2.57am BST

The Chinese embassy in Canberra has accused the Australian and US governments of a “staged farce” after ministers at the Ausmin talks criticised China over a range of issues including human rights in Xinjiang.

The embassy also accused Australia of “sliding further down on the road of harming China-Australia relations” and of lacking independence from the US.

We firmly oppose and reject the unfounded accusations and erroneous remarks against China on issues related to the South China Sea, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other China-related issues in the Joint Statement of Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) on 17th September.

Those assertions, in disregard of basic facts, violated international law and basic norms governing international relations and grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs.

2.55am BST

Victorian presser conference:

Reporter:

Do Victorians have to be prepared, though - if case numbers are going to go up, we’ll see more Victorians die if we open up?

Current projections continue to see case numbers go up and as we see case numbers go up, we see more Victorians treated in the community through the Covid positive path way arrangements at home.

We see more people admitted to hospital and we see, sadly, a small number continue to die, like we had tragically another death to report this morning. The best thing we can all do is if those numbers increase, get ahead of that increase by following the rules, getting tested and getting vaccinated.