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We’re onto the leaking of the Scott Morrison – Emmanuel Macron text message at Dfat estimates.

Foreign minister Marise Payne’s recollection is she first became aware of the leaking of the text through the media:

I don’t recall where I was at the time. I think I was travelling or in quarantine.

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching asks the Dfat secretary, Kathryn Campbell, when she too became aware of the leaked text message.

Campbell: “Via the media, senator … when the media reported it.”

Kitching: “No one phoned you the night before?”

Campbell: “No, senator.”

Asked if anyone in the prime minister’s office discussed the leaking of the text message with her, Campbell said: “No, senator.”

There is discussion of the prime minister’s office’s decision to block Guardian Australia’s freedom of information application for the other text messages between the pair in the fateful Aukus week. Payne says the category of harming international relations “is a category of standard use, if you like, across multiple FOIs”.

Campbell is asked whether she agrees with French officials that the leaking of a personal communication in this manner is a crude and unconventional tactic in international relations.

Liberal chair Eric Abetz chimes in to point the finger at Macron for name-calling: “Calling someone a liar is a pretty crude and unconventional tactic.”

Asked whether the leaking of the text has weakened relations wth France, Campbell says officials are working very closely with France to ensure the bilateral relationship remains strong.

The Victorian government has entered exclusive negotiations to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, on Wednesday announced the state government would spend the next couple months working with the Commonwealth Games Federation to assess the viability of hosting the event. He said:

We are the sporting capital of our nation. We have all that is needed to make an event like this fantastic success for us and for everybody, right across the commonwealth.

While the 2006 games were held in Melbourne, Andrews wants the 2026 event to be held across regional Victoria:

It’s not just about rerunning what was done back in 2006, our vision is for this to be predominantly a regional Victorian space. It’s about taking this amazing competition across many different sports into regional cities and towns.

At Dfat estimates, there’s a brief diversion into an op-ed written in 2020 by Liberal backbencher Dave Sharma headlined “Reach out to Russia to manage the rise of China”.

This is being cited by Labor, given the government has been talking tough on China and Russia. Sharma argued that to manage the rise of China it was time to “reshuffle the deck” and bring Russia “in from the cold”. Sharma, a former Australian ambassador to Israel, wrote in the SMH piece:

Russia has undoubtedly been a force for global disorder in recent years. But in the long term it is an ambitious and revanchist China, not a nostalgic Russia, which poses the larger threat to the global order.

Marise Payne says she isn’t specifically aware of it, but notes “the creative juices flow strong and fast amongst members of the government in terms of the publication of opinion pieces”. She says she doesn’t have them all to hand and government backbenchers don’t need ministerial approval to submit them. Payne says the current situation regarding Ukraine is an “extremely serious matter”.

The Dfat secretary, Kathryn Campbell, has asked to see a copy of the op-ed, but points out it was written in 2020. She suggests a lot has changed in that time.

The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, has denied any “passivity” about Australia’s offer of cybersecurity assistance to Ukraine.

Australia’s ambassador for cyber affairs and critical technology, Tobias Feakin, is pressed on evidence from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet that no additional assistance has been provided since the onset of the crisis. Feakin says talks are well advanced and progressing:

It is correct, yes, because at the moment we are in that live discussion with the government about cyber security assistance.

Payne says she discussed the matter with the Ukrainian foreign minister on 19 January:

Over the past year Defence has also been providing capacity building training to officials … This has been an ongoing engagement. Our offer [is] as to whether we could add to that activity with the Ukraine. We have had engagements … to discuss further cyber assistance but ultimately identifying what would be useful and valuable to the Ukrainian government.

This is a very challenging time for the Ukrainian government across multiple fronts. That’s why the United States in particular has taken a coordinating role, so it is in no way shape or form an issue of passivity or anything else, it is a case of working with a partner to determine what might be helpful at a critical time.

There are questions about Ukraine being hit with new cyber-attacks. Payne says the Ukrainian defence ministry has confirmed experience of a cyber-attack overnight.

Kristina Keneally notes Scott Morrison has not yet had a call with his Ukrainian counterpart and suggests “some level of passivity”.

