Australia news live: new home loans fell in November for 10th … – msnNOW

With that, we will wrap up the blog for the night. Here’s what happened today:

• The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, said he was confident in his position and he wants more education for young people about the Holocaust after it was revealed yesterday he dressed as a Nazi for his 21st birthday. He also said he was not aware of any photos taken.

• The Jewish Board of Deputies said the premier’s apology was sincere but should have come earlier.

• The NSW Greens blasted Perrottet over his Nazi outfit revelation, saying it was “difficult to fathom his political views were not already formed”.

• A memorial service for George Pell will be held in Sydney, but there will be no state funeral for the man who was Australia’s most senior Catholic.

• Cardinal Pell wrote a secret memo calling Pope Francis’s papacy a “catastrophe”, a journalist revealed.

• The federal court published new rules, limiting non-party access to certain court documents until “after the first directions hearing or the hearing (whichever is earlier)”.

• A man who was pulled unresponsive from a creek in NSW’s Riverina region has died.

• Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed new home loan commitments fell by a seasonally adjusted 3.7% in November. It was the 10th monthly fall in a row, according to the CBA (which had tipped a 4% drop).

• The number of Covid-19 cases dramatically declined over the holiday period, with NSW reporting a 33% decrease in positive cases.

• The elective surgery waitlist is expected to reach half a million by 30 June this year, the Australian Medical Association warned.

• The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre released 16,756 more offers for courses at universities, Tafe institutes and independent tertiary colleges commencing in 2023.

• The chair of Australia’s Brazil parliamentary group contacted Brazil’s ambassador to Australia to express “sadness and disappointment” about the storming of key buildings by supporters of the defeated president Jair Bolsonaro.

South Australia has recorded 3,261 new Covid cases in the past week, and 38 deaths.

There are 128 people in hospital with the virus, with six in intensive care.

Tasmania has reported 1,230 new cases in that period, and eight deaths, with 18 people in hospital with the virus.

Queensland has reported 8,635 new cases in the past week, as well as 73 deaths.

There are currently 468 people in hospital with the virus.

It’s been another busy day, so look no further than our Afternoon Update for a wrap of the day’s biggest headlines:

Related: Afternoon Update: were factional feuds behind Perrottet’s revelation?; Lisa Marie Presley dies; and Covid cases drop

Severe weather warning for north Queensland as heatwave grips southern Australia

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued an update on the weather in Queensland, warning of increased rain and storms, as heatwave conditions continue to grip southern Australia.

Showers are expected across northern parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia in the coming days, as well as central and northern Queensland and along the coast from Cooktown to Mackay.

A severe weather warning is current for parts of northern Queensland for heavy rainfall that is likely to lead to flash and riverine flooding and will exacerbate ongoing flooding in some areas this weekend.

Moderate to major flood warnings are current for a number of river systems through northern Australia, and further warnings are possible in the coming days.

Flood watches are current for large parts of northern Queensland.

Meanwhile, Victoria, South Australia and south-west Western Australia are currently going through heatwave conditions, as some areas reach temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s.

An elevated fire danger will accompany the heat, reaching high to extreme in some areas.

South Australia is likely to face extreme fire danger tomorrow, including in the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Jewish community fears antisemitic attacks after Perrottet’s admission, Vaucluse independent says

The NSW teal independent candidate for Vaucluse, Karen Freyer, says Jewish residents have expressed concern over Dominic Perrottet’s admission of wearing a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday.

Speaking to Sky News, Freyer said members of the community were afraid the admission could incite antisemitic attacks:

The premier’s decision to wear a Nazi uniform has brought back memories my father has tried to forget. My father’s earliest memories were of Nazis shooting point-blank into prams, killing babies.

I’ve been speaking to a number of people in the community. I spoke to a rabbi yesterday when the news hit and his concern is that this news might fuel even more antisemitism.

This is just another reminder of why it’s so important that we need to constantly talk about antisemitism in all of its forms.

Federal court explains new rules on access to documents

A federal court spokesperson has explained the new rules:

The Federal Court Legislation Amendment Rules 2022 were developed by the Federal Court Rules Committee, a committee comprised of judges of the Federal Court. The Rules Committee was asked to consider an amendment to rule 2.32(2) to address issues that arise when parties file an originating application and statement of claim with potentially sensitive or confidential content. The amendment ensures that a respondent has seen the document and can make a decision about whether to seek that the documents be suppressed or subject to a non-publication order prior to access by a non-party.

The proposed amendments were put before a national meeting of Federal Court judges who subsequently made the amendment rules unanimously.

‘No amount of grovelling apology can make amends for a flawed personality’: NSW crossbench on Perrottet

As we mentioned earlier on the blog, several senior Liberals are backing the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, after revelations he wore a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party, but NSW parliamentarians outside Liberal ranks do not share their faith.

The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers leader, Robert Borsak, insists Perrottet should go. He said today:

I’m not offended by the actions of Premier Perrottet, I am disgusted. No amount of grovelling apology can make amends for a flawed personality.

Borsak, whose Polish father was detained in concentration camps in Poland and Germany, said Perrottet could not apologise his way back to integrity. He told the premier:

You have none. Get out while you still have a chance.

Perrottet says he has no intention of quitting amid the fallout, after disclosing his controversial costume choice on Thursday amid rumours about the 2003 party.

Other members of the parliamentary crossbench have also expressed disbelief.

The Independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, told ABC Radio National on Friday:

The premier and I are of a similar age and I could not even fathom dressing in that way in any occasion. There is absolutely no excuse for it.

The premier said during his press conference yesterday he did not understand the gravity of what the Nazi uniform meant when he put it on. Asked where he saw the humour in wearing a Nazi uniform, he suggested all people matured differently based on their experiences.

Perrottet said:

I am not the person I was when I was 21.

The incident came a year after Perrottet joined the NSW Liberal party and two years before he was appointed president of the NSW Young Liberals.

– with AAP

‘I don’t think it is a sackable offence’: former Liberal MP on Perrottet scandal

Michael Yabsley, a former NSW Liberal party MP, is speaking to ABC News about yesterday’s revelation the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, chose to dress as a Nazi for his fancy dress 21st birthday party.

I thought this was a shocker. And it is a shocker. I don’t think anyone is disagreeing with that, including the premier himself. This requires enormous damage control and requires enormous contrition. I think those things are happening in the appropriate way. None of that really undoes the damage, it might help a process of recovery and truth and key ingredient at a time like this. Let’s not pretend otherwise this is an awful event in the life of a premier.

The premier has said he thought about revealing the fact many times over his career. Yabsley says the question of whether he should he have done it sooner is a “fascinating one.”

I doubt that there would be a person on earth and that applies to people in public office who don’t carry with them the burden of certain things that happened some time ago. And I think people go through life thinking, what will I do about that? Will I spill the beans, preempted, or will I go into this with fingers crossed hoping that ultimately I will go to my grave without this having surfaced. There are lots of imponderables in that and there is high risk stuff. Probably with the benefit of hindsight it would have been preferable, had these cards been put on the table sometime ago. Like the issue itself, no-one can undo that.

