Foreign MinisterPenny Wong has reaffirmed the government's commitment to climate action as she tours the Pacific region.

Wong this morning met with Fiji's Prime MinisterSitiveni Rabuka and a section of cultural leaders known as theGreat Council of Chiefs.  

But it was the ever-present issue of climate action that remained front-and-centre, as Pacific nations look for greater commitments from Australia ahead of its push to co-hostCOP 31 with the Pacific Islands nations next year.     

"We have legislated very ambitious targets, so our action is to meet them, and that requires a big economic transition in Australia, and we committed to that, and we're really grateful for the mandate the Australian people have given us," Wong said at a press conference in Suva earlier today.

She also re-affirmed Australia's aid contributions to the Pacific, in light of the US decision to significantly reduce its aid to the region, declaring Australia is "here to stay".

From Fiji, the minister will continue her Pacific tour, travelling to Tonga and Vanuatu over the next two days. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made a stop in Singapore on his way home from Rome, where he's met with Prime MinisterLawrence Wong.

Earlier, we heard from Nationals stalwartBarnaby Joyce at a doorstop in Bendemeer, NSW.

He started off with an apology for his outfit — an akubra and slate coloured work shirt.

"I've got the call to do media from the truck and so had to pick up the kids and take them here, so I'm dressed for work in the paddock and not political work."

I, for one, think a suit might have been a little too dressy for the roadside location.

On the news of the day, Joyce suggested the National Party's newfound independence was an opportunity for politicians to focus on their constituents' priorities.

He reaffirmed his support for both Nationals leaderDavid Littleproudand Liberal leaderSussan Ley,saying his job was to hold the government to account, not the Liberals.

IndependentZoe Daniel says she will await theAustralian Electoral Commission's full distribution of preferences.

ABC chief elections analyst Antony Green says with no votes left to count, LiberalTim Wilson has defeated Daniel by 128 votes.

But Daniel says she'll consider calling for a recount once the distribution of preferences is complete.

"The counting of first preference votes and the indicative two-candidate preferred count is now complete. The margin is 128 votes," Daniel says.

"The next step is the full distribution of preferences. We've come this far and it seems prudent to allow the AEC to get on with finishing the job," she says.

The Australian government has announced$4 million to support Fiji'sHIV response plan in an attempt to help stem a further rise in cases in the Pacific island nation.

Fiji is experiencing a rapid growth in HIV infections, with the UN declaring the country has thesecond fastest growing HIV epidemic in theAsia-Pacific region, after the Philippines.

About50 per cent of the country's new cases are caused byintravenous drug use, according to Fiji's Ministry of Health.

At a press conferences in Fiji, Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the money will go towards reducing transmission, improving treatment and reducing harm to those living with the disease.

"I know that this is an issue the government and people of Fiji have been dealing with. We're pleased to be able to contribute to the response plan. We want to work with you to prevent the spread of HIV," Wong says.

Wong says Australia will also help launch a new clinical services plan to strengthen the delivery of health services for the people of Fiji.

Given his hope that those living in regional areas will benefit from the Coalition's split today,Michael McCormackis asked whether that would suggest the Coalition had devolved into a "relationship of convenience".

The Riverina MP notes this isn't the first time the parties have separated.

"It's been a successful relationship for 80 years," he says.

"We separated in '72 to '74, and we separated for about four or five months in 1987 ... but besides that, we have been a successful coalition for the majority of that period. 

"I believe we can get back together, I believe we can govern successfully in the future as a coalition but at the moment, we decided to take a break."

Nationals MPMichael McCormack has been asked about whether the Nationals will remain committed to net zero emission by 2050.

McCormack says people in his electorate are concerned about the prospect of more wind turbines in their communities.

He's called Labor's renewable energy policy "flawed", and says while Labor has won a landslide, it doesn't give them a mandate to "ruin" regional communities.

"When it comes to energy transmission, and they are sick and tired of seeing their landscapes, their arable farmland, their peaceful communities taken up with these huge solar factories, these huge wind factories," McCormack says.

Labor MPSally Sitou has responded to McCormack by saying Labor is representing a cross section of Australian society.

"From the east coast to the west coast, this means that we can represent the totality of Australians and their concerns," Sitou says.

His party's power may have been watered down in its split from the Liberal Party, but Nationals MPMichael McCormackappears unfazed.

"I don't think any National Party member goes to Canberra to get positions," he says onAfternoon Briefing. 

"It's not about positions, it's not about power, it's actually about representing people in regional areas, in those marginal areas."

Liberal MPZoe McKenzie is up now onAfternoon Briefing.

She says she's "disappointed" at the National Party's exit from the Coalition.

"But this does give the Liberal Party the chance to do the hard, humble work we must do," she says.

"We have work to do, we must examine the policies we took to the last election, we must consider the way back, particularly in those metropolitan seats that we lost, and we must find a way to bring the Australian people with us at the next election, that will take some hard work and some hard reflection, this gives us an ability to do that."

