemes, they will be under the same industry awards as Australians ...

The reality is, we are ramping up the accountability through the Fair Work Commission to ensure they are doing the checks, they are making sure the approved employers have been vetted.

Updated

Days after flying into Glasgow to catch the opening of the Cop26 climate summit, Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher headed over to Edinburgh to watch the Wallabies play Scotland from a corporate box.

The oil and gas company’s logo may have stood pride of place at the Australian pavilion at the summit, but it was the company’s sponsorship of the Wallabies that would prove a public relations coup.

The deal with Rugby Australia will see the team sport the Santos logo on the top-back of their jersey at every game.

Former Wallabies captain David Pocock, a strong voice within sport calling for meaningful action on climate, says:

It’s hard to stomach.

You can read the full report below:

Updated

Good morning

Good morning, everyone, its hump day here on the blog and we are starting the morning talking about climate policy. (It’s Matilda Boseley with you this morning, by the way.)

Energy minister Angus Taylor says the government’s new climate billion-dollar funding announcement is “starting with the solutions”, as others raise their eyebrows at the focus on carbon capture and storage.

The Morrison government is once again trying to amend the law to allow Australia’s green bank to invest in the controversial tech.

Scott Morrison has just announced plans to spend $500m to help fund small-scale startups considered too risky for private finance. This would then notionally be matched by the private sector, doubling the investment.

The fund will be administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation after the Coalition legislates new rules allowing it to invest in CCS, a controversial technology experts warn can’t be relied on to do the heavy lifting of Australia’s emissions reduction.

Carbon capture and storage has been criticised by the likes of mining magnate Andrew Forrest as an unproven failure.

Unsurprisingly, Labor has been critical of this new move, but Taylor has accused the opposition of picking and choosing what technologies are acceptable based on “some kind of ideological basis”:

“Lots of people when it comes to climate policy want to wipe industries out. They started this position where they said we want to see resources industries gone or agriculture impacted. That’s not where we start.

We started the solution. Low emissions technologies that can bring down emissions, and if any technology can contribute to that we should be looking at that ...

It’s a sensible proposal, but the truth is that Labour has decided that there are some types of emissions reduction they like, and there’s some they don’t.

This of course comes as Morrison’s policy response to the climate crisis was ranked last in an assessment of 60 countries released at the global climate summit in Glasgow.

OK, with that, why don’t we jump right into the day?

Updated

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