Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The Australian federal government has "paused" its plan to ease border restrictions from Wednesday, December 1, delaying the move by a fortnight as the world grapples with the new Omicron Covid variant.This means fully vaccinated visa holders will not be able to fly into Australia without an exemption.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement on Monday night after a meeting of the Cabinet's national security committee was briefed on the latest information about Omicron.At this stage, the easing of border restrictions will be delayed until December 15."On the basis of medical advice provided by the Chief Medical Officer of Australia, Professor Paul Kelly, the National Security Committee has taken the necessary and temporary decision to pause the next step to safely reopen Australia to international skilled and student cohorts, as well as humanitarian, working holiday maker and provisional family visa holders from 1 December until 15 December,'' a spokesman said."The reopening to travellers