Australia news live updates: Queensland drops vaccine mandate for teachers; protester interrupts China ambassador

Daniel Hurst

Actions taken by China against Australian exports were not sanctions, says Xiao

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, continues to defend the trade actions taken against a range of Australian export sectors on technical grounds. He objects to labelling these as “trade sanctions”.

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said last night it was good the defence ministers had met this month, but repeated his call for Beijing to remove the trade sanctions, saying that would “go a long way towards restoring improved relations”.

Albanese told the ABC’s 7.30 program he looked forward to “further dialogue between ministers of our respective governments”, while predicting that it would remain “a problematic relationship”.

Beijing introduced steep tariffs, unofficial bans and higher screening requirements on Australian exports such as barley, beef, wine and coal in 2020, prompting Australia to denounce “economic coercion”. Some of those measures are now subject to challenges through the World Trade Organisation.

Xiao argues Chinese authorities were acting on anti-dumping concerns, after complaints from Chinese business groups. He also cites “reaction from the Chinese public”.

Some Chinese businesses had become more cautious because they were worried it might be too risky to continue the trade relations. Xiao adds:

But there’s no government official sanction measures, per se.

Australia must respect China’s sovereignty, ambassador says

Daniel Hurst

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, has urged Australia to respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

(That would tend to suggest not speaking out about Hong Kong and Taiwan.)

Xiao says:

First on the political front, is it important to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, political system and development mode. These are just some of the basic principles for sound and healthy relationships between two sovereign states.

Xiao went on to urge Australia not to see China as a security threat:

China’s development is an opportunity, not a so-called threat to Australia. And there’s every reason for China and Australia to be friends and partners, rather than adversaries, or even the so-called enemies.

Xiao stresses the need to “properly handle differences”.

He suggests the two countries should cooperate on areas of common ground, although “there are undeniably certain areas where China and Australia have different views”. He suggests constructive dialogue to minimise the differences if possible, and enlarge the common ground if possible.

He says Australia and China should handle “differences even disputes” so that they don’t affect overall relationship between the countries or overall cooperation between the two nations.

We’re on to questions now from Prof James Laurenceson. He’s asking about the 2020 deterioration, including the trade actions against Australia. Laurenceson says most Australians would view the Covid inquiry call as a fair and reasonable call.

Xiao says the Chinese government has publicly supported the need for scientists to determine the origin of the virus. But he says for certain countries to be calling it the “China virus” or that a Chinese laboratory deliberately or accidentally leaked the virus would be “absolutely unfounded”.

So if that happens, I think it’s fair and reasonable for 1.4 billion Chinese people to be very angry about it.

On the so-called “list of grievances”, issued by the Chinese embassy in late 2020, before Xiao’s arrival, he blames “twisted reports” in the media. He says it was wrong to present them as “preconditions” or “demands” for dialogue. He describes Australia’s ban on Chinese telco in the 5G rollout as “the first shot” that damaged normal business relations. Xiao says he doesn’t have his own “list” of demands.

Six people have died with Covid in Queensland, the state’s health department has reported.

Queensland also reported 4,520 new cases. There are 522 people in hospital and seven in ICU.

Benita Kolovos

A brief word on Victoria, factions and the nomination of deputy premier

A few words on the announcement from premier Daniel Andrews a short time ago, that he and his leadership team are endorsing Jacinta Allan as his deputy.

To most people this probably makes sense – she’s now one of the most experienced remaining ministers following today’s resignations.

But for those within the Labor party, it’s quite significant.

Allan, like the premier, comes from the left faction. If she becomes deputy, it will break with a tradition of having a leadership team consisting of both a member from the left and right of the party.

Andrews told reporters he doesn’t want to get into factional “games” and that Allan is the best person for the role.

But given the fractured relationship between factions it’s worth watching to see what happens at Saturday’s meeting.

China and Australia can ‘coexist peacefully’ with respect, ambassador says

Daniel Hurst

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, says relations between the two countries “enjoy greater potential for cooperation”.

The focus of his address is the state of relations between Australia and China “and my personal views on what we could do in the immediate future”.

After the recent federal election, Australia has a new Labor government. This is a choice for the Australian people – and it’s a domestic affair of this country. Nonetheless, it has provided with an opportunity of possible improvement of our bilateral relations.

Australian government ministers were blocked from meetings or calls with their direct Chinese counterparts for more than two years as the relationship deteriorated, although lower-level diplomats and public servants kept in communication.

The high-level freeze finally ended when the new deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, sat down for an hour with China’s defence minister, Wei Fenghe, in Singapore earlier this month.

Xiao says recent face to face contacts – including the meeting in Singapore – were “obviously very significant for the bilateral relationship”.

The more important question, Xiao says, is: “How we can keep the momentum and put our bilateral relationship back on the right track?”

There continue to be interjections from members of the audience at the University of Technology Sydney, including about the crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.

After one audience member was removed for interjecting, Xiao was met with applause after saying:

I think I should continue.

He went on to say there is “no reason that we cannot coexist peacefully when we respect each other”.

Queensland is removing Covid vaccination mandates for teachers from next week and New South Wales is considering a similar proposal.

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said that from 1am next Thursday, people will no longer need to be vaccinated to work in schools, childcare, prisons and airports or to visit jails, aged care and disability facilities. Individual employers will still be able to enforce their own mandates, she said.

Restrictions that have protected us have eased in sensible stages, and today I announce with the advice of the chief health officer, we are removing some of the last remaining Covid restrictions.

Mandates will remain in place for workers in healthcare, hospital, aged care and disability care facilities in Queensland.

In NSW, the education department will take a proposal to key stake holders to remove the vaccine mandate for all but staff who work in schools for specific purposes. Staff in those facilities will be required to keep up to date with Covid boosters.

If implemented, the policy change means that 965 casual staff who are currently not working due to vaccine mandates will be able to return to onsite teaching, and teaching staff who resigned due to the vaccine mandate will be able to reapply for advertised roles.

Protester interrupts beginning of address by Chinese ambassador to Australia in Sydney

Daniel Hurst

A protester has interrupted the beginning of a speech by China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, in Sydney.

Xiao, who arrived in Australia in January, had only started addressing the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney when an audience member started shouting “Stop the genocide” and “Tibet remains colonised”.

The event includes an in-person audience – but the webinar was temporarily suspended. Two minutes later, when it resumed, Xiao said: “Obviously it is not a good start.”

An audience member shouted: “How about freedom of speech in China?”

Xiao resumed his speech.

It’s my pleasure really to be here for this event, although there are different views. And I respect the invitation from the UTS and ACRI. It is upon the invitation from UTS and ACRI that I come here it exchange views with you.

He said he would also listen to audience views through questions.

I think it’s a good opportunity – we have different views but they should be expressed in a way that is appropriate.

Daniel Andrews has announced that the new leadership team will recommend that Jacinta Allan be named deputy premier. That recommendation has to be confirmed by the Labor caucus.

Allan and Andrews are both from the left faction of the Labor party, which breaks with a common practice of having the leader and the deputy be from different factions. But Andrews says it is not the first time the one faction has held both roles.

My recollection is that while, for instance, Rob Hulls [deputy premier under John Brumby] did a very good impersonation of someone from the left, he was not from the left. Likewise, while John Thwaites was a progressively progressive member of that government, he was not a member of the left. So, let’s not get into these sorts of games.

I am very confident, just as my senior leadership team colleagues are very confident, that the caucus will make the right decision.