On whether voters will forgive Perrottet by the time the March election rolls around, Yabsley says his career in politics shows Perrottet is still in with a chance of re-election.

Throughout my long involvement in politics, something that always amazes me is how quickly issues can be – not only forgotten – but more often than not forgiven. It is hard to have that perspective to twenty four hours into a monumental issue like this. I have a clear perspective that this is something he is capable of coming through the other side.

The question is, is that something his own colleagues are prepared to accommodate? Then that is another question. My own view is serious nature of this issue and has much as it may be a major blemish on his premiership, I don’t think it is a sackable offence for which he should pay the price of sacrificing his leadership.

Yabsley believes the upcoming state election was always going to be tight contest after the Coalition have been in power so long.

The chair of Australia’s Brazil parliamentary group has contacted Brazil’s ambassador to Australia to express “sadness and disappointment” about the storming of key buildings by supporters of the defeated president Jair Bolsonaro.

The federal Labor MP Tania Lawrence provided the following statement to Guardian Australia about this week’s extraordinary events:

As the new chair of the Australian Parliament’s Brazil Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, I conveyed to Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio my sadness and disappointment at the recent violent attacks on the parliamentary institutions of Brazil.

Brazil and Australia are firm friends, and share many common features, not least of which are the democratic fundamentals on which our societies are based.

On behalf of the Australian Parliament’s Brazil Group, I add my voice to that of the Australian government in condemning the attacks on Brazil’s democratic institutions.

There was an election in Brazil, and although the result was close, the people have spoken, and the peaceful transfer of power and respect for the will of the people is fundamental to democracy. The unified response by the National Congress, the Supreme Court and the Brazilian government to the protests demonstrates the upholding of this will.

Lawrence added that she looked forward to closer relations with the elected representatives of the National Congress of Brazil in the years ahead “to progress our common goals particularly in relation to the environment, agriculture, green energy and trade”.

The federal court has published new rules, limiting non-party access to certain court documents until “after the first directions hearing or the hearing (whichever is earlier)”.

Included are originating applications or statements of claim, which are basic documents setting out the allegations made in the case and why one party says the other has breached the law.

This is a setback for open justice and fair media reporting of court cases.

It means that when a court case is launched the court will publish the party names and an extremely general tag about which branch of law is engaged (eg migration, copyright, native title) but reporters will not be able to apply for documents that explain the case for days, weeks or even months.

It’s not only out of step with the court’s previous practice, it’s also less transparent than other courts, including the high court, which allows non-parties to pay to view documents in a timely manner.

Apparently this was decided in mid-December by judges of the court. Journalists were not consulted.

It seems we’re not the only ones outraged by the federal court’s decision to deny the media and other non-parties access to documents until the first directions or other hearing.

Kieran Pender, a senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, branded the change “extremely disappointing” and “out of step with open justice”:

Karen Percy, the president of the media section of the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance, said the decision was “utterly disgraceful”:

Western Australia have recorded 5,618 new cases over the past week, and 23 deaths.

In their update, they noted that the deaths included some that dated back to early December, but were only reported to WA Health in the last week.

There are 2,942 active cases in the state, with 228 people in hospital and 15 in ICU.

Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you to take you through the rest of the day’s news.

Have a lovely weekend everyone! Mostafa Rachwani will be taking you through the rest of the news this Friday afternoon.

Warning issued to ACT and surrounds for large hailstones and heavy rain

The bureau of meteorology is warning people in the Australian Capital Territory and parts of Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Snowy Mountains Forecast Districts to brace for severe weather, with thunderstorms, large hailstones and heavy rainfall coming their way.

More electric buses planned for Queensland, as NSW lags behind

More than 50 electric buses will be on the road in Queensland by the end of the year in the latest Australian commitment to zero-emissions public transport.

Plans to launch another 17 electric buses were revealed today, with nine of the vehicles to be launched in the Redland region in February.

The new buses will be part of a larger push to electrify Australia’s public transport networks, with four states and territories introducing mandates for electric bus purchases.

The Queensland transport minister, Mark Bailey, announced the new vehicles at Volgren’s Eagle Farm manufacturing plant, where the buses will be built, saying the technology was not just climate-friendly but a better way to get around. He said:

Electric buses, electric vehicles are the way of the future. These buses are not just zero-emission, they’re much quieter buses than the buses people are used to.

The latest electric buses will join 10 already being used on the Gold Coast, five on the Sunshine Coast and five in Cairns, with more than 50 electric buses expected to be used in the state by the end of 2023.

All new buses purchased in south-east Queensland must be electric by 2025, according to a commitment made last year, with regional bus purchases to be electric by 2030.

The ACT made all new bus purchases electric last year, while Victoria named 2025 as its deadline and New South Wales committed to making its entire bus fleet electric by 2047.

Queensland’s 17 new electric buses will be based at Transdev’s Capalaba depot and will be powered partly by solar panels and electricity stored in 10 Tesla batteries.

– AAP

Home of the Elvis festival in mourning after death of Lisa Marie Presley

If there’s one town in Australia which has become synonymous with the King, it’s Parkes – ever since restaurateurs Anne and Bob Steele started the annual Elvis festival to attract tourists to the town several hours inland, away from the coast in the middle of summer.

The news of the death of Elvis’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, comes less than a week after the thirty year anniversary festival was held.

Michael McCormack, the local federal member who dressed up in Elvis garb last weekend and formed part of the parade, has taken to social media to say the entire Parkes community is mourning the death.

If you want to see McCormack’s get up and many other wonderful pictures from the tribute event, check out Mike Bowers’s gallery of pictures from this year’s festival:

Related: Thirty years of Burning Love: fans flock to Parkes Elvis festival in Australia

Albanese meets PNG defence force personnel

Anthony Albanese, on the second day of his visit to Papua New Guinea, has met officers of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (which was previously under Australian command prior to PNG independence in 1975).

As announced yesterday, the security treaty negotiations are due to be completed by April. Albanese expanded on that in his address to the 2nd Battalion:

We’re talking as well about having a stronger security relationship into the future and concluding our security treaty [negotiations] by the end of April and then myself and Prime Minister Marape being in a position to sign up by June. I know that one of the things that will do is increase the interoperability between our two defence forces. It will be about including greater exchanges as well, and helping each other, and learning from each other. This facility here is a magnificent one that serves your nation so well.

So I pay tribute to all of you who have made that decision to wear your country’s uniform, your proud and sovereign country. In doing so, you make a decision to help the fellow residents of Papua New Guinea. And I know that your Prime Minister and your Governor is proud of each and every one of you for the decision that you have made. So, I thank you for what you do. I look forward to a further strengthening of the relationship between our two countries in the future. And I thank you for giving me the honour of having me here with you today.

