Australia news LIVE: Tax cuts worth nearly $1900 in federal budget; Home Affairs botched sex-trafficking investigation

A new COVID-19 variant, dubbed FLiRT, is fuelling the spread of the virus in NSW, prompting a fresh push for people in vulnerable age groups to get their booster shots before winter.

NSW Health data, published in a report today, notes the “increasing prevalence” of the JN.1 Omicron variant sub-lineages KP2 – nicknamed FLiRT due to its spike protein mutations – KP3, and KW.1.1. It estimated the new variants accounted for almost half of COVID-19 cases the week ending April 27.

The report said rates of COVID-19 were low, but possibly on the rise.

NSW Health data, published on Thursday, shows the new “FLiRT” variant, KP3 and KW.1.1, is increasingly fuelling the spread of COVID-19. 

“Emergence of COVID-19 variants has been associated with new waves of COVID-19 infections, so we continue to closely monitor these trends,” NSW Health said in its fortnightly report on respiratory illnesses.

Associate Professor Stuart Turville, a virologist at Sydney’s Kirby Institute, thought it was unlikely any of the new variants would mirror the JN.1 strain’s “very dominant takeover” during the holiday period, but said: “Going into winter we need to keep an eye on them to see whether one of them starts to pick up in dominance and then starts to increase the case numbers.”

Turville said there wasn’t any data to suggest the JN.1 sub variants caused more severe illness, but that the shift was a timely reminder for people in vulnerable age groups to get a booster shot.

He said the monovalent BA.1 vaccine “generates a pretty good response to JN.1 and its sub-lineages … There’s data showing the booster response generates enough coverage”.

“We’ve also got to be mindful that our immune systems and our antibodies have matured over several years, so we’re far better able to target variants that aren’t even spreading yet.”

Labor backbenchers have broken ranks and said no more public money should go to gas.

The future gas strategy was released by Resources Minsiter Madeleine King today, with the government touting new gas supplies as fundamental to the economic transition to net zero emissions. The federal government will back the case for new gas fields and import terminals to secure the supplies.

Labor MP Josh Burns broke ranks to raise concerns with the government’s future gas project announced today.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Member for Bennelong Jerome Laxale and member for Macnamara Josh Burns have both released statements saying Australia needs to move away from fossil fuels and not champion them.

“In my opinion – not a cent of public money should be spent on new gas or resources projects that don’t help us transition to a low-emissions economy,” Burns said.

“There’s so much more to do and Australia needs real, feasible policies to take climate action seriously.”

Laxale similarly argued against investing further into fossil fuels.“I believe that we need to be moving away from fossil fuels, not championing them,” he said.

“While we know that many in the community understand the role of gas in the transition away from fossil fuels, particularly after 10 years of climate neglect and denial by the Liberals, our government should continue to execute this transition as quickly as possible.

“This will remain my focus.”

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has responded to the damning Commonwealth auditor-general report which accused the Home Affairs-managed Office of Migration Agents Registration Authority of a host of failures in supervising the migration agents who facilitate the arrival of vulnerable people into the country.

It found the department had failed to effectively regulate migration agents, botching investigations into serious complaints including at least one allegation of sex trafficking.

In a statement, O’Neil said the government welcomes the review which looks at a period of time before a reform package addressed these issues.

“[The government] endorses the findings of Christine Nixon, whose own review found that the immigration enforcement part of Home Affairs had been underfunded and suffered due to a long period without sufficient focus,” she said.

“This is another glimpse into the legacy of Peter Dutton – broken systems, open exploitation and abuse.”

In more airline news, Air Vanuatu has cancelled flights between Australia, Noumea and New Zealand as its government considers placing it into voluntary administration.

“Ernst & Young representatives arrived in Port Villa today to begin an assessment of Air Vanuatu’s financials and are being assisted by the Vanuatu Government and the Air Vanuatu team,” an airline spokesperson said.

Services with the Qantas codeshare carrier to and from Australia and New Zealand have been cancelled until Monday. Flights scheduled after that are “under review”, the airline said.

An Air Vanuatu plane on the tarmac in Port Vila in 2018.Credit: iStock

Virgin Australia is the only other airline which operates flights between Australia and Vanuatu.

The airline said the cancellations are due to “extended maintenance requirements”. The airline has just one Boeing 737-800 for international flights and a turboprop for its domestic network.

The Vanuatu Daily Post said the airline entered administration on May 6 and has appointed Ernst & Young.

The first of Bonza’s five seized Boeing 737 Max-8s, Bruce, has left Gold Coast Airport for Hawaii, according to flight tracker data.

The aircraft will be stopping in Hawaii to refuel before heading onto an undisclosed overseas location.

Most aviation insiders expect it to land in Canada, the base of the aircraft’s owner Flair, which was previously under the control of 777 Partners, Bonza’s private equity backer, and has also been hamstrung by fleet and financing issues over the past year.

The first of Bonza’s fleet of planes have left Australia. Pictured is a Bonza plane landing on the Sunshine Coast in 2022.

Bonza entered voluntary administration one year into its operations last week when its fleet was seized by AIP Capital, it’s aircraft lessor.

777 Partners and Bonza’s board had received four default notices after allegedly failing to pay its leasing fees.

A breeding program has returned an endangered rodent to a botanic garden in Victoria where it has not been seen for 48 years.

A group of 28 pookila, a mouse native to south-east Australia, has been reintroduced at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne as part of a breeding program by Melbourne Zoo and Moonlit Bay.

Pookila are shy and nocturnal and can be distinguished from common mice by their multi-coloured tail, big eyes, soft, thick fur and lack of “mousey” musk.Credit: Bruce Thomson

Pookila have been in decline since their discovery in 1970 and are considered extinct in seven of their 12 known locations.

About 3000 are believed to exist in the remaining five locations in eastern Victoria.

Native rodent biologist Dr Phoebe Burns said Zoos Victoria was proud to lead the reintroduction program as part of wider efforts to recover the species.

“This is the culmination of decades of work by dedicated conservation scientists,” Burns said.

“It’s so exciting to be at the point where we get to return the pookila to the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne after nearly 50 years’ absence.”

AAP

Good afternoon everyone, I’ll be leading the blog through the rest of the day. Thanks to Caroline Schelle for her work this morning.

Here are the stories we’ve covered so far if you’re just catching up:

New gas projects will gain stronger federal support in a Labor pledge to deliver affordable gas to customers for decades to come, with the announcement leading to strong criticism from native title holders and green groups.Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather continued his calls for a rent cap to help address the housing crisis, while claiming Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock was wrong when she said migration was putting pressure on the housing market.States and territories should thoroughly investigate every domestic violence death and feed that knowledge to a national body, according to the domestic violence commissioner.Tax cuts, worth about $1888, and a further round of cost-of-living measures will be at the heart of Jim Chalmers’ third budget.In state news, the NSW premier has called a western Sydney council’s decision to ban same-sex parenting books a “joke” as he called on them to repeal the decision immediately.And in Victoria, the federal government will commit an extra $3.25 billion to developing the North East Link, an infrastructure project linking major arterial roads in Melbourne.And overseas, US President Joe Biden says the country will stop supplying weapons to Israel if it follows through with its planned invasion of Rafah, in a significant policy shift over the war in Gaza.

Home Affairs officials only began drafting emergency legislation to monitor criminals released from detention two days after a High Court judgment freed them, even though officials met Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’ office several times in the lead-up to the November 8 ruling.

Departmental documents released under freedom-of-information laws show legislation for curfews and ankle monitors was being developed “at rapid pace” from November 10, a day after the opposition urged the government to act immediately.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The government’s response to the release of 153 former detainees – many with serious criminal convictions, including murder and rape – has been marked by a series of attempts to ram through laws under tight timeframes while having to rely on the opposition to pass them.

Labor is also facing continued questions about the decision of a departmental delegate to remove the ankle monitor of a former detainee after he allegedly breached his curfew conditions, and before he allegedly became involved in a violent home invasion on April 16.

Here’s the full exclusive.