Victoria names new ministers; Penny Wong to travel to south-east Asia – as it happened | Australia news

I shall now hand the blog back to Tory Shepherd for the next couple of hours.

Penny Wong to travel to Vietnam and Malaysia

Victorian government unveils frontbench it will take to state election

Here’s the full report on the Victorian Labor caucus vote via AAP.

The Victorian government has unveiled the frontbench it expects to take to the November state election and crowned a new deputy premier.

The transport infrastructure minister, Jacinta Allan, will replace James Merlino as deputy premier, one of four senior Labor ministers to announce their retirement and step down from cabinet on Friday.

Labor MPs Lizzie Blandthorn, Colin Brooks, Steve Dimopoulos, Sonya Kilkenny and Harriet Shing will fill the ministerial vacancies, although their exact responsibilities are not yet finalised.

Maree Edwards was elected to replace Brooks as speaker, while Natalie Suleyman will become deputy speaker.

The changes were unanimously backed by the Victorian Labor caucus during a meeting at Parliament House on Saturday.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, said the new ministry will be sworn in at Government House on Monday and the exact allocation of portfolios could be announced as early as Saturday.

The former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard responding to the news of the US supreme court overturning Roe v Wade overnight.

First non-stop flight from Australia to continental Europe set to depart

Stir crazy Australians celebrating the end to travel restrictions will be able to take a direct flight from Perth to Rome, AAP reports.

The new route, operating from Saturday night, is the first non-stop flight from Australia to continental Europe on offer.

The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, will join the Qantas boss, Alan Joyce, on the inaugural flight to Rome.

“(This) represents an incredible milestone for Western Australia,” he says.

The carrier says the route was opened up after the success of its direct Perth to London flight which started in 2018.

Travellers are demanding more point-to-point travel than ever in the wake of lockdowns and border closures, Qantas says.

The WA tourism minister, Roger Cooke, says it is a “historic moment” for his state with hopes it will drive a massive boost to local tourism and hospitality industries.

Qantas has already flagged it will open routes to Johannesburg and Jakarta from Perth later this year.

The airline has been grappling with a surge in travel demand as Australians look to reconnect with the world.

Airports and airlines are already warning commuters of what may be in store for them as school holidays start across the country.

But they’re hoping to avoid a repeat of the travel chaos that gripped airports at Easter with airlines putting on more staff, including customer service personnel and pilots.

Teenager dies after being stabbed in northern NSW

A teenager is dead following a stabbing in northern NSW, AAP reports.

Police say the still to be identified victim, thought to be a 17-year-old boy, was found suffering stab wounds at a home in Casino around 1.30am on Saturday.

He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.

The residence is to undergo forensic examination, while a search of the surrounding area has been conducted with help from the dog unit and local police.

The homicide squad will also assist with the case, with initial inquiries suggesting the incident was targeted.

The boy’s death follows that of a 50-year-old man involved in a physical altercation at South Grafton, on the state’s north coast, on Friday morning.

Police say a 64-year-old man arrested at the scene will face court charged with manslaughter.

Emergency services were called to Phoenix Close following reports of a neighbour dispute shortly after 9.30am.

On arrival, they found the man unresponsive and suffering head injuries.

He was treated by ambulance paramedics but was unable to be revived.

The accused man was expected to appear in Port Macquarie local court on Saturday.

Finally Andrews is asked if he is concerned about the institutional knowledge leaving with the four ministers resigning ahead of the state election.

He says it has been “an orderly, professional, seamless process” to replace the ministers and they’ll be building experience, skills and knowledge:

So, of course, there is a lot of experience, but there is also a lot of depth in this team and I’m proud to think that just like the cabinet, the senior leadership group, the coordinating ministers’ group, is now more than 50% women. We’ve got a much more diverse cabinet as a result of these decisions that have been made. Of course I pay tribute to all of those who were leaving yesterday, and that was right to do because they are outstanding people, but they are being replaced by equally outstanding people as well.

Andrews is asked if he discussed a handover with Allan at all. He says “not at all”:

We are focused – every single member of my team is focused, all of us, on doing the things we said we would do over the next five months and putting a positive and optimistic plan to the Victorian community.

Those who know me know I’ve never taken the Victorian community for granted. Never taken any vote, any seat, any contest for granted. The state election will be very close. They always are. It is a handful of votes and a handful of seats.

We will put forward a positive, optimistic plan and give Victorians the choice: Keep building, keep the place strong, make it fairer, create jobs, or go a different way – and closures and all the risks involved in that. But that’s not a choice for me, that’s a choice for the Victorian community.

My job, our job together, all of us, is to put forward that optimistic and positive plan, and that’s what we are focused on. We don’t take that outcome for granted. We simply don’t. We never have, we never will.

Daniel Andrews announces new ministry appointments