Vanuatu PM in Canberra as treaty talks continue; bird flu and legal updates

Vanuatu’s prime minister, Jotham Napat, is meeting Anthony Albanese in Canberra today after months of negotiations on the Nakamal agreement. The two governments have gone back and forth on the treaty, which remains uninked; late last year the government failed to get Vanuatu over the line on the $500m agreement amid Vanuatu’s concern it would block other countries from providing infrastructure funding.

The leaders will meet before addressing the media. Environment minister Murray Watt says there are four confirmed cases of bird flu in Australia so far, all involving migratory birds, and that there is no evidence yet of transmission to the broader Australian wildlife population.

He repeated that state, territory and federal governments have undertaken preparedness plans and urged the public to avoid contact with sick or dead birds and to record and report sightings so testing can be done. The next round of hearings for the antisemitism royal commission begins today.

Australia, Canberra

vanuatu, jotham napat, anthony albanese, nakamal agreement, treaty talks, $500m, bird flu, murray watt, migratory birds, antisemitism