What we learned: Wednesday 13 July
With that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. If you’re a rugby league fan, enjoy your evening. If you’re not, I don’t blame you.
Here were today’s major developments:
- The prime minister has spent today in Suva at the Pacific Islands Forum. He called a face-to-face meeting with Solomon Islands leader Manasseh Sogavare in which the two embraced “positive”, in a step forward for bilateral relations between the nations.
- Health minister Mark Butler has warned “millions” of Australians will be infected with Covid in coming weeks, urging for a take-up in boosters as the government winds down other Covid supports. Concession card holders have been recommended to “stock up” on RATs before the government subsidy is halted.
- It comes as Paul Sadler, the interim chief executive of the Aged and Community Care Providers Association, told the ABC that there are 737 Covid-19 outbreaks in aged care facilities across the country. There were 57 deaths from Covid-19 today.
- In other virus news, there are fears the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease could infiltrate Australia and decimate the $80bn cattle industry unless all travellers returning from Indonesia undergo stringent screening.
- And new data has estimated that Australia’s national gender pay gap sits at $51.8bn per year – that is a gap of almost $966m per week.
Updated
New maritime centre to host Fiji navy headquarters and play role in ‘protecting fisheries’, Albanese announces
The prime minister has announced he and his Fijian counterpart Frank Bainimarama have launched construction of a new Maritime Essential Services Centre, which will host the Fiji navy’s headquarters and will “play a key role in protecting fisheries and improving responses to natural disasters”.
Albanese:
Australia and Fiji are great friends and fellow members of our Pacific family. I look forward to working together to deepen our bonds.
Pleased to meet with @FijiPM, Prime Minister of Fiji, and host of this week’s @ForumSEC. pic.twitter.com/E9bhBl5Hp5
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 13, 2022
Updated
