Australia Covid news live update: NSW Covid recovery package to be announced; Victorian government under pressure at inquiry

A draft report from the disability royal commission found the federal health department’s approach to the vaccination rollout has been “seriously deficient”, having overlooked people with disabilities in favour of aged care residents.

Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to David Belcher, a disability advocate and city council member in Lake Macquarie, about the difficulty he faced in accessing a Covid-19 vaccination. And inequality editor Luke Henriques-Gomes talks about the failures of the Australian government in protecting some of its most vulnerable populations

You can listen to the latest Full Story episode on your morning commute below:

OK so “freedom day” has come for NSW, but what comes next?

If you have a spare 100 seconds and want a rundown of how other countries have fared after they opened up can I reccomend the Guardian’s most recent TikTok explainer (which I may or may not have made.)

Check it out below:

Now I mentioned before that Scott Morrison was tossing up going to the Glasgow climate summit or not. Well, I wonder if the opinion of the Prince of Wales will help make up this mind.

Yep, Prince Charles urged the Australian prime minister to make an appearance during an interview with the BBC.

Charles was taken aback when he was told by the interviewer that Morrison was still on the fence about coming as it would require him to enter quarantine for a fourth time.

Is that what he says?…

Well, that’s what I am trying to say all the time and the point being that this is a last chance saloon, literally…

Because if we don’t really take the decisions which are vital now it’s going to be almost impossible to catch up.

Australia will get a new domestic airline from early next year when Bonza expects to take to the skies, taking advantage of an expected boom in air travel in a post-pandemic world, reports AAP.

Bonza, which is backed by a US investment firm and headed by ex-Virgin Blue executive Tim Jordan, is promising “ultra low prices” to travel around the country in 2022.

Bonza’s mission is to encourage more travel by providing more choices and ultra-low fares, particularly into leisure destinations where travel is now often limited to connections via major cities.

Bonza’s ambition is broad but it appears there will be a focus on regional communities, with new routes in the wings.

Bonza will sport white and purple livery on its aircraft and plans to base its headquarters in regional Australia, with the exact location yet to be revealed.

This has yet to be independently confirmed by Guardian Australia but would be very interesting if so.

Nine news is reporting that prime minister Scott Morrison is now intending to attend the Glasgow international climate summit, with international borders opening notionally allowing him to isolate for just one week at home upon his return.

The prime minister has previously stated that being forced to undergo a fourth round of two-week quarantine was a key reason that he was still unsure if he would make an appearance at the Cop26 summit.

Good morning everyone, it’s a lovely day in Melbourne, the sun is shining and I have some economic support package news for you to kick start the day.

It’s Matilda Boseley here with you on the blog this morning, so brew yourself a cup of coffee and settle in.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet and treasurer Matt Kean are set to unveil a business support package today, aimed at helping the state economy bounce back in the lead-up to Christmas.

This of course comes a day after greater Sydney emerged from its brutal 100-plus days of lockdown.

We should learn all the ins and out of that when the premier likely stands up for a press conference some time this morning.

Down south in Victoria, the state’s Labor government has lost a fourth minister to the branch stacking scandal which has engulfed the party for months.

Minister for child protection, ageing, disability and carers, Luke Donnellan, announced he would step down from premier Daniel Andrews’ cabinet just hours after federal MP Anthony Byrne told an Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission inquiry that branch stacking was “out of control” in Victoria.

Byrne alleged that both he and Donnellan paid Labor party membership fees on behalf of others as part of a “well-entrenched” operation led by former powerbroker Adem Somyurek.

Branch-stacking is not illegal but it is against Labor party rules to pay for other’s memberships.

In a statement, Donnellan said that while he had breached party rules he had “never misused public funds or resources in any way. And this has absolutely nothing to do with my staff”.

There is obviously a heap to get through, so with that, why don’t we jump right into the day.