Australia

The federal government used new powers to rip up two deals made between the state of Victoria and China.

Canberra said it was backing away from the agreements to protect Australia's national interest.

The Chinese embassy in Australia branded the move "provocative".

It said the action by Canberra was "bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself."

"It further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations," a spokesperson said in a statement.

Senator Seselja is from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and has a strong interest in labour mobility so he is expected to reveal how this can help the Pacific's economic recovery post-Covid 19.

Aupito and Senator Seselja's get-together follows their foreign ministers' Nanaia Mahuta and Marise Payne meeting today.

The discussions had centred around the issue of 501 deportees and the Five Eyes matters.

The meetings are the first face-to-face ministerial talks betwen the two countries since the Covid-19 pandemic shut the borders.

The long-awaited initiative removes the need for visitors to quarantine.

Both countries have contained Covid outbreaks and kept infection rates low, in large part due to hard borders.

Excited passengers crowded Australian airports ahead of reunions with family and friends.

Thousands of people are expected to travel on Monday with some rising before dawn to get ready to board.

"I didn't realise how emotional I was going to be today," passenger Dawn Tratt told the BBC at Sydney airport.

The facilities were opened by dignitaries including Prime Minister Bob Loughman Weibur, Chief Justice, Vincent Lunabek, Minister of Justice and Community Services, Esmon Saimon, Vanuatu Government Ministers, the Acting Police Commissioner, Robson Iavro and Australia’s High Commissioner to Vanuatu,  Sarah deZoeten.

According to the Australian High Commission, these infrastructure improvements for police and justice services were supported by Australia as part of its ongoing partnership with Vanuatu to improve policing and justice services across Vanuatu.

 The ‘Red Rhinos’ are mobile crushers used to prepare high quality materials for small-scale road maintenance.

Australian High Commissioner, Sarah deZoeten, officially handed over the crushers to the Public Works Department team in Tanna with Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Bob Loughman Weibur, the Minister of Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Jay Ngwele, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marc Ati and senior officials.

The new package includes Vt 730 million to subsidise tuition, exam and boarding fees for senior secondary school students, and subsidise boarding fees for secondary students.

According to the Australian High Commission, this will help to keep students in school and take pressure off family budgets.

High Commissioner, Sarah deZoeten announced the assistance to Prime Minister Bob Loughman Weibur in Tanna yesterday.

The storm hit the Western Australian coast south of Kalbarri at 8.00pm AWST on Sunday as a category three system.

At 10.00pm AWST the storm weakened to a category two system as it continued moving inland.

Cyclone Seroja is travelling at around 55km/h and significant impacts are expected to extend south and inland through to Wheat Belt communities overnight.

The cyclone will weaken as it moves further inland today but is still likely to result in damaging wind gusts and heavy rain.

Western Australia plans to keep treating New Zealand arrivals like international travellers and enforcing mandatory quarantine - bursting some potential travellers' hopes of travel bubble bliss.

Among them is Moira Green, who launched straight into plans to see her two sons and granddaughter in Fremantle after the announcement of quarantine-free trans-Tasman trips on Tuesday.

Her travel agent broke the news she'd still have to spend two weeks and at least $2500 staying in government-run quarantine if she wanted to get to the state.

The programme is jointly funded by the Governments of New Zealand and Australia and it is aimed at helping 37 budding entrepreneurs get their business ideas off the ground.

According to the High Commissioner, New Zealand’s support recognises that many returning RSE workers have skills, ideas, and capital to invest here in Vanuatu - for the good of the economy, their communities and families.

The new settings will begin from 11.59pm on 18 April.

Ardern said the position New Zealand found itself in had still come at a cost.

Cabinet has been meeting today to decide the date the two-way quarantine-free travel will start. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised last month to announce on 6 April when the bubble could begin operating.

She today said airlines had not been given any forewarning about when a bubble with Australia would be opened.

Ardern had previously said the government had carefully worked through the framework of a trans-Tasman bubble.