Live news: Albanese says Australia may consider giving New Zealanders voting rights; NSW flood warnings on mid-north coast

Steph Cooke, the state minister for emergency services and resilience, is providing more details about the transition from an emergency to recovery scenario:

We are starting to see those floodwaters recede but of course, there is a lot of water lying around.

The Premier and I have the opportunity to see it from the air. The landscape is absolutely saturated, the creeks and rivers are still incredibly swollen.

There is widespread inundation and it really does highlight the task ahead for us now so we are really moving from that emergency response scenario into recovery.

Cooke said the expansion of natural disaster declarations will enable communities to get the government support they need:

The number of natural disaster declarations has increased from 23 to 29 with the addition of six overnight, working in partnership with the Federal Government, to make sure that as the weather event moves through and we become aware of areas and local government areas that are impacted, that we do move quickly to make those natural disaster declarations.

So that is the first step in terms of unlocking support for those communities. As we go forward, as more local government areas are able to be assessed, and we are aware of damage, we will move to make further natural disaster declarations together as required.

Dominic Perrottet gives update on NSW floods

Dropping of prosecution against Bernard Collaery has ‘restored the rule of law’, expert says

Geoffrey Watson, a senior counsel and a director of the Centre for Public Integrity was on the ABC earlier this morning reflecting on the Australian government’s actions in 2004 bugging of the cabinet office of Timor Leste amid negotiations over gas and oil, in light of the news the prosecution against Bernard Collaery has been dropped:

I do think it was that one of the most disgraceful moments in Australia’s conduct of international affairs since the second world war.

It is stealing the assets of one of our closest geographical neighbours but also one of our closest political friends. Also, as you said, it is an impoverished nation. We are stealing from a nation with people less than ours. I thought the whole thing was awful.

Watson says the authorities of the day, who pursued this action against Bernard Collaery, were “legally speaking” in the wrong:

Legally speaking, they were wrong, but they were politically foolish. It is absolutely appalling. I remember during the height of the Cold War how we would hold ourselves morally superior to the Soviet Union and one of the things we would say is can you believe it, how do they conduct these criminal trials in secret?

Yet, here, Australia starts taking the same approach. This basal notion of the way that justice should be dispensed and the way public should be engaged with the issues, behind the conduct of the government. It was just a terrible moment.

Also politically stupid because the fact is it did not need to happen. Mr Brandis, attorney general had this brief initial for a very long time and carefully did nothing with it. Christian Porter thought better of that and started this. Then we had attorney general Michaelia Cash do nothing about it. Can I just say thank you and congratulations to Mr Dreyfus, the new attorney general, for having the courage act. It would have been easier for him to do nothing. This is what I expect from him. He was a lawyer and top-level barrister and he was a man who presented arguments, a lucrative legal practice which is surrendered, really grateful he has restored the rule of law in Australia.

Asked about the precedent it sets for secrecy:

Oh, dear! This should never happen again. We should never been a position where we have these kinds of appalling secret trials. If someone presented this as an outline for a novel, 10 years ago, I would have said they were never publishing that. It’s just absurd, they didn’t do that in Australia. Imagine conducting a trial in secret. We still do not know the name of Witness K and what’s more, he cannot tell us.

Watson also added his name to those calling for an inquiry into the matter:

Asked about whether there should have been a prosecution of Witness K who ended up with a three-month sentence, he said:

It comes back to this. What we did when we barred those premises and it was so carefully planned and put in place, it was complicated, they put it in place for the head and it was a thoughtful, deliberate piece of planning. That was a disgraceful act. I want to praise Witness K for coming forward, to do what he did to try to expose this because we would not have known about it otherwise, and I thank Bernard Collaery for his involvement and encourage that. I go step further and say the matter should not be left here.

I’m not the first to do this but I wish to add my name for those who have called for an inquiry to be conducted into who either ordered, or approved this at a political level. It is different to dealing with spine, where they are following orders. I want to know what was at a political level, who either encouraged, ordered or approved this disgraceful thing! Listeners need to know the story of how awful this was in the way we went about it.

Australia will work with NZ on EVs, Albanese says

Albanese says Australia will work with New Zealand and state governments on the procurement of electric vehicles to get better outcomes for both nations’ transition to renewable technology:

Together, we are stronger. The economic basis of the relationship when it comes to climate change, for example, we talked very specifically, for example today about electric vehicles.

They are going to be purchased by the New Zealand government, by the Australian government and by the respective state governments.

