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| Australia news live update: diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics confirmed; Morrison says Christensen should retire ‘quietly’ | Australia news live update: diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics confirmed; Morrison says Christensen should retire ‘quietly’ |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Five people on board a Sydney Harbour cruise on Friday night have tested positive to Covid, with two likely the new variant. Follow all the day’s news | Five people on board a Sydney Harbour cruise on Friday night have tested positive to Covid, with two likely the new variant. Follow all the day’s news |
| Prime minister Scott Morrison says he suspects former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian may not run for the blue-ribbon seat of Warringah at the forthcoming federal election. | |
| Berejiklian, who stood down as a result of an Icac investigation which is yet to deliver its findings, is being lobbied by federal Liberals to run for Tony Abbott’s former seat, to win it back from independent MP Zali Steggall. | |
| In recent days, a string of senior Liberals, including Abbott and former prime minister John Howard, have publicly backed Berejiklian to make the switch to federal politics despite the incomplete Icac investigation. | |
| A Guardian Essential poll published on Tuesday found NSW voters were sympathetic to the former premier, with most agreeing with Morrison’s criticism of the anti-corruption probe. | |
| You can read the full report below: | |
| A man in his 80s with Covid-19 died yesterday in the Australian Capital Territory, taking the territory’s total death toll during the pandemic to 12. | |
| This comes as the ACT records eight new Covid-19 cases overnight. | |
| A pause on the return of visa holders to Australia will likely end on schedule next week, the prime minister has indicated, reports AAP. | |
| Scott Morrison said it was likely visa holders would be allowed to enter from overseas without the need for a travel exemption from December 15. | |
| Their return was delayed by two weeks from the initial date of 1 December, following concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. | |
| Morrison told reporters in Sydney on this morning: | |
| The government estimates more than 233,000 visa holders will be allowed to come into the country under the border reopening plan. | |
| While the pause was initiated following worries about the Omicron variant, experts have indicated the new strain causes milder symptoms despite being more transmissible. | |
| The prime minister said vaccination rates in every state and territory would likely pass 80% fully vaccinated by the end of the week, while national rates were also set to reach new milestones. | |
| Back to Queensland for a second. The health minister, Yvette D’Ath, the second case of the Omicron variant detected in Queensland – a person in hotel quarantine who travel from South Africa – is actually a separate lineage of the virus to the other case. | |
| Unlike the conventional Omicron variant, it doesn’t have the “S-gene drop out”. | |
| Deputy chief health officer Peter Aitken says this strain lineage will be classified as “Omicron-like”. | |
| Some more flood warnings to note in NSW: | Some more flood warnings to note in NSW: |
| Also, I think something big has just happened in the Test cricket! | Also, I think something big has just happened in the Test cricket! |
| Australia just got a wicket on their first ball against England and from the looks of it on Twitter this is a big deal! | Australia just got a wicket on their first ball against England and from the looks of it on Twitter this is a big deal! |
| If you want more knowledgeable updates about those dudes in full formal dinner attire out on the grass you can follow along on the fantastic Geoff Lemon’s Ashes live blog below: | If you want more knowledgeable updates about those dudes in full formal dinner attire out on the grass you can follow along on the fantastic Geoff Lemon’s Ashes live blog below: |
| Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath has confirmed that a Nigerian man in hotel quarantine in Cairns is infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19. | Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath has confirmed that a Nigerian man in hotel quarantine in Cairns is infected with the Omicron variant of Covid-19. |
| Good news for Queensland. The state has recorded no new local cases today, despite fears that a small cluster on the Gold Coast could grow. | Good news for Queensland. The state has recorded no new local cases today, despite fears that a small cluster on the Gold Coast could grow. |
| We should be hearing from the Queensland health minister with a Covid-19 update in about ten minutes. | We should be hearing from the Queensland health minister with a Covid-19 update in about ten minutes. |
| This press conference was delayed by two hours, although it’s unclear if this is due to any big breaking news or just logistical reasons. | This press conference was delayed by two hours, although it’s unclear if this is due to any big breaking news or just logistical reasons. |
| Stay tuned to find out! | Stay tuned to find out! |
| Here is the clip of Scott Morrison discussing George Christensen that I mentioned earlier. | Here is the clip of Scott Morrison discussing George Christensen that I mentioned earlier. |