The race is on to make new-generation, onshore mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, with the federal government seeking a consortium to manufacture them in Australia to complement the work of CSL in Melbourne making the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Invitations are open to set up "end-to-end" onshore mRNA vaccine manufacturing with high-profile proponents, including the international biotech company BioCina working with the University of Adelaide, emerging as serious candidates.
Biopharmaceutical giant CSL, which is making 50 million doses of the rival AstraZeneca vaccine in Melbourne, is also now looking through the details of the government's approach.
A key criterion of the initiative, which would be a 10-year deal, is being able to deal with an emergency and cover the entire Australian population with vaccine doses in a relatively short period of time.
Manufacturers have eight weeks to outline their cases.
Staying on vaccines, infectious disease expert Sanjaya Senanayake said making cutting-edge mRNA vaccines in Australia would be a "game-changer" for public health.
"In the past, whenever we have needed boosters because a pathogen has mutated, it has generally taken about six months to get that up and running in a laboratory setting," he told Nine.
"But with the mRNA vaccines it only takes six weeks, so that in itself is a big game-changer."
Industry Minister Christian Porter expects it to be more than a year before production can start.
In other government news, independent senator Rex Patrick has warned that it was "turning a blind eye" to sexual harassment after it knocked back proposals to close a loophole allowing disgraced former judges to continue receiving taxpayer-funded pensions.
A Senate committee tasked with reviewing the proposal, which would have resulted in retired judges being stripped of their pensions if they were later found to have engaged in serious misconduct while serving as judges, dismissed the bill in a report published on Thursday.
The committee said the proposed changes lacked a clear definition about what was "serious misconduct" and cited potential constitutional issues in their recommendation to dismiss it.
Mr Patrick, who led the proposed changes, said closing the loophole was the first step to overcoming the "deep-seated political culture of cover-up and concealment".
In entertainment news, the country's old rock and rollers are making the most of restrictions with a new adage: hit the road while the borders are closed.
ARIA Hall of Famers the Hoodoo Gurus, '70s icon Richard Clapton and renowned singer songwriter Paul Kelly are among Frontier Touring's wave of domestic talent embarking on national ventures.
And it's not exclusively yesteryear artists. Indie folk songstress Julia Jacklin, hip hop trio Bliss N Eso, the DMA's and Lime Cordiale are also touring.
Dion Brant, chief operating officer at Mushroom Group, Frontier's parent company, said while national border closures were "bad overall for the industry", it was a chance for artists to "get out and shine under their own name instead of being a support act and to build followings".
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*This edition of The Informer was written by The Canberra Times reporter Toby Vue. If you'd like to show your support for the team behind The Informer, why not forward us to a friend?
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