McKenzie concludes that while she would have rathered the Coalition remain in tact, she likes to "look for the silver lining".

Liberal candidateTim Wilson has defeated independentZoe Daniel in the south-east Melbourne seat ofGoldstein.

ABC chief elections analystAntony Greensays with no votes left to count, Wilson has defeated Daniel by 128 votes.

This means Wilson will return to the Liberal party room after being ousted at the 2022 federal election.

David Littleproud has been asked whether a Coalition agreement could have been reached underAngus Taylor.

The Nationals leader says that's hypothetical and thatSussan Ley has a significant challenge to face.

"While this is disappointing, it's not the end but we cannot, cannot get caught up in the rediscovery of the Liberal Party," Littleproud says.

Asked whether he acknowledges the Nationals can't be in government without being in a Coalition with the Liberals, Littleproud says he understands that.

"This is really important to the National Party and to the people and electorates we represent," he says.

"I think it's a very strong message to the electorate that we have a healthy democracy."

Nationals leaderDavid Littleproud  says the Nationals weren't asking for anything other than the same policies that they brought forward to the last election.

The Nationals leader says the party couldn't get a guarantee that its policies would be included in the Coalition agreement.

He says the Liberal Party is going through a period of "self reflection" after losing 30 seats over successive elections.

"They will do that, and I think it create an environment for them to do that, but we don't want to walk away from the things that are important," Littleproud says.

Nationals leader David Littleproud has rejected reports that he gaveSussan Ley 30 minutes notice the Nationals would be leaving the Coalition.

Littleproud says the process started last Thursday when he drove to Albury to meet with Ley while she spent time with her dying mother.

He says the Nationals were seeking an assurance that some Nationals policies be cemented in a Coalition agreement.

"We weren't asking for anything new that we wanted to have certainty around those, so these discussion took some time," Littleproud says.

"The process was not taken lightly, it was respectful, and it was transparent."

On Afternoon Briefing,Anne Alyhas told Evelyn Manfieldthis government is the most culturally diverse ever.

She's asked whether the Labor Party could do a better job at giving senior roles to people of diverse backgrounds.

"Well, I'm there," Aly observes, before naming some of her other culturally diverse colleagues.

"I think when we talk about diversity we don't just talk about our own diversity, we talk about the diversity of others as well, diversity is a concept, as a valued concept as part of our party as well," she said.

"So I think that we have done a lot, in terms of not just having diverse representation in our caucus, as you mention, in our government, as you mention, but in elevating those diverse voices as well."

Over toAfternoon Briefing now, where Labor frontbencherAnne Alyhas given her reaction to the Coalition split.

She says the government will work with "whatever parliament is made up of".

"You know, if they choose to consciously uncouple, that is unto them, and I think in terms of our approach, we were elected as a majority on a mandate, and we will govern that way," she said.

Opposition LeaderSussan Ley has just wrapped her press conference in Parliament House. Here are the main points:

• Sussan Ley says the door always remains open to the Nationals if they want to rejoin the Coalition. 
• Ley says the Liberals offered to work constructively with the Nationals and stand a joint shadow cabinet, but they declined.
• The opposition leader says she doesn't see the Liberal and National parties as being shackled together.
• Ley says she wasn't going to accept a Coalition agreement without shadow cabinet solidarity, as the Nationals requested.

Asked if she felt the Nationals were rushing her, Opposition LeaderSussan Ley says the minor party probably felt they arrived at a point where there was no more discussion to be had.

"But in the future, perhaps we can return and have conversations that pick up where we left off. But in terms of why, that probably is a question for them," Ley says.

When asked if she thinks the Liberals could form government on their own, Ley saysJohn Howard could have governed without the Nationals in 1996.

"John Howard took a strong and principled approach that the Coalition mattered in the long-term more than one term in government where the Liberals effectively could have governed without the Nationals," she says.

With both parties flagging that the door is still open for a Coalition agreement down the line, some are questioning the permanency of the opposition's upcoming shadow cabinet.

Sussan Leyis asked whether she will be holding some shadow portfolios for a potential Nationals return.

She says she won't be.

"I have enormous talent in the Liberal Party party room and the shadow ministers that I appoint from that party room will be well-equipped and incredibly capable to take the fight up to Labor right up until the next election," she says, before taking another question.

A later question steers the press conference back to the shadow cabinet matter.

"If the Nationals are keen to rejoin, and I hope they are, those discussions will be had as and when needed," Ley reiterates.

Sussay Ley says she wasn't going to accept a Coalition agreement without shadow cabinet solidarity, as the Nationals requested.

Ley says she would have preferred fierce debates to occur within party rooms and around the shadow cabinet table, rather than in public.

"You come out as a united front and you present a united agenda to the Australian people. And it's important that when we do that, people know that we're acting as a team in their interests," Ley says.