Australia’s transport safety investigator has urged the manufacturer of Cessna 210 aircraft, Textron Aviation, to address structural fatigue concerns after an in-flight breakup occurred in May 2019.

Fully vaccinated New Zealanders have been free to travel to Australia without entering two-week quarantine since 1 November, however, New Zealand is yet to reinstate the two-way travel bubble for Australians to enter.

Instead, PCR tests for interstate travel will be covered by the government under Medicare, funded jointly by the Commonwealth and the states, as has been the case for all walk-in testing clinics.

The Queensland government announced on Tuesday that from 1 January, Rex will take over the Central 1 route, connecting the regional towns of Roma and Charleville to the state’s capital of Brisbane.