The state were in here now, New South Wales, to give credit where credit is due, the Perrottet government has a very forward leaning position in terms of government procurement and using that to drive the take-up of electric vehicles through the system.

Now, if we are all competing against each other for procurement at the same time, we will end up paying more for it. But if there is cooperation between Australia and New Zealand, what’s more, if we are looking at the potential that I certainly see Australia having of stepping up industry policy and manufacturing in the renewable sector, then that, if it is combined across our two nations, could have a much more positive economic outcome.

Pacific should not have to ‘pick sides’ when it comes to China, says Ardern and Albanese

The leaders deny that they are asking Pacific Islands to “pick sides” when it comes to influencing their stance on China.

Q: As New Zealand is softening its stance on China, Mr Albanese, do you agree with prime minister Ardern the Pacific shouldn’t pick sides?

Ardern answers:

The short answer is no. If you look at the context of the statement I made, it acknowledged that within our region we have had the presence of the UK, France, more broadly the EU, China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, for a number of years, the presence of multiple donors, grant funders and interests in our region is not something that arrived in the last 12 months.

That’s not to say the approach of each of those donors hasn’t changed over time. It’s true that we have seen a more assertive position from China in our region. But while our position is that we, on that basis, shouldn’t suddenly state that nations have to pick for whom their relationships are wed, we are also very clear on our values and the way we conduct those relationships. It should be the Pacific priorities first and foremost. They should be free of coercion. There should be high quality investment and infrastructure because that’s what the region deserves.

And finally, New Zealand very clearly opposes the military relation in the region. We are very clear on this … We also have a position that for security issues, we should be coming together to discuss rather than having situations where we don’t have a forum for which we can put those strong views and values.

Albanese said:

Australia’s position is very clear. That we are going through a period of strategic competition in the region, that perhaps it wasn’t the decade or more ago, but under Xi, China has changed its position. It is more forward leaning, it is more aggressive.

Australia’s position is that we will continue to engage and co-operate with China, but we will stand up for Australian values when we must. That’s a perfectly consistent position.

One of the things we are seeing is that democracies like Australia and New Zealand, when we engage in the region, there aren’t strings attached. We engaged because that is the right thing to do by lifting up the development of our neighbours, we have a responsibility to do that, and the more that we can co-operate on that, the greater the benefit will be … What I want to see in the reset of the relationship is us working together in as many ways as possible because we have such common interests and common values and, indeed, common populations, quite often as well. There is such a seamless move between our two nations and that’s why this relationship is so important.

World leaders relieved Australia now acting on climate, Albanese says

Albanese has said support for the change in Australia’s climate policy has consistently been the second point of conversation global leaders, including Pacific Island leaders, have raised with him immediately after congratulating him on his appointment:

Perhaps if I can say, I have had the opportunity to speak to Pacific Islands leaders, mainly on the phone, but also I have met with the prime minister of the Cook Islands and for every one of those discussions has begun, with two points. One, congratulations on my election and a sense of relief that Labor, the labour market government that I lead is now [is] part of the action when it comes to climate change. They have all expressed that support for the changed position that Australia has, whether it’s in the Pacific or when I have been meeting with Europe or President Biden, it’s been noticed around the world, not the least in our region, that Australia is now a participant in the constructive action that is required globally to deal with the challenge of climate change.

For us it’s also about the opportunity and are part of that is about investment in infrastructure. We have a $200m fund for infrastructure investment and climate change, that’s on top of the $525m of additional support for development assistance in the Pacific. Some of that will also have implications for acting on climate change because part of development assistance is assisting our Pacific island friends to transition, to have access to energy which is clean, which is sustainable, for them as well.

I believe that our changed position will be very much welcomed in the Pacific. We have a clear commitment that we have a mandate for, of a floor of 43% reduction in emissions by 2030, that something that will see domestically, a massive increase in the percentage of energy produced by renewables, and it is a position as well that enables us to engage on climate change in the region, not the least of which, and something we discussed this morning, is Australia’s bid to host a future conference of the parties on climate change, that’s something that we have said. We will host, in partnership with the Pacific, as a joint bed, and I’ll be having those discussions in Fiji. We intended to go ahead with the bed and how we participate and bring in Pacific Island states in order to ensure that they can be engaged and involved, is something that I believe will be welcomed.

