Hello, and welcome to the live blog for Sunday, 7 November. I’m Josh Taylor and I’ll be bringing you all the news this morning.
Yesterday, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Australia is on track to “have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world”, after the vaccination rate for people aged 16 years and over reached 80% across the country.
The ACT is the highest at 94.8%, followed by NSW at 89.7%, and Victoria at 84%.
WA is at 66.2%, the NT is at 66.3%, Queensland is at 66.9%, South Australia is at 69.9%, and Tasmania is at 77.9%.
From Monday, people who received their second dose more than six months ago are eligible for booster shots. NSW Health has been offering booster shots since the start of the month but it will be extended to the rest of the country.
In other news, the NT town of Katherine will learn if its three-day lockdown will end today, and the lockout of non-vaccinated people in greater Darwin will also end after three cases have been detected in the community.
Embattled Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith also announced in a midnight email to party members in the seat of Kew that he will not contest the next election.
The 38-year-old returned a breath test reading of 0.131 – almost three times the legal blood alcohol limit – after he crashed into a car and a Hawthorn home on the night of 30 October, narrowly avoiding a child’s bedroom.
And in Western Australia, the search will resume at first light for a 57-year-old man reported missing at Port Beach in North Fremantle where it’s feared he may have been attacked by multiple sharks.
All beaches in the area have been closed.
Let’s get into it.