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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has met with the leaders of the US, Japan and India for the first face-to face meeting of the Quad nations in the White House.

Mr Morrison stressed the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific with the four leaders also announcing significant initiatives on vaccine diplomacy, climate change, infrastructure and space exploration.

"The Indo-Pacific is a region that we wish to be always free from coercion, where the sovereign rights of all nations are respected and where disputes are settled peacefully and accordance with international law," Mr Morrison said.

READ MORE: PM will face emissions targets when he is home

Mr Morrison said talks about vaccines concentrated on the distribution process, especially for island nations and how to get doses to them on the ground.

"Vaccines are already flowing and they are going to continue to flow. I do want to stress – It is one thing to get the vaccines, the thing you've got to do is deliver on the ground, the cold chain distribution networks," Mr Morrison said.

"You think about the countries right across our region, think about Australia – it is a big country, there is a lot of distance, there is a lot of terrain. You think about the archipelago, the hundreds and hundreds of islands and moving through the region.

"How you get the vaccine into the arms – the medical professionals and health professionals that are needed, the PPE equipment and all of those things that are necessary.

"Vaccination programs are more than just the doses, it's everything that goes into it, and there was a lot of focus on that element today."

Mr Morrison and his fellow leaders— US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga — are all grappling with a rising China that Mr Biden has accused of coercive economic practices and unsettling military maneuvering.

He had one clear message for China after today's meeting.

"The Quad is a partner, whether it be for China or any other country that is in the Indo-Pacific region. We are there to make the region stronger, more prosperous, more