Australia news live: Albanese heads to Pacific forum amid tensions; Covid-hit cruise ship docks in Sydney

Adeshola Ore

Australia’s three most populous states are facing shortfalls of more than 6,500 hospital and healthcare staff as the nation’s health system braces for Covid hospitalisations to rise to more than 5,000 cases a day.

This comes amid a turbulent start to the flu season that has also led to more than 1,300 admissions to a group of major hospitals across the nation so far this year.

On Tuesday the federal health minister, Mark Butler, said modelling suggested the peak of the current Covid wave was yet to come and it could take as long as six weeks until case numbers and hospitalisations fell.

Butler said hospitalisations, driven by the highly infectious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, could rise by 25% to just over 5,000 a day across Australia, similar to the January peak of almost 5,400, according to modelling based on data from the commonwealth and the states and territories.

Paul Karp

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is travelling to the Pacific Islands Forum today to spruik Australia’s new emissions reduction target (43% by 2030) and the step-up by the US and Australia in the region.

Albanese told Radio National:

My message will be that Australia is back re-engaged with the Pacific, that we have a suite of measures of support from maritime security and protecting their fishing stocks to action on climate change and infrastructure, our $520m additional development assistance, as well as our position on climate change which is really an entree to get through the door of credibility with our Pacific Island neighbours because, for them, it is a threat to their very existence.

Albanese hailed the new era after the “intransigence” of the Morrison government, and also drew a contrast with China by noting Australia’s support “doesn’t come with strings attached”.

Albanese welcomed the US’s announcement that it will step-up with increased diplomatic presence in the region, ambition on climate change and infrastructure development.

Albanese said he had raised the Pacific step-up with Joe Biden at the Quad and New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern last week. He noted that the Pacific is an area of “strategic competition”, evident from Solomon Islands’ security agreement with China.

We want to make sure that our Pacific friends understand we want to remain the security partner of choice.

Albanese also spruiked his government’s bid to host a COP climate conference in Australia. Asked if Australia will have to lift its target to host a future PIF meeting, Albanese noted Labor has “a mandate for our position” but 43% is a “floor not a ceiling”.

Albanese said there “hasn’t been any immediate change” to China’s sanctions on Australia’s goods after foreign minister, Penny Wong, met her counterpart Wang Yi last week.

Albanese batted away concerns that free rapid antigen tests won’t be provided by the federal government to concession card holders beyond 31 July, noting Labor “inherited” the decision from the Coalition along with “$1tn of debt”.

Amy Remeikis

Climate 200 says it is fielding calls internationally following its success at the 2022 Australian federal election, with groups in the UK, US, France and Liberia wanting to know exactly how the Australian outfit did it.

The climate focused group, supported by Simon Holmes à Court, used crowdfunding in the May election to help community groups fund local campaigns for independent candidates, resulting in six new independents winning seats in the house of representatives, mostly against established blue ribbon Liberal MPs.

Ahead of an address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Climate 200 executive director Byron Fay gave the majority of credit to the community campaigns and the 11,200 donors.

“Climate 200 was just one small part of this success, but we are keen to share our knowledge of the role that Climate 200’s donors played in levelling the playing field for climate-ambitious community independents.”

China sanctions

China’s trade sanctions on Australian goods was an issue foreign affairs minister Penny Wong brought up in her meeting last week with her Beijing counterpart.

Anthony Albanese was asked on ABC Radio this morning if the meeting had brought about any change in the sanctions.

He said there had been no immediate change since Wong’s meeting but that China needed to acknowledge there was no justification for the measures.

He emphasised that he wants to see more cooperation with China but Australia will stand up for its national interests.

Bowen says climate change will hit Australian islands too

Chris Bowen is asked if the consideration of 100 coal and gas projects for approval undermines the government’s message of a strong climate stance it is taking to Pacific Islands Forum.

Bowen says there isn’t yet a guarantee all projects will go ahead:

There is a long long way to go.

He said his visit to the Torres Strait Islands had gone well, that he had reassured people there that they had not been forgotten.

He says Australia has to recognise the effects of climate on our own islands, not only foreign islands.

Renewables deal

Chris Bowen, the energy minister, is on ABC Radio discussing the new renewable technology deal brokered with the US on the sidelines of yesterday’s Sydney Energy Forum.

Bowen says the agreement is the start of the process, and a recognition of each country’s expertise.

For any country to have 80% solar cells in three years “that is a massive concentration and risk to supply chains”.

Japan has asked to boost LNG production but Bowen says it hasn’t been raised with him directly. But he says Japan’s minister for industrial competitiveness Kōichi Hagiuda is coming to Australia today.

He says it shows how important the meeting is that he didn’t pull out despite the death of Shinzo Abe.

‘We have reached out to all our Pacific friends’

More from Anthony Albanese’s interview this morning with ABC Radio, when he discussed his agenda at the Pacific Islands Forum.

Albanese said his key message was one of re-engagement and that Australia’s position on climate was an “entrée to get through the door” with Pacific nations.

He said he will be meeting with Manasseh Sogavare, the leader of Solomon Islands.

Albanese wants to emphasise there is a “new era of cooperation” between Australia and Pacific Island nations after what he calls the “intransigence” of the previous government. He said relationships had been hampered by the Coalition’s position on climate change.

He welcomed new US investments in the Pacific, saying they come as confirmation of Joe Biden’s announcement he wants to re-engage with the region.

After Kiribati’s departure from the forum, Albanese was asked whether he had reached out to its leader:

We have reached out, as we have reached out to all our Pacific friends.

He believed Pacific nations would also welcome Australia’s bid to host a Cop summit in partnership with them before 2024.

As hospitalisations rise across the country, health authorities say the current Omicron wave is due to peak in coming weeks.

Mark Butler, the health minister, said modelling suggested the peak was yet to come and hospitalisations could rise by 25% to just over 5,000 a day across Australia, driven by the highly infectious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has this morning boarded a plane to Fiji where he will attend the key leaders meeting at the Pacific Islands Forum, including a virtual address from Kamala Harris, the US vice-president.

Before Albanese boarded that flight he told ABC Radio that his key message at the forum will be that Australia is re-engaged with Pacific and welcomed the new US commitments in the region.

Meanwhile, the Coral Princess cruise ship has docked in Sydney carrying scores of people who have tested positive for Covid-19. Authorities say the outbreak has mostly infected crew, who will not be allowed to disembark.

I’m Natasha May and, if you’d like to get in touch with news you think should be on the blog, my messages are open on Twitter @natasha__may or email natasha.may@theguardian.com.

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