“I completely disagree,” Payne replies.

The Dfat estimates session begins with an update on the situation in Ukraine.

Labor senator Kristina Keneally asks about the partial withdrawal of Russian troops. The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, is cautious:

I think it is very important that verification is obtained of those reports.

Payne notes the US secretary of state has called for verifiable, credible, meaningful de-escalation.

Katrina Cooper, a Dfat official, says Australia has received initial information from its embassy in Moscow. Cooper says there are grounds for only “cautious” optimism:

It is an encouraging sign that we are hearing those reports.

But Cooper cautions that the latest assessment is that the number of Russian troops in the region is 150,000. She notes that is a large number and provides the capability “for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine”. Cooper says a diplomatic offramp is still possible.

Officials reinforce Australia’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Officials say the number of Australian citizens, permanent residents and family members registered as being in Ukraine is 186. They say the Australians are spread across the country.

The operations of Australia’s embassy in Kyiv – which is co-located with Canada’s embassy – have moved to Lviv. The remaining three officers – Australia’s ambassador, deputy ambassador and one other officer – are again working alongside their Canadian counterparts.

A cyber security official, Tobias Feakin, says officials are progressing discussions with Ukraine on cyber security assistance:

At the moment it’s a live in confidence discussion.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is up at estimates today.

Foreign affairs minister Marise Payne says the foreign affairs questions are being asked today, instead of tomorrow as originally scheduled, so that she can leave Australia tonight, bound for a Munich security conference.

She says she also has a broader series of international visits (including a French/EU Indo-Pacific forum in Paris).

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has taken another swing at the Liberal MP (or MPs?) who seem to be leaking embarrassing details to the media, in the wake of reports that Alan Tudge’s days as education minister may be limited.

Channel 10 reported on Tuesday that Tudge could be on his way out.

It was also reported that Tudge’s name had been scratched off a nameplate at his office door, but prime minister Scott Morrison’s office said the matter was still in progress and no decision had been made.

Senate estimates heard on Monday that a report on allegations made against Tudge by former staffer Rachelle Miller had been provided to Morrison weeks ago, but that people participating in the report were still being given the opportunity to review its contents.

The latest leak from the ministry follows several other damaging leaks to Channel 10, including texts reportedly between former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and a Liberal minister which were strongly critical of Morrison, and a cabinet leak last week which claimed Morrison had been “rolled” by colleagues over a strategy to allow debate on a federal integrity commission in hopes of gathering more support for his religious discrimination bill.

Joyce, speaking on Sky News, criticised whoever was sharing such explosive information with media. He said:

If you’re deliberately handing over information that’s supposed to remain private … then you’re deliberately trying to make that task in the next election more difficult.

Joyce had his own embarrassing moment recently when a text he sent to former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, which was also very critical of Morrison, was published in the media.

Morrison has asked his party for more unity in recent weeks. On Tuesday he told his members that they had jobs to do:

I’m going to do mine, I need you to do yours.

All elective surgery across public and private hospitals can resume by the end of the month in Victoria, the state government has said, adding that the impact of the Omicron wave continues to subside and stabilise.

From Monday 21 February, public hospitals in metropolitan Melbourne will be able to perform category 2 surgery.

The minister will also consider further changes to allow all surgery to resume from 28 February. Each hospital will individually assess their own capacity based on staff availability and Covid-19 demands, with 44 hospitals still operating as Covid- streaming hospitals.

Private hospitals will also be able to increase their elective surgery activity as long as they can continue to provide support for public hospitals to respond to Covid-19 demands.

From 21 February, private hospitals in metropolitan Melbourne can undertake up to 75% of any elective surgery activity, increasing from 50%. The government will then consider increasing this on 28 February to up to 100%.

In regional Victoria, the cap for private hospitals will increase from the current 75% to up to 100% on 21 February – while regional public hospitals continue to deliver any elective surgery based on their individual capacity.

The rolling seven-day average of Covid-19 hospitalisations is 457 patients, decreasing from a peak of more than 1,200 patients in mid-January 2022. The number of staff unavailable due to Covid has dropped by around two-thirds, currently at around 1,400 people.