Allegra Spender on Perrottet’s costume scandal

The Independent MP Allegra Spender says she is “terribly disappointed” at the news of the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, dressing as a Nazi at his 21st birthday party.

Spender, who represents the electorate of Wentworth which has one of the largest Jewish populations, says the revelation was hurtful for her many constituents whose families were victims of the Holocaust.

In a post on Instagram, Spender said:

I was terribly disappointed to learn of Premier Perrottet’s behaviour as a young man.

These revelations are upsetting and hurtful for the many people in Wentworth whose families were victims of the Nazi regime.

The response from the Jewish Community has been very generous.

That a young well-educated man could behave in this way, emphasises the important work of our schools and the Holocaust Museums to educate on the horrors of Nazism and the Holocaust.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has shared some of the images from his visit in the coastal city of Wewak in Papua New Guinea, including visiting the home of the late Sir Michael Somare, PNG’s first prime minister, as well as laying a wreath on his grave.

More on Queensland weather

Hello! And thank you Caitlin.

A bit more information on the severe weather in Queensland from AAP:

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast heavy or intense rainfall that may trigger flash flooding in the state’s central and northern interior including Julia Creek, Hughenden and Richmond on Friday.

Severe thunderstorms are possible from Mackay to Ingham on the coast, and as far west as the Northern Territory border and as far south as Winton.

The bureau warned flash flooding was possible in a number of areas with catchments already reasonably wet from recent downpours.

It imposed a flood watch warning on Friday:

Areas of heavy rainfall are likely from late Friday and expected to become more widespread from Saturday. At this stage there is some uncertainty over the location of the heaviest rainfall and therefore which catchments are most at risk of flooding.

Minor to moderate flooding is possible from late Friday. Heavy rainfall, possibly intense at times, may cause localised flooding. Disruption to transport routes is likely across parts of the flood watch area.

Part of the Mackay region including the Northern Beaches and Eton have already been flooded with police issuing a warning to residents and particularly drivers across north Queensland about “extraordinary weather” over the next several days.

They have warned people against complacency and to stay up to date with rainfall forecast maps, and to avoid flood waters.

China’s foreign ministry has revealed that the country has held meetings with Australian officials regarding Covid-related issues.

Earlier this week, China imposed visa-processing freezes on Japan and South Korea in apparent retaliation for those countries’ new measures tied to the Covid wave in China, which recently relaxed its “Covid zero” policies.

No such disruption appears to have been levelled at Australia, despite the Albanese government’s decision to introduce the requirement for negative Covid tests on travellers from China. Australia’s chief medical officer did not recommend this course of action but the health minister, Mark Butler, said has said the government was acting cautiously and wanted more transparency from China about its Covid situation.

It is understood the Australian government views the negative test rule as reciprocal because China also requires it of travellers to China. Butler has made no secret of the fact he hopes the requirement is temporary and will encourage China to share more information about its outbreak.

Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, dismissed concerns about a lack of transparency at a press conference in Beijing overnight, saying China was in regular technical exchanges with the World Health Organization. He went on to discloses meetings with Australia:

In addition, over the past days, the competent Chinese authorities held a series of bilateral meetings with the EU and Australia to have exchanges on Covid-related issues and strengthen response cooperation. Relevant Chinese departments and institutions continue to share the genomic sequencing data on infections in China via the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID). All this has received recognition from the WHO and the wider international community.

Comment and details have been sought from the Australian government.

With that I will pass you back to the lovely Natasha May. Enjoy your respective weekends.

Tour Down Under to get under way tomorrow in SA

The 10-day bike race returns for the first time in three years as one of South Australia’s biggest tourism and sporting events, but not everyone is happy.

Santos, a major fossil fuel company in the Asia-Pacific region, has been the naming rights sponsor of Australia’s premier cycling event since 2010.

The Greens spokesperson for resources and tourism and Yamatji-Noongar woman, Senator Dorinda Cox, called on Events South Australia to seek alternative sponsorship arrangements that “better align” with the protection of the natural environment:

The Tour Down Under is an internationally regarded, much-loved event that showcases the natural beauty of South Australia and draws tourists to the state, like the cycling grand tours of Europe.

Santos is a huge contributor to climate change, yet its sponsorship of important events like the Tour Down Under goes unchallenged.

Holding the long-standing naming rights sponsorship of the Tour Down Under demonstrates how fossil fuel companies use the soft power of sport to greenwash their operations and climate action credentials.

Saying no to new coal and gas projects and expansions, also means saying no to the invasive, greenwashing sponsorship deals that fossil fuel companies covet.

Greens senator calls for expanded sanctions against Iran over executions

The Greens senator Barbara Pocock has announced her sponsorship of two Iranian prisoners recently sentenced to death in Iran after they participated in protests against the morality police.

Arshia Takdastan, 18, and Javad Rouhi, 35, are now awaiting execution following what supporters say were sham trials – charged with “spreading corruption on earth”.

Pocock has written to the Iranian ambassador to declare her political sponsorship of both men and urge their death sentences be revoked:

If this was happening in Australia, I, and many of my friends who attend, organise and support public protests, would likely be in jail, potentially facing the death penalty.

The international community, including Australia, needs to increase pressure on the Iranian regime to bring these show trials to an end and stop the unjust killing of innocent Iranians.

Many Australian-Iranians are deeply distressed about the treatment of their friends and families in Iran and are desperate to enlist support for their cause.

Takdastan is accused of being a leader of the riots in Nowhahr and was convicted on the basis of a confession extracted under torture, according to his supporters in Iran.

The Greens are calling on the federal government to expand sanctions against the Iranian regime and list the Islamic Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.

Mark Dreyfus calls Iran’s execution of protesters ‘shameful’

The Australian attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has labelled Iran’s execution of protesters as a shameful attempt to intimidate and silence citizens.

It follows calls from the Greens to escalate sanctions against Iran and list the Islamic Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.

The ACT’s weekly Covid update has been released.

There have been 1,012 new cases detected and six further deaths in the week to 13 January.

There are 59 people in hospital with the virus and none in ICU.

Australian house prices have been heading south for a while (Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart posted record calendar-year drops), and so has lending for home purchases.

Data just out from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show new loan commitments fell by a seasonally adjusted 3.7% in November. It was the 10th monthly fall in a row, according to CBA (which had tipped a 4% drop).

“The number of owner-occupier dwelling commitments also continued to fall in November to below the pre-pandemic level for the first time,” the acting ABS head of finance and wealth, Dane Mead, said.

Interest rates have been climbing, and one effect is that refinancing is surging as borrowers shop around for better deals or are coming off fixed-rate periods.

According to the ABS, the value of owner-occupier refinancing between lenders rose 9.1% to a new high of $13.4bn in November (seasonally adjusted).

First home buyer loans in November were 51% below their January 2021 peak and 16% below the February 2020 pre-pandemic level, the ABS said.

