As it happened: Nation’s international borders to reopen to all double-vaccinated visa holders; Peter Dutton denies sending ‘absolute psycho’ text about Scott Morrison

Good evening, and thank you for reading our live coverage of the day’s events, this is what’s been happening:

• Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced Australia’s international border will reopen to all fully vaccinated tourists who have received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine on February 21. The borders have been opening progressively since mid-December, with international students and family members of citizens and permanent residents the first allowed to return. The tourism sector has gone almost two years without any international arrivals. The sharemarket responded immediately, with travel stocks soaring. Qantas’ share price had jumped 5.4 per cent within an hour, the highest the company has traded since mid-November, and Flight Centre was 8 per cent higher.

• Attorney-General Michaelia Cash shelved a promise made three years ago to create a federal anti-corruption commission. Senator Cash told The Australian Financial Review that other bills, such as the proposed Religious Discrimination Act, would take priority and the integrity commission would not be decided by Parliament before the election because Labor would not agree to the government model. Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said Senator Cash’s announcement was a broken election promise and he accused the government of living in “fear of accountability”.
• The federal government’s contentious Religious Discrimination Bill is set to be debated in parliament tomorrow.

• Nationals Party leader Barnaby Joyce had to explain himself in a party room meeting today for what was behind leaked text messages that showed him calling the Prime Minister a liar and hypocrite. Former leader Michael McCormack would not detail what was said in the meeting, only that Mr Joyce’s explanation was similar to what he had given to the media, and it was not up to him to judge whether the explanation was plausible. Mr McCormack told ABC Melbourne radio this afternoon that Mr Joyce will “get on and work together” with Mr Morrison and the average person was “sick and tired” of politicians talking about themselves. “When people are getting kids ready to go to school and open doors of their own businesses you know, text messages between pollies is not something that is top of mind,” Mr McCormack said.

• Western Australia has doubled its cap on international arrivals to 530 per week, with Premier Mark McGowan warning the state to be prepared for an increase in COVID-19 cases. Mr McGowan also announced the period of isolation will drop to seven days, and changes to the definition of a close contact in line with other states such as New South Wales and Victoria. WA recorded 26 new cases today, up from 12 a week ago.
• The number of COVID-19 cases in Victorian schools have risen to 5,300 in total after another 607 students and 230 staff reported they were positive at the weekend. Education Minister James Merlino the running tally of positive students was at 0.6 per cent of the total student population and the number of positive education workers equated to less than 1 per cent of the workforce.
• NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says his state government is yet to decide whether to lift or extend restrictions beyond February 27. The comments come after Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today announced that her state will do away with QR code check-ins. Though Mr Perrottet said today the state was “on track” to make an announcement about restrictions, which could include mask-wearing or QR code check-ins, the government was yet to make its decision.

• Northern Territory Health Minister confirmed in a Facebook post this morning that her and her son tested positive to coronavirus over the weekend. It comes as the NT recorded 831 new cases, with 156 people in hospital. Acting Health Minister Nicole Manison encouraged more people to get boosted, with 38 per cent of adults receiving their third dose.
• More than half - or 54.7 per cent - of people aged 16 and over in the ACT have now received their booster shot. In South Australia, the state’s Department of Health and Wellbeing said 97 per cent of samples genomically tested are showing up as the Omicron variant as the state recorded 1,147 new cases and five deaths.
• The number of deaths of people with COVID-19 recorded across Australia today was 52.

Patrick Terminals and the wharfies’ union have agreed to scrap the latter’s veto powers over new hires at a major container port in a deal the stevedoring giant hopes will put an end to industrial action at the docks.

An 11th-hour agreement was struck between Patrick and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) ahead of a Monday hearing before the fair work umpire to terminate their previous pay deal, which required the company to get workers’ support for new hires at its Port Botany container terminal in Sydney.

The new arrangement, which includes a 4 per cent pay rise in the first year and 2.5 per cent in the subsequent three years for about 1,000 workers at Patrick’s ports in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Western Australia, is yet to be voted on by members or ratified by the Fair Work Commission.

But MUA assistant national secretary Jamie Newlyn said negotiations had taken place “at the highest level”, with involvement from national secretary Paddy Crumlin and Patrick chief executive Michael Jovicic.

“This comes in the wake of a long and protracted bargaining period throughout which the union has sought a fair, reasonable and mutually agreeable outcome for both Patrick Terminals’ management and their loyal employees,” Mr Newlyn said, describing Patrick’s bid to terminate the enterprise deal as “employer militancy”.

Read more about this story here.

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan addressed the media on the state’s coronavirus situation.

You can watch a replay of the press conference below:

More than half of people aged 16 and over in the Australian Capital Territory have now received a third dose of a vaccine.

ACT Health figures show 54.7 per cent residents have received a booster shot, as the territory recorded 299 cases and one death of a man in his 90s today.

Fifty-seven people are in hospital, and of these, two are in intensive care with one person on a ventilator.

New cases are slightly down from yesterday’s 323, while hospitalisations were at 60.

A week ago, new cases were at 522, while 64 people were in hospital.

South Australia has recorded 1,147 new cases and five deaths, while 224 people are in hospital with coronavirus today.

While the number of new cases decreased by 87 from yesterday, there were 26 more people in hospital.

Of the 224 people in hospital today, 13 are in intensive care and five are on ventilators.

Booster doses have risen slightly, with 44.5 per cent of South Australians aged 16 and over receiving their third dose of a vaccine.

The state’s Department of Health and Wellbeing said 97 per cent of samples genomically tested are showing up as the Omicron variant.