Need to Know is powering down for the afternoon. Thanks for following along. Here’s a recap of the day’s main stories:

- Former senior public servant Jenny West gave evidence at a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the John Barilaro trade post saga. She said she was offered the job, but it was then rescinded and Investment NSW head Amy Brown told her it would be “a present” for someone else.

- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Labor’s promised national jobs and skills summit will held over September 1-2 at Parliament House in Canberra. About 100 attendees were expected. It aimed to drive reforms participation, productivity, migration and women’s economic security.

- Australian Medical Association vice president Chris Moy has criticised the federal government’s “mixed messaging” on COVID-19 measures. He warns worse is to come with the spread of BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants and “we have been like frogs boiled slowly” about the winter pandemic risk.

- About 7.4 million more people can get a fourth COVID-19 jab after the government widened eligibility to everyone aged 30 and older from Monday.

- Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles had headed to the US to meeting with his defence counterpart Secretary of Defence Lloyd James Austin, as well as members of the government, Congress, and key defence and national security figures.

- When Anthony Albanese heads to the Pacific Islands Forum on Wednesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will stand in briefly as acting prime minister. When Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong returns to Australia later that day, she will take the reins. Albanese is expected back on Friday morning.

-Anthony Albanese has said Australia won’t respond to demands from China, after it issued four requirements it said were needed to thaw relations. The prime minister says his government will co-operate with China “where we can” and that it wants to build good relations, but not at the expense of the national interest.