Looking ahead, some of the concerns about rising inflation and higher interest rates are ebbing, at least for now.

Despite some relatively strong Australian retail sales figures for November and ongoing strong demand for new staff in the economy, investors have lately been lowering their expectations of how high the Reserve Bank of Australia will lift the cash rate.

Now at 3.1%, the cash rate may not have that much further to climb.

News overnight that prices in the US, the world’s biggest economy, fell 0.1% in December, will encourage those hoping the worst of inflation might have passed. It was the first decline in US prices in two-and-a-half years.

NSW Greens blast Perrottet on Nazi outfit revelation

The New South Wales Greens spokesperson for anti-racism, Jenny Leong, and her party colleague, Cate Faehrmann, have released a joint statement regarding the premier, Dominic Perrottet’s Nazi uniform scandal.

They said the Nazi outfit was worn at his 21st party just a couple of years before he became the president of the young Liberals.

They said:

It is difficult to fathom his political views were not already formed. Fascist extremism is not a joke. People living every day with racism can’t simply shake it away with a quick press conference, like this government tried to do this morning.

They said the premier had failed to explicitly call out racism in his comments which the pair claimed was representative of the Coalition government.

The premier had the opportunity over the last 24 hours to denounce racism and extremism. Instead, the premier tried to brush it away as a past ‘mistake’ and didn’t mention racism once … It’s hard to comprehend the sense of privilege that the premier enjoys, purporting to be remorseful about such an offensive act one day and then stepping up the next morning as if nothing happened. This luxury is not something that those who have experienced the lasting impacts of racism can enjoy. The people of NSW deserve and expect so much more.

Albanese, donned in traditional headdress, gleefully watches a traditional sing sing ceremony presented as he arrives in Wewak, PNG.

Home loan numbers continue to fall

Turning to the cooling housing market, it’s a bad day to be a loan.

My colleague Peter Hannam notes new housing loans have slid for the 10th consecutive month.

‘No more important relationship’ than Australia and PNG’s, Albanese says

Albanese has made remarks at the Somare family home.

He’s looking very pleased in traditional PNG headdress, as reported by the pool journalist on the ground, McIlroy.

In a couple of years’ time, we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of independence for PNG. Of course, we had self government from 1973 and 74, the lead up to 1975 was most important. I said to the parliament yesterday that the importance of this historical event was that you didn’t see the tearing down of a flag. You didn’t see a revolution. What you saw was a peaceful transition, due to the leadership particularly of Sir Michael Somare, but also on this occasion I pay tribute to the late Gough Whitlam as well. It took two leaders coming together, in the interests of their people, to see Papua New Guinea thrive into the future as an independent state. Our futures, just like our pasts, are intertwined. We are connected. The stronger and more secure and more prosperous Papua New Guinea is, the stronger and more secure and prosperous Australia will be. And the same applies the other way around, which is why there is no more important relationship than between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Albanese pays respect to Papua New Guinea’s first prime minister

Over in Papua New Guinea, Tom McIlroy, the Australian pool reporter on the ground, reports that Anthony Albanese has paid his respects at the grave site of grand chief sir Michael Somare, in Wewak.

As PNG’s first prime minister, Somare is popularly referred to as the father of the nation. He led PNG four times, serving in the role for 16 of the country’s 47 years of independence, and is credited with leading the independence movement in 1975.

McIlroy, of the Australian Financial Review, said Albanese took part in a traditional cleansing ceremony, involving the breaking of a coconut. Coconut breaking symbolises welcoming of friends to one’s land by the traditional land owners.

He laid a wreath and a photo of Somare with Gough Whitlam, framed in Victorian Mountain Ash. He then planted a coconut tree outside the Somare family home.

Albanese and his PNG counterpart, James Marape, were met by Somare’s daughter Dulciana Somare and introduced to Somare family members. Grandchildren of Somare presented fresh leis to the official delegation.

The town of Wewak warmly welcomed Albanese’s visit, with locals lining the road from the airport and flying Australian and PNG flags.

Albanese gave the governor of East Sepik province, Allan Bird, an artwork by Lloyd Jampijinpa Brown depicting a “yankirri Jukurrpa” (emu dreaming).

Hello all and happy Friday. I’ll be keeping you company for the next little while.

Thanks for your attention this morning, I’m handing over to Caitlin Cassidy for a little bit but will be back after 1pm.

Intense rainfall could lead to flash flooding in northern and central Queensland

The Bureau of Meteorology has said severe thunderstorms accompanied by intense rainfall are on their way for Queensland’s central and northern interior districts.

Albanese arrives in Wewak

Tom McIlroy, the Australian pool reporter on the ground, reports that Anthony Albanese has arrived in Wewak, the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea.

He writes that Albanese was presented with a traditional sepik billum (a type of string bag) and necklace. The prime minister was also presented with a traditional headdress, reminiscent of one given to Paul Keating during a 1992 visit to PNG.

McIlroy, of the Australian Financial Review, who is providing pool reporters to Australian media outlets during this trip, writes:

Albanese was met by the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, senior ministers and the governor for East Sepik Province.

Albanese was honoured with a traditional PNG sing sing welcome.

The term sing-sing refers to cultural song and dances performed on special occasions such as visits. As many as 100 regional, provincial, and national tribal dance groups often travel for days by foot, boat, bus or truck to attend the annual events, each with their own style of dance and traditional body decoration.

Albanese will this morning lay a wreath at resting place of the late grand chief, Sir Michael Somare.

Sydney second in the world for public bathroom access – study

As a tourist, travelling to a new city has the excitement of the unknown but it also leaves us without the familiarity of local knowledge – including the tried and tested places to find a public loo when in need.

Luckily for visitors to Sydney (and locals for that matter), it’s one of the best cities for public bathroom access in the world

QS Supplies have calculated the average number of public toilets a square kilometre in the most popular vacation cities and found Sydney is only beaten by Paris for the top spot.

Paris had an average of more than six toilets for every square kilometre, while Sydney has more than three. The big apple, New York City, was one of the worst performers with an average of not even a whole toilet (only 0.28) a square kilometre.

If you scroll down the link below you can see the rankings for yourself:

Next mining boom to boost income mobility

The treasurer wants to see Australia’s critical minerals, which are needed to fuel the low carbon transition, lifting children out of disadvantage – as happened during the mid-2010s boom.

New government research shows the mid-2010s mining boom triggered a sharp uplift in economic mobility in Queensland and Western Australia that Jim Chalmers would like to see replicated.

He said today:

Mobility is all about how easy or hard it is for a kid from a disadvantaged background to become more prosperous themselves as an adult.

Chalmers said new Treasury analysis revealed strong upwards mobility in WA and Queensland early in the last decade, partly driven by mining creating good local jobs. Now he envisions mining for minerals such as bauxite, copper and nickel – materials needed to supply clean energy technologies – will fuel another round of well-paid jobs.

