The Australian government has today announced a Royal Commission into the devastating Black Summer bushfires and released the Terms of Reference.

I will be writing to the Commission requesting they visit the Mid-North Coast and hear firsthand from residents who have been affected by the fires.

There is a clear community expectation for a direct federal government response to these types of disasters, including the direct deployment of the Australian Defence Force.

We need to learn from the past bushfire season how we the Commonwealth can work better with the state to protect and equip our communities for living in hotter, drier and longer summers.

The scale of these bushfires has presented new challenges for all levels of government, which require a detailed national inquiry and response.

I will continue to do what is necessary to ensure our communities recover, we will rebuild, and we will become more resilient.

Protecting Australians from Coronavirus

The government is taking action to contain the virus and protect Australians. Based on expert advice, the government has extended a temporary ban on foreign nationals who have been in mainland China for 14 days.

Last week we provided assisted departure for Australians from the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship and from Wuhan and increased detection at our borders. Funds of $2 million have been fast tracked to support Australia's best researchers to help develop a vaccine.

Online child protection

A new toolkit launched by the eSafety Commissioner will provide schools with resources to help prevent and respond to online safety issues.

The eSafety Toolkit for Schools has four key themes - Prepare, Engage, Educate and Respond.

I encourage parents and teachers to have a look and use the resources to have a conversation with your children or teenagers on how to respond to online safety incidents and promote online safety. For more information visit esafety.gov.au/.