Ardern and Albanese asked about Solomon Islands’ security deal with China

The leaders are asked about how the Solomons and Beijing security pact will figure on the agenda of next week’s Pacific Island Forum.

Ardern said:

I’d reflect on the fact that within the declarations you have agreement amongst Pacific Island members that within it is a place for discussion around security agreements affecting the region.

While it is for the chair to determine the agenda, I expect this will be one of the issues are raised but it needs to be raised not just one Pacific Island Forum and range, let’s think about going forward, as these issues continue to be raised and continue to be an issue in our region, that we perhaps have a bit more of a structure and architecture around how as members when we meet relatively infrequently, how we make sure we are sharing with one another, discussing with these issues with one another but still maintaining our individual sovereignty.

Albanese said the prime minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, has “indicated very positively” his relationship with Australia which will be discussed further at next week’s summit :

There is no doubt that security and security agreements will be a topic at the PIF if one of the reasons why I determined to attend, but in Australia’s national interest for me to do so.

I’ll also be putting very much Australia’s national interest and our concerns about some of the developments that have occurred in the region. We know we are living in an era of strategic competition in the region. Australia’s friendship and relations with a sovereign nations of the Pacific are ones of a friend, a friend that is historically played a role in the region of being a security partner of choice. We wish to remain a security partner of choice in the discussions that I’ve had, including with Prime Minister Sogavare.

He has indicated very positively, his relationship with Australia, it’s something that I look forward to discussing with all of the leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum next week.

New Zealand and Australian ministers of foreign affairs, defence, finance and climate change to have annual bilateral engagement

Ardern is now speaking:

In the last meeting, we described it as an opportunity for a reset in the relationship, and it felt to me today that we’ve established a work program now that brings to life that reset, and I want to thank you for that.

First of all, you have now the commitment from both sides that we will have formal annual bilateral engagement between our ministers of foreign affairs, defence, finance and climate change.

And I don’t underestimate the value and importance and signal of the fact that we have brought the climate portfolio into those annual bilateral exchanges because it’s so obvious to us that there are ways that we can work together, not only between New Zealand and Australia, but together in the work that we want to do within our own region of the Pacific to play our part and step up our role.

Australia is already the source of significant direct investment into New Zealand around everything from waste management to hydrogen to wind and renewable energy generation, and here I think that there’s a role for us to play in exchanging ideas as we look for innovative solutions to the climate challenges.

Speaking about the change to citizenship of New Zealanders, she said:

We also discussed, as the prime minister has already acknowledged, the place in Australia of New Zealanders. We’ve long argued that New Zealanders are Australia’s best migrants, and I don’t say that lightly. It’s borne out by the facts. And what they contribute as taxpayers, which is a step above what you’ll see in the tax contribution from others.

And our ask has been for there to be a greater acknowledgement of the role that New Zealanders play here in Australia. The fact that we have – and you’ll see this in our communique – agreement that no New Zealander or Australian should be rendered permanently temporary – that is a step change in the way that we’ve previously seen New Zealanders treated here.

If you look at the census, New Zealanders tend to translate into citizenship at a rate of about 30%. For other nationalities in Australia, it’s closer to 60%, so that demonstrates some of the barriers that exist. And we’ve had a commitment to work through those issues together and we’ve set ourselves the ambitious timeline of having those proposals in time for Anzac Day 2023.

Ardern also said she was keen to hear from Albanese about his recent trip to the Ukraine.

The two leaders also discussed the Pacific, with Ardern saying they go into the Pacific Island Forum “with a full commitment to the Pacific as our region, eager to hear from our neighbours around how they see the geostrategic issues facing our region presently”.

What role we can play on the number one issue for our region, which is climate change, and equally how we can further strengthen the architecture around the Pacific Island Forum as a place that we bring issues – like, for instance, security-related matters. I look forward to the chance to continue that exchange and meet with our counterparts shortly.

Thank you again, prime minister. A very fruitful discussion on all accounts.

Australia to consider expanding voting rights for New Zealanders

Flood threat remains in NSW’s Hunter region

Although the threats of flooding is easing, warnings remain in place especially around parts of the Hunter, which the Bureau of Meteorology said has reached record water levels.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie says he believes Bernard Collaery’s prosecution should never have begun in the first place.

Bernard Collaery may apply for costs

Paul Karp

An update on that whale caught in the shark net on the Gold Coast:

The ABC is reporting that the whale has been rescued.

The whale was the fourth to be entangled on the Queensland coast over the past three weeks.