Chalmers has previously identified Australia’s rich critical mineral resources as the nation’s opportunity of the century. The Labor government is preparing an update to the critical minerals strategy, with the former Coalition government also releasing a refresh to its plan earlier this year.

– AAP

The treasurer has been chatting with locals in the Northern Rivers ahead of his announcement in Lismore later today.

The premier said he did not remember if there were any other Liberal MPs present at the party.

He said it was “not about that” and was not aware of any photos being taken at the time.

No one was involved. I was involved. It was me. I made a terrible mistake. I am not aware of a photograph. I am not aware of that. It is not about that. It is about the fact that I did it and I am truly sorry for that mistake that I made and I am going to make it good.

Virus cases in post-Christmas decline

As Australians settle back into routine following the Christmas holidays, the number of positive Covid-19 cases has dramatically declined. NSW Health data for the first week of 2023 shows a 33% decrease on the previous seven days, with 15,364 new positive tests.

The figures also reveal the number of people receiving PCR tests decreased 11%.

NSW’s acting chief health officer, Dr Jan Fizzell, said:

Key indicators show the number of Covid-19 cases in NSW are continuing to decline as expected. Flu activity is at low levels in NSW but there [are] signs activity is increasing.

According to NSW Health, there is still a “highly mixed” group of sub-variants circulating within the community, with BR.2 the most common.

The national average for daily positive tests as of January 3 was 23.3% lower than the week before, with significant reductions in almost every state and territory. The Northern Territory was an exception, with a 2% bump in the first official daily case statistics for the year.

On Christmas Day, the average number of daily cases nationally was 13,742, compared with 8,950 on January 3, the most recent date for which national figures are available.

While new cases are down, the number of people admitted to hospital and intensive care with the virus remains high and actually recorded a small increase. Over 3,500 people were hospitalised in the seven days leading up to January 3 and 120 were sent to intensive care, respective increases of 2% and 11% on the week before.

Also this week, a study by Israeli researchers found most people affected by long Covid showed no symptoms after a year. The study by KI Research Institute – published in medical journal BMJ – suggests patients with mild Covid-19 have an increased risk for a small number of health outcomes, most of which resolve within a year from diagnosis.

– AAP

There were 14,053 new cases in the weekly reporting period, and 41 people are in intensive care.

There were 7,908 new cases in the weekly reporting period, and 18 people are in intensive care.

Perrottet: I am focused ‘on ensuring people don’t make the same mistake that I did’

A reporter has asked Dominic Perrottet what he knew yesterday that he didn’t know 20 years ago.

Reporter:

You went to the Jewish museum yesterday, which you have given $6m in funding previously. What did you learn yesterday that you didn’t know 20 years ago? You are talking about raising awareness; is this just you being contrite before the election, but not being contrite before?

Perrottet:

If you ask members of the Jewish community, I have been a very strong supporter of the Jewish community during my time in public office. I know all too well the impact that the Jewish museum has on so many young people, seeing so many school groups go through that museum, hearing from Holocaust survivors, telling their own personal stories and whatever we can do to continue to raise awareness of the atrocities of the past that occurred so collectively as a state and as a country, we ensure they don’t ever happen again, is so incredibly important.

They do incredible work and being with Darren and David and Rebecca yesterday was special on such a very difficult day.

The same reporter presses him:

What did it accomplish meeting Jewish leaders, going to the Sydney Jewish museum, knowing more about the atrocities; how is that different than 20 years ago? I know 20 years ago, people knew about the Holocaust and the museum was also around?

Perrottet:

Have you visited the Jewish museum?

Reporter:

Yes.

Perrottet:

If you go there and speak to survivors, it is important and special about sharing their stories. I met Eddie Jakku before he passed and he was someone who worked at the museum and volunteered at the museum and told his story to so many young people.

One of the beautiful things they have done at that museum is film six survivors who told their stories so young kids can come in and ask questions and learn and that is what is most important. The reason I made the investment in that Jewish museum was because I have seen firsthand the impact that that museum has on young people across our state.

I am truly sorry for that action and my terrible mistake when I was 21 and I just am focused on ensuring people don’t make the same mistake that I did all those years ago.

Victor Dominello also backs NSW premier

The outgoing customer service minister, Victor Dominello, has also thrown his support behind Perrottet.

He said:

I absolutely back Dom in. If you want vision, look at the courage he is doing in relation to gambling reform. This is generational leadership we are talking about, courageous leadership, leadership you don’t see. I absolutely back him in every day of the week.

He added:

This is about the premier’s mistake. The premier has owned it, apologised for it and I accept what he has apologised for.

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, is this morning fronting the media after yesterday revealing he dressed up as a Nazi for his 21st birthday.

He is expected to be questioned on his future as the leader of the Liberal party in the state after he speaks about the redevelopment of the Ryde hospital.

Related: ‘Ashamed’: NSW premier Dominic Perrottet reveals he wore a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday

Brad Hazzard backs Perrottet

The outgoing health minister, Brad Hazzard, has vowed to back the premier.

He said:

Dominic Perrottet is an extraordinarily good premier and without him doing the job that he did as part of the crisis cabinet, as treasurer when we went through two and a half years of our darkest times, it would have been a completely different outcome.

He has done an incredible job and that is all I am prepared to say. I am prepared to back him.

Perrottet ‘not interested’ in if costume revelations part of internal party politics

Asked if he was worried that the internal hit that forced him to come clean about the costume was retribution for his strong stance on pokies, he said it was “not about that”.

He said:

I am not interested in that. I am focused on the people of our state and I said yesterday that I did it. That is what is important.

When asked if it was payback for attempted interventions in state preselection processes, he added:

I think I have made it quite clear, this is about a mistake that I made and I did it. I am not interested in other commentary around it. I am truly sorry for the mistake that I made and I will do everything I can to ensure that the hurt in communities across NSW is relieved. That is my focus as premier of NSW.

Perrottet has no plans to call party room meeting

The premier said he did not make any Nazi salutes while in the Nazi uniform, as far as he can remember.

He said he did not have plans to call a party room meeting, despite calls from some of his colleagues to do so.

He said:

No one has raised that with me and if they do, I’ll speak to my colleagues.

Premier wants more education for young people about the Holocaust

Perrottet said his hope was for good to come from his mistake and wants to see more education for young people in NSW about the Holocaust.

He said:

I [had a] meeting with the Jewish board of deputies yesterday and we spoke about education, we spoke about the importance of raising awareness of the atrocities that have occurred in the past and our commitment together to ensure they never happen again. One of the best ways of doing that is through education. I’m completely committed to doing it.

Morning Mail!

If you want to get across the national and international news quick, look no further than our morning mail!

There’s lots of news here at home which we’ve been covering on the blog you can find more in depth reporting on it. But you’ll also want to have a look at some of the breaking news abroad.

