New Zealand’s defeat by the Delta strain of Covid-19 could see a relaxation of international border rules by Christmas, reports Ben McKay from AAP.
And Jacinda Ardern’s government is preparing to allow Kiwis with Covid-19 to stay at home or isolate at community facilities if they do not need hospital-level care.
A predicted surge of coronavirus cases on the horizon has prompted the changes.
The hard border has been maintained as New Zealand pursued an elimination strategy against the virus, but the reluctant acceptance of ongoing community cases has turned the government’s mind to a border rethink.
Ardern appears set to loosen the compulsory 14-day stay in a quarantine hotel – known locally as MIQ – on arrival.
Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said:
We are actively considering our MIQ settings in light of the fact that we are unlikely to get back to zero cases…
You can expect to see us talking more about that fairly soon.
International travel has been on hold since July, when New Zealand suspended the trans-Tasman bubble due to growing cases in NSW and Victoria.
While there are several Covid-free regions in both countries – including Wellington and the South Island – the government has not had an appetite to reopen the bubble.
21:58
State government commitments for 2030 have put Australia within reach of meeting global expectations on tackling the climate crisis, but it will fall short unless the Morrison government steps up, a new analysis has found.
Guardian Australia understands Scott Morrison has told colleagues he wants to increase Australia’s existing 2030 emissions reduction target as part of his negotiations with the Nationals about climate policies to be unveiled before the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Emissions projections to be released shortly are expected to forecast Australia will beat the current target of a 26% to 28% cut by 2030 compared with 2005 levels, and the prime minister wants to reflect that in a new target to be outlined ahead of Glasgow.
You can read the full report by Katharine Murphy and Adam Morton below:
Updated
21:51
Fortescue Metals chairman Andrew Forrest has been speaking to ABC radio this morning about his investments in green hydrogen initiatives:
It’s a market we’ll compete with, instead of importing everything from overseas. My dream, my passion is to get those jobs all making manufacturing green …
A company that produces no pollution goes green? Great, slow clap. We need the heavy emitters, people like me, we have to go green as soon as possible to stop global warming.
When asked about National frontbencher Bridget McKenzie’s comments yesterday, when she suggested that committing to net zero emissions by 2050 could hurt regional communities, he said:
We need to stop scaring Australians. We need to stop fear-mongering …
You might crack a few more votes but after this coming election you’ll be seen for what you are – just fear-mongering to try and save your political job, not the jobs of regional Australians.
Updated
21:42
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has just been speaking in Sydney, announcing the second part of his government’s business supports in the lead-up to Christmas.
And this time the customers have something to look forward to as well:
We know that Dine and Discover vouchers have been incredibly successful, incredibly positive, used by close to 5 million people right across our state.
So today, we are doubling down on Dine and Discover. We’re offering two additional $25 vouchers. We know that these vouchers have injected close to $500m into the New South Wales economy. They have been incredibly successful and popular, from Ballina to Balmain, from Byron to Broken Hill.
People right across the state have gone out and used the voucher, and importantly, spent more. It’s driven economic activity in New South Wales. It’s got people back into work. We know that they’re popular.
We said as we were going through the economic recovery period that we’d look at those programs that worked and we would expand them if we could. That’s exactly what we’ve done in relation to this.
Updated
21:37
Elias Visontay
Australians hoping to fly overseas in the coming months are facing exorbitant costs due to high demand and a scarce supply of seats on services flying into the country, as experts warn high prices will last another year.
The complicated logistical planning required for airlines to ramp up from skeleton operations has meant those seeking to take advantage of the reopened border will face financial hurdles, while aircraft are recalled from desert parking lots and furloughed staff and ground handling contracts are brought back online.
A backlog of more than 45,000 Australians are still stranded overseas, adding another layer of complexity, demand and frustration to the picture.
An analysis of flight costs provided to Guardian Australia by the booking site Kayak shows the average cost of a one-way economy ticket from Sydney to New Delhi – the most sought-after route on the site over the past month – is $1,051, while the return leg on average adds $2,668 to the ticket cost for travel between November and December.
You can read the full report below:
Updated
21:29
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Thursday. We are nearly done with the week – don’t worry, we can do it!
Well, vaccinations rates are rising fast in Australia’s two most populous states and, as positive is as that is, it’s causing a little bit of a headache for the new NSW premier.
Dominic Perrottet is looking down the barrel of reaching 80% of the 16 and over population being fully vaccinated less than a week after opening the state up after reaching 70%.
The government has promised that the next stage of the post-lockdown reopening will start the Monday after the state reaches 80% full vaccination among its eligible population. But whoops! Many are predicting 80% to be reached on Sunday, potentially leaving only a week between the two phases.
The government’s Covid-19 and economic recovery committee – formerly known as crisis cabinet – will on Thursday discuss postponing regional travel, given the lower vaccination coverage in rural communities.
Perrottet alluded to this yesterday:
There has been concerns raised about regional NSW when you look at those double dose vaccination rates …
[But] we don’t make decisions on a knee-jerk reaction. We make decisions in consultation with our health and economic teams.
Down south in Victoria it looks as though reopening could be coming early as well, with the chief health officer suggesting he is open to lifting Melbourne’s lockdown before next weekend.
The state is on track to reach its 70% double vaccination target before the indicative date of 26 October, and Brett Sutton confirmed that a decision on reopening could be announced as early as this weekend.
While speaking to ABC radio yesterday, he also hinted that the home visitation ban could be lifted, which under the state’s original Covid-19 roadmap, was slated to change at 80%:
We’ve always said, if we can do more, we will do more … We’re acutely aware of home gatherings leading to spikes and that was definitely a feature of [the AFL] grand final. They were people that didn’t normally come together …
It’s different for families. If we can limit numbers, if we think the epidemiology looks OK, absolutely open to that as well.
OK, with all that out of the way, why don’t we jump right into the day!