Australia news live update: Daniel Andrews ‘won’t be deterred’ by Victoria protests; NT records eight new Covid cases; flood warnings for NSW | Australia news

Scientists have investigated the links between the Covid-19 pandemic and the deterioration of the world’s ecosystems and their biodiversity, discovering feedback loops that suggest a potential increase in future pandemics.

Odette Lawler is collaborating with a team of students and fellows contributing to the study in the University of Queensland’s Biodiversity Research Group.

Lawler said that the links between biodiversity loss, habitat degradation and zoonotic disease transfer had long been understood, but it’s taken an international pandemic to bring the issue to public attention.

“Covid-19 has shown the world that human health and environmental health are intricately linked,” Lawler said.

“We’ve long known that issues like land-use change, intensive livestock production, wildlife trade, and climate change drive the emergence of zoonotic diseases, as they increase human-wildlife interactions.

“Now we’ve also found that these issues are being compounded by outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in feedback loops that are likely to promote future zoonotic disease outbreaks.

“For example, research has found that rates of deforestation have substantially increased in many regions around the world over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

NSW health minister Brad Hazzard has hit out against suggestions he wants to implement over-reaching new pandemic powers.

Hazzard, on behalf of Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant, sought to extend Covid-19 provisions on Tuesday.

But Premier Dominic Perrottet scrapped the proposed changes, saying he would defer the decision on extending or changing any of the state’s emergency pandemic powers to next year.

On Wednesday Hazzard defended the changes, saying: “far from granting additional powers, the powers are exactly the same as exist now and are simply tweaks on timing for two provisions in the massive Public Health Act”.

Greg Hunt has talked up the ‘safeguard mechanism’ within the Coalition government’s climate policy as a good way to get companies to cut their emissions.

But on Wednesday emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor said it was never meant to force businesses to reduce their emissions.

So which is it? Peter Hannam explains.

From AAP:

New Zealand will dismantle the hard border around Auckland in time for Christmas, allowing separated Kiwis to reunite over the holidays.

However, police will fine any unvaccinated citizens who attempt to leave the country’s biggest city, undertaking random spot checks similar to drink-driving patrols to keep Covid-19 at bay.

New Zealand is enduring its worst outbreak of the pandemic, with daily case numbers around 200, the majority of them in Auckland.

On Wednesday, health officials announced one fatality connected to the virus – of an Auckland man in his 60s – bringing the country’s death toll to 35.

McCormack has attacked Labor and the Greens for wanting to legislate net zero.

“The Labor and Greens’ way, that’s to legislate these targets. They’re going to close the resource sector and many of the mines down. They don’t care about the Hunter.

“They don’t care about the farmers in Forbes or elsewhere. We are there and we’ll protect not only industry and protect families, protect small business, but we’re also going to lower emissions.

“That’s the responsible thing you’d expect a Coalition government and the Nationals in government to do.”

Patricia Karvelas is asking Michael McCormack about Barnaby Joyce saying the Nationals didn’t sign the Cop26 climate pact.

McCormack says: “The Nationals agreed to net zero. The Nationals agreed to put that in place, along with our Liberal colleagues in a Coalition government. We’re governing Australia for the future.

“We’re in full agreement with the government and the government’s position is the government’s position we took to Glasgow. The farmers that we represent, for the resource industry which we proudly represent, is going to continue to be there.

“May Coalition governments long continue into the future because that’s one way we will ensure we have the economic power base in the ag sector, the resource sector and not charging people through the nose through their power point.”

Nationals MP Michael McCormack is talking on Afternoon Briefing now. He is in Forbes and helping with the evacuation and flood response.

“We heard 47 dwellings have been evacuated. That’s 122 people,” he said.

“There have been a number of people who have said that we’re going to stand here and stand our ground.

“I spoke to Brian Miller who lives around here and he’s not concerned even though the water is creeping up into his backyard. He says it’s not as high as the 2016 flood which reached 10.56m. It’s about 12 centimetres below that at the moment.”

And while we are on vaccines – some really, truly, very great news here.