More classified documents have been found at Joe Biden’s home in Delaware, and the search of the president’s properties for secret materials from his time as vice-president under Barack Obama has concluded, the White House has announced.

Related: Morning Mail: Perrottet leadership crisis, Pell ‘chose church over victims’, ‘river rabbits’ invasion

Perrottet confident in his position as NSW premier

Dominic Perrottet has begun taking questions from reporters about the revelations he wore a Nazi costume to his birthday party almost 20 years ago.

He said he is confident in his position as the NSW premier and the leader of his party after speaking with a “number” of his colleagues.

I’ve had a number of colleagues contact me over the course of the night and I appreciate their support, but ultimately, it’s not about me. It’s about the hurt that the mistake I made caused many people across our community and I’m terribly sorry for that.

Treasurer boosts call to ‘streamline’ migration

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, also spoke with Radio National earlier, including about how Labor might tweak migration settings after the home affairs department’s review.

He was asked about the Business Council of Australia’ submission to the review which called for the migration level to be set as “a percentage of Australia’s total population” – which could lift the permanent migration number (currently 195,000 in 2022-23) automatically.

Chalmers said:

I obviously listen respectfully when the BCA put forward views like that. I think there is some thinking to be done and no doubt [the home affairs minister] Clare O’Neil and [the skills minister] Brendan O’Connor and others in our team are doing that thinking about how we get the most flexible and appropriate arrangements for migration.

… what the BCA is proposing is pretty similar to what others have proposed in recent times, including at that jobs and skills summit. So if there is a way that we can streamline some of these processes to get the right mix at the same time as we recognise that migration’s not a substitute [for] training and all of the other things that we need to do, then I’m certainly personally up for that conversation. I’m sure my colleagues are too.

Albanese: Australia and PNG ‘the greatest of friends’

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has told a state dinner the partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea is “vital to regional security” but “also offers us tremendous opportunity for greater prosperity”.

Last night, after a busy first day of a two-day trip to PNG, Albanese was offered a state dinner in Port Moresby and he reflected on his address to the PNG parliament earlier in the day:

To be the first foreign head of government invited to address your parliament was a great honour – and not just for me personally, but for the country I lead and the people I serve.

In the state dinner speech, Albanese said Australia and PNG were “more than near neighbours” but were “the greatest of friends”. He described the moment of PNG gaining independence from Australia in 1975, before pivoting to the current joint security challenges:

We recall the joy and pride of independence, nearly half a century ago, when the Australian flag was not torn down, but respectfully lowered – and the vibrant colours of your proud and independent nation rose to fly in its place.

But our partnership is about more than history or proximity. It is a bond between equals.

It is a relationship of common values – and also shared interests: two Pacific Ocean states determined to preserve peace and security in our region, recognising the value and the importance of a family-first approach, and writing that principle of regionalism and that sense of deep trust into our new bilateral security treaty.

Yesterday Albanese and his PNG counterpart, James Marape, announced they wanted to finish negotiations on a security treaty within four months. Today the two prime ministers are due to travel to Wewak to pay respects at the resting place of grand chief Sir Michael Somare, the first prime minister after PNG achieved independence, who died in 2021.

Related: Australia and Papua New Guinea pledge new security pact saying interests are ‘intertwined’

Chalmers defends Albanese’s chopper ride saying PM has had a ‘more hands-on role’ in disasters than Morrison

Chalmers has defended the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, hopping in Lindsay Fox’s private chopper last weekend to get from Geelong to Fox’s Portsea mansion as “entirely appropriate” given the PM was visiting the flood-affected Kimberley region that day.

I think it’s entirely appropriate. I mean it’s important that the prime minister got to WA that day and he did. He was in flood-affected communities in Western Australia that very same day.

A trip like that gets declared in the usual way on the usual time frame and I think it’s important that we engage with all parts of the Australian community, including business leaders.

The Liberal party has to decide should we engage with business leaders more or less, because they say both of those things at once and they’ve got to pick one.

I think it’s appropriate that the Prime Minister spent time with Lindsay Fox. I think it’s appropriate that the trip is declared in the usual way and it’s not just appropriate but commendable that the prime minister got himself to flood-affected communities in Western Australia so quickly to make sure that he is playing a much more hands-on role in these sorts of things that his predecessor [Scott Morrison] ever did.

A memorial service will be held in Sydney for the late Cardinal George Pell, but there will be no state funeral for the man who was Australia’s most senior Catholic.

The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, and Victoria’s Daniel Andrews have ruled out holding state services for the 81-year-old former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, who died from heart complications in Rome on Tuesday following hip surgery.

Andrews said on Thursday a state funeral or memorial would be distressing for victim-survivors, but the cardinal’s legacy would be for others to judge.

The 81-year-old was the Vatican’s top finance minister before leaving in 2017 to stand trial in Melbourne on child sexual abuse charges, for which he was jailed before his convictions were quashed.

Perrottet said a memorial service for Pell would be organised by the Catholic archdiocese of Sydney, offering his “thoughts and prayers” to the late cardinal’s family.

A service for Pell will be held at the Vatican in the coming days, followed by a funeral mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. His body will be buried in the St Mary’s crypt.

© Provided by The Guardian St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Treasurer ‘optimistic but realistic’ on economic outlook for 2023

Chalmers is doing the media rounds this morning ahead of his announcement in Lismore today. He’s now speaking to ABC News Breakfast.

He says it’s still his expectation Australia will avoid a recession this year.

We’ve got a lot of things going for us in Australia, low unemployment, the beginning of wages growth. Good prices for what we sell the world, but we won’t be [immune] from a global turn, the worst in 15 years, so I’m optimistic but realistic as well.

Some of those forecasts being released by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others, make it clear that the global economy is in for choppy water in the course of 2023. We won’t escape that completely but we’ve got a lot of things going in our favour.

On the possibility of further interest rate rises this year,

No doubt [the Reserve Bank] will be monitoring, as we are, the impact of the interest rate rises that began before the election and continue through the course of 2022 … We know people are doing it tough. We know higher interest rates impact mortgage holders immediately but flow through to the economy with a lag. No doubt the Reserve Bank is monitoring that as well.

Chalmers wary to expose the government’s balance sheet to the risks of natural disaster insurance

Circling back to the treasurer, Jim Chalmers’, interview with ABC Radio, he was asked about the problem of insurance for the communities in these disaster prone areas. Chalmers says the government’s focus is mitigation, because he is wary of how much the government’s balance sheet can be exposed to the risks that insurance in these areas pose.

We have made the beginnings of an investment trying to strengthen our insurance market. And we don’t pretend that there’s an easy solution here … There’s a reinsurance pool, there’s [the] beginnings of an investment that we are making.

McDonald:

Government in the longer term is going to have to play a much bigger role in the insurance market aren’t they?

Chalmers:

I think there’s a leadership role. We need to be careful about how we expose the government’s balance sheet to some of these big risks. We’re prepared to do that, in some ways. The reinsurance pool is one of the examples in the commonwealth budget, but I think the most important thing that we can do as we work on these issues and insurance is around mitigation.

