Live news updates: Jacinda Ardern says Anthony Albaneses election …

NZ 'heartened' by Labor's climate stance

Jacinda Ardern is asked if she supports Labors commitment to deliver 43% emissions reductions by 2030. Should it be higher?

From our perspective, we have always been very careful of the fact that we have to make sure that we have our own house in order, so when it comes to the domestic policies of another nation as in regards to climate change, whilst that is a matter for them, of course, New Zealand is heartened and welcomes the position expressed by the new government here in Australia because it is good for our region and good for the world when we work collaboratively on this extraordinary challenge. The Pacific region has listed climate change as its No 1 threat.

Updated at 22.13EDT

Policy wont change without due process, Albanese says

The prime minister is asked to confirm that hes considering tweaking the ministerial direction to take into account the time a person has been in Australia. And can he rule out reintroducing the strengthening the character test legislation that the Morrison government tried to pass before the election?

I can do no such thing. Because what we wont do is deal with policy without going through proper processes. I intend to run an orderly government. And Ive made that point very clear.

Prime minister Ardern has put forward in a strong way, as she has before we have discussed these issues previously, when I had a different title. Prime minister Arderns concerns are very clear. Well work them through in an orderly way. Ive said that section 501 would be maintained. But if you look at the comments that I made as opposition leader, I stand by them that section 501 should be maintained but that there is also concerns have been raised that need to be taken into consideration, as friends.

We deal with each other in a mature way, which deals as well with common sense. And whats clear is that, if people look at some of the cases that have been held, its not surprising that the prime minister would make the strong representations that she had. Because I would be, if I was in the same position.

Updated at 23.02EDT

Jacinda Ardern says she has no doubt Australia and New Zealand will discuss the deportation of NZ citizens over criminal charges in the future, acknowledging it is a new government and they need time to work through the issues:

Weve really appreciated this opportunity, the chance to catch up ... Ive never seen a time where its more important to have friends than it is now.

Anthony Albanese says Ardern has been very forceful in her views and they will work through those issues with departments to implement the way section 501 has been dealt with:

We will work through some of those issues between now, and well have a ministerial meeting, a leaders meeting, coming next month. And well work through with our department, work through the implementation of the way that section 501 has been dealt with. But weve listened to the concerns and theres more work to do.

Updated at 22.10EDT

We are family, Ardern says

Jacinda Ardern is up, beginning her address in Mori. She thanks Anthony Albanese for his hospitality and congratulates him on his election success:

I want to, again, in this environment take the opportunity to congratulate you on your election success which, of course, was really only very recent, but much, of course, has happened even in that short intervening period. It is both humbling but also very fitting to be the first foreign head of government to be here in Australia meeting with you in your new role and I think it is indicative of the relationship that New Zealand and Australia share. There are no two countries that I can think of that have a closer relationship than ours and when I say that we are family, I mean it very sincerely.

Updated at 22.09EDT

Ambitious climate action

Anthony Albanese says Australia and New Zealand will submit an updated nationally determined contribution to the UN convention on climate change:

Australia and New Zealand are also very proud Pacific nations and we value the relations that we have with our Pacific partners very deeply. Our approach is based upon respect, transparency, and engagement with Pacific institutions and we will gather, of course, at the Pacific Island Forum in Fiji in July together.

Prime minister Ardern and I discussed climate change and the ambitious action that my government will take. We will submit, I can confirm today, that well submit an updated nationally determined contribution to the UN framework convention on climate change soon.

Updated at 22.07EDT

We agree on our worldview

Anthony Albanese says the pair agree on our worldview and are determined to take the NZ and Australian relationship to a new level of cooperation in mutual interests of both nations:

What that means is new jobs, new growth, new opportunities to cooperate both in terms of our economy and we had substantial discussions last night, but also this morning about that, but also in the way that we act on the international stage because essentially we agree on our worldview and we can take that position going forward.

Together we face global challenges of a changing climate, economic headwinds, a more insecure regional circumstance that we have to deal with, with strategic competition in the region. And were determined to work together on global security, but also on the economic security that people need and also recognising that the challenge of climate change is, of course, also a national security challenge as well as being a challenge for our actual environment, but also an opportunity for us to grow jobs, increase economic activity.

Updated at 22.06EDT

Anthony Albanese is up now. He says he is delighted to be fronting up with Jacinda Ardern and the pair were able to see the Vivid festival across Sydney Harbour while eating dinner together last night:

I cant think of anything better than the first foreign leader to welcome to Australias shores being our friend from New Zealand and my personal friend from New Zealand as well.

I thank the prime minister once again for calling me even before I had been declared on the Saturday night on the way to the Canterbury Park hotel.

It says something about the relationship, the fact that Jacinda could ring my mobile on the way to that event. It is, of course, a relationship between our two countries as family.

Updated at 22.05EDT

Engineering skills crisis due to visa processing delays

Australia is in the grip of a skills crisis, including in the engineering sector, where the job vacancy rate has increased 97% in 12 months. But one of the short-term fixes to the problem, skilled migration, is, well, not working.

The processing times for 476 visas designed for new graduates who want to live, work or study in Australia for up to 18 months has blown out from a few short months to a staggering 41 months since 2018.

That has trapped many engineering graduates out of the country, arguably at a time when they are needed most. Gurpreet Kaur, an engineer based in Indias Punjab state, told Guardian Australia shes been stuck waiting for almost four years:

I personally applied for this visa back in September 2018 and am still waiting for my visa grant. Despite meeting all the criteria, paying the application fee, medical assessment fees, there are still a lot of applicants like me from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh and many more countries about 6,000 applicants are waiting for their grant. Waiting for three to four years, its a really frustrating situation, and I think its a moral duty of any government, because this is unfair to us. We have planned all our career plans, we are suffering, not only professionally but it is a mental depression also.

Indias high commissioner to Australia, Manpreet Vohra, has also described visa processing delays as a problem.

I believe its a problem, but only because of staff shortages and backlog built up because of the pandemic.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese described the visa backlog as extraordinary, saying it had also been raised during his trip to Indonesia this week:

This is an issue that, upon coming to government without going into other issues, we have found it isnt just in this area, we have a problem processing visas. There is just an extraordinary backlog.

Updated at 21.55EDT

Stephanie Tran

Darcy, take a bow

A day before the election, Guardian Australia invited readers to tell us who they thought would win asking you to forecast the final number of seats for both major parties, as well as select the winner in 10 marginal electorates.

We had 812 entries and no one managed to pick the exact result, although Darcy, a 24-year-old legal and compliance analyst from Melbourne came oh so close.

He was one of 77 readers to correctly pick Labors 77 seats (spooky!), and tipped the Coalition to win 59 seats. They won 58, which only four readers accurately forecast.

Reflecting on his success, Darcy said he would take it as a justification for my over-consumption of the news:

Living in a now-teal seat, I was reminded daily of the threat to the Coalition in the form of human billboards so maybe that crept into my thinking.

Despite his eerily accurate overall forecast, Darcy only managed to correctly pick five of the 10 electorates provided, proving how difficult an election it was to predict, with so many seats in play.

Only seven of the 812 readers managed to pick the winners of all 10 seats correctly.

Updated at 21.49EDT

ACT Health has released todays Covid update.

There have been 824 new cases detected and one death a woman in her 70s.

There are 83 people being treated in hospital with the virus, including one person in ICU.

Updated at 21.35EDT

Read more:

Live news updates: Jacinda Ardern says Anthony Albaneses election ...