It made no sense to us … over the course of our predecessor’s time in government … a lot of the effort or all the effort was on the response. We will be there to respond to natural disasters, but we also need to [recognise] they are going to become more and more frequent.

For more on this topic, here’s a report Christopher Knaus and I wrote shortly after the latest flood in Eugowra:

Related: The Australian suburbs where more than half of properties will be uninsurable by 2030

Jewish board of Deputies says Premier’s apology sincere but should have come earlier

Birmingham mentioned the Jewish community of NSW accepting Perrottet’s apology. While the CEO of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, Darren Bark, told ABC News Breakfast they had accepted the apology, he believed it should have come earlier.

Asked what he made of the news yesterday the premier, as a 21-year-old, had put on a Nazi uniform for his party, Bark said:

I was shocked and I think it has been a very difficult 24 hours for the Jewish community here in New South Wales. There has been distress, shock and sadness at this revelation. Our focus is now on what actions can be taken. We have seen a normalisation and casualisation of Nazi [signals] in recent times and it is now [our] focus and we are now looking at what actions can be taken into the future.

We do accept the premier’s apology. It was a sincere apology and he outlined that he was ashamed of it. Could he have done this earlier? I think the answer to that is yes. However, the premier did come in, he called. He has been a supporter and friend of the Jewish community during his time in public life.

© Provided by The Guardian NSW premier Dominic Perrottet apologising yesterday for wearing a Nazi costume to his 21st birthday party. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Asked about the fact that Perrottet only went public when he was called by a cabinet colleague on Tuesday about a photo that could be circulating, Bark said:

We would have wanted to hear and acknowledge this sooner. The fact is that when we found out about it, our focus is on what we can do going forward now. We channel Eddie Jaku and in his words … when we have challenge and difficulty, how can we look at what we can do and work together in order to address it? That is our main focus now.

Asked how tenable is Perrottet’s position has become, Bark said “that is a question for voters.”

Our focus is on not just the Jewish community but the community more broadly who were impacted by the Nazi regime, including our diggers. Our focus is on what we can do moving forward. I will leave the commentary about leadership and politics to those better suited to do that.

Related: ‘Beacon of hope’: Holocaust survivor and peace campaigner Eddie Jaku dies at 101

Treasurer: $5bn lost to flooding disasters last year

The treasurer and acting prime minister, Jim Chalmers, is speaking to ABC Radio following Treasury’s release of figures showing $5bn was lost to last year’s flooding disasters.

He’s heading to Lismore today alongside the emergency management minister, Murray Watt, to see the rebuilding efforts following the record inundation last year.

Asked what the $5bn represents, Chalmers said:

The lost economic activity doesn’t really begin to capture the full human cost [to the] community and the full cost to infrastructure and assets and communities more broadly.

We’ve put that number out there, really just as a reminder that even though we are largely focused on the human cost of these natural disasters, there is a cost to the economy as well and the cost to the budget.

We will of course be there for Australians impacted by natural disasters in the same way that Australians are there for each other … almost seven in every 10 Australians live in a disaster [zone] impacted in 2022. That gives you a sense of the size and scale of the challenge that we’re up against.

© Provided by The Guardian A flood-damaged Fitzroy Crossing in Bunuba country in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Photograph: Andrea Myers/PR IMAGE

Chalmers said it was difficult to put a figure on the total cost of natural disasters in Australia.

During the course of the last week or so, an international organisation said that what happened in northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland was the fourth biggest natural disaster in the world.

A man who was pulled unresponsive from a creek in NSW’s Riverina region has died.

Police say that at about 12.30pm on Thursday emergency services were called to Urangeline Creek, Urana, about 63km west of Wagga Wagga, on reports an unconscious man had been pulled from the water.

Responders were told the 45-year-old man had been swimming when he appeared to have suffered a medical episode.

NSW Ambulance paramedics attempted to revive the man but he died at the scene.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

– AAP

Perrottet says he wants greater Holocaust education after revelations he wore Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday

Speaking of Perrottet, the NSW premier has released another video apology a couple minutes ago.

In it, Perrottet says:

My hope is that some good can come from the terrible mistake I made. I met with the Jewish Board of Deputies and we both spoke about how important it is to continue to raise education and understanding, particularly with young people, about the horrors of the Holocaust and to ensure evil such as that never occurs again.

‘If the Jewish community in NSW can accept the premier’s remorse … the rest of us should follow’: Birmingham

Simon Birmingham, the shadow foreign affairs minister, followed Chalmers on ABC Radio and Hamish McDonald picks up where he left off – on the NSW premier.

A government source has reportedly told the ABC that Perrottet’s leadership is untenable and that he has been encouraged to call a leadership spill.

McDonald:

Do you consider his position as premier of New South Wales tenable?

Birmingham:

I think if the Jewish community in New South Wales can accept the premier’s remorse and apology as genuine, and then that is something that the rest of us should follow and accept as well. He has obviously expressed that publicly. He also sat down with those Jewish community leaders. They appear willing to accept that apology and his remorse as being genuine.

McDonald:

Does it undermine his claim to his genuine remorse, the fact that he hadn’t said anything and wouldn’t have said anything unless a Liberal colleague and opponent had called him about it a couple of days ago?

Birmingham:

He obviously he chose to bring this matter to the public light following that conversation … I’m sure his remorse could have been very genuinely held and been there for some time and ultimately do the right thing by expressing that publicly but perhaps even more importantly, by sitting down face to face with the Jewish community to talk through the issues.

Asked whether he believes Perrottet should go to the next election as the leader of the Liberal party in New South Wales, Birmingham said it was a matter for the parliamentary party in New South Wales.

Chalmers finds it ‘hard to believe’ someone at 21 wouldn’t know Nazi fancy dress was unacceptable

Hamish McDonald asks Chalmers about the news on Perrottet’s decision to wear a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday party.

My view about this is that we want the state of New South Wales and we want Australia to be more inclusive and more tolerant. And when something like this comes out, that’s obviously a challenge for that. People in New South Wales will have an opportunity to express their view in March on a more inclusive and more tolerant state of New South Wales in the same way that people had that opportunity nationally in May.

McDonald:

Do you think that it’s possible that someone didn’t know [it was offensive] was even at the age of 21?

Chalmers:

I find that hard to believe. I think it’s a particularly hurtful thing to have done, particularly for people who remember the war; obviously the Jewish community and others will be deeply hurt by, deeply offended by that, and for good reason, and I think the ultimate judge of this will be the people of New South Wales.

The late conservative Australian Cardinal George Pell was the author of an anonymous memo condemning Pope Francis’ papacy as a “catastrophe” where political correctness held sway while global wrongs were ignored, says the journalist who published it.

Released last year under the pseudonym “Demos” – Greek for populace – the document accused the pope of silence on moral issues, including the German Catholic Church’s openness to the LGBTQ community, women priests and communion for the divorced.

The memo said:

Commentators of every school, if for different reasons … agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe.

Decisions and policies are often ‘politically correct’, but there have been grave failures to support human rights in Venezuela, Hong Kong, mainland China, and now in the Russian invasion.

These issues should be revisited by the next Pope. The Vatican’s political prestige is now at a low ebb.

The Italian journalist Sandro Magister, a conservative Catholic himself with a long record of leaking authentic Vatican documents, revealed Pell’s authorship in his religious affairs blog “Settimo Cielo”.

Magister said on Thursday:

He wanted me to publish it.

– Reuters

Related: George Pell wrote memo calling papacy of Pope Francis a ‘catastrophe’

Perrottet to front media later this morning after apologising to NSW Jewish Board of Deputies overnight

As Martin already mentioned in the first post, the NSW government is still reeling from the admission from its leader, Dominic Perrottet, that he wore a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday party. Perrottet called a press conference yesterday after his transport minister, David Elliott, rang him Tuesday night to warn him his opponents knew about the incident.

The premier overnight apologised to the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, which said it hoped “this unfortunate incident will serve as a lesson to all”.

Followers of the Board of Deputies were divided about the significance of the incident, AAP is reporting..

In a little over an hour, at 8.45am AEST, Perrottet will be fronting the media at a press conference about the $479m Ryde Hospital redevelopment. He’ll be there alongside the minister for health, Brad Hazzard, and the member for Ryde, Victor Dominello.

A ballooning number of people waiting for elective surgery needs to be addressed urgently with extra funding and reforms, the Australian Medical Association says.

If no action is taken by governments the number of people waiting for elective surgery is expected to reach more than 500,000 by 30 June, AMA president’s, Prof Steve Robson, says.

The association’s latest report says the elective surgery backlog shows a system under enormous pressure and struggling to meet demand. Robson said:

State premiers have talked about the dire state of the health system and the need for urgent action through national cabinet – this report highlights a key part of the system that’s struggling.

Our analysis shows hospitals can’t meet demand or the recommended timeframes for surgeries and it’s only going to get worse without intervention.

The report says there is an estimated elective surgery backlog of 306,281 patients nationally and this will grow to more than 500,000 by the end of the financial year if action isn’t taken.

Robson said Australia needed a national plan to address the growing and increasingly critical backlog of elective surgeries, with an immediate injection of funds required:

This plan needs to be funded by both states and territories and the federal government and backed by long-term funding commitments that deliver permanent expanded workforce and increased capacity to deliver services in our public hospital system.

The AMA’s analysis shows Victoria makes up the largest percentage of the backlog (134,950 patients, or 44%) together with NSW (77,845 patients, or 25% ). Queensland and Western Australia account for about 10% of the backlog each.

– AAP

Thanks for getting us started, Martin! I’ll be with you for the rest of the morning.

The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre has released 16,756 more offers for courses at universities, Tafe institutes and independent tertiary colleges commencing in 2023, AAP reports.

Combined with the 4,126 offers released in November and 40,595 in December, a total of 61,477 domestic offers for study have now been released. Course offers will be emailed to applicants from this morning and applicants can also access offer advice by logging in at vtac.edu.au from 2pm.

Vtac chief Teresa Tjia congratulated all those receiving an offer:

Your new year is off to a great start with an offer to study at one of Victoria’s world-class universities, Tafe institutes, or independent tertiary colleges.

Albanese to visit family of former PNG prime minister

More on Anthony Albanese’s last day in Papua New Guinea. Having tied up a new security treaty with PNG yesterday the prime minister will also visit the family of former PNG prime minister Sir Michael Somare who died in 2021 aged 84.

© Provided by The Guardian A mourner holds up a portrait of former Papua New Guinea prime minister Sir Michael Somare outside a memorial mass for him at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

Somare was the Pacific country’s first prime minister and had a close relationship with former Labor leader Gough Whitlam after the pair delivered self-government for PNG in 1972 and full independence in 1975.

At a state dinner in Port Moresby yesterday Albanese said:

That visit is about paying respect to the life and leadership of [Somare]. It’s also about honouring his dream for this land – a dream that did not begin and end with independence.

Jim Chalmers to inspect flooding recovery efforts in northern NSW

Today the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the emergency management minister, Murray Watt, will travel to northern NSW to observe rebuilding and recovery efforts from the 2022 floods.

New National Emergency Agency analysis shows that 68% of Australians live in a local government area that was subject to a natural disaster declaration in 2022.

Treasury’s preliminary estimates are that the loss of economic activity of flooding across Australia in 2022 is about $5bn (equivalent to 0.25% of real GDP in 2021-22) from reduced activity in the mining, agriculture, accommodation and food services, retail trade and construction industries. This does not include the significant additional costs associated with losses of assets and other impacts, such as damage to housing or transport infrastructure or the costs to the budget.

Flooding was also a driver of inflation in 2022, particularly in higher prices for fruit, vegetables, and other agricultural products and from disrupted supply chains. Fruit and vegetable prices increased 16.2% over the year to the September quarter, compared with an average annual rate of 2.5% over the 10 years preceding Covid-19.

Chalmers said:

These natural disasters are first and foremost a human tragedy, and that will always be our main focus, but there are substantial costs to the economy and budget too.

We know these types of disasters put up prices, slow down growth in the near term, and cost the budget billions of dollars.

Natural disaster funding was a key focus in the budget in October and will be a key focus in May as well. This isn’t optional spending – it has to be done.

Watt said:

Since taking office less than eight months ago, the Albanese government shifted our national approach to disaster management, after a decade of inaction.

Our focus has been to ensure Australia is better prepared for natural disasters and that we respond faster when they hit.

While delivering fast disaster recovery support is essential, taking proactive steps to reduce disaster risk and get people out of harm’s way is equally important.

Good morning. I’m Martin Farrer and I’m starting off our rolling news coverage today but my colleague Natasha May will be along shortly to take the reins. Before that, here are some of the big stories this morning.

Dominic Perrottet’s leadership of New South Wales is in crisis this morning after his admission about wearing a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday party exposed deep divisions within his ruling Coalition group. His transport minister, David Elliott, rang Perrottet on Tuesday night to warn him that his opponents within the Coalition knew about the incident and would use it against the premier as the state gears up for an election in March.

The loss of two transparency systems thanks to computing problems has left the public unable to monitor politicians’ use of taxpayer-funded travel and expenses, including trips taken in costly VIP government jets. Reporting systems run by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority and the defence department are both inactive, and are expected to remain offline for extended periods, our transparency expert Christopher Knaus reports this morning.

Anthony Albanese will spend his last day in Papua New Guinea with a visit to the Wewak memorial site to commemorate the soldiers from Japan, Australia, the US and New Guinea who died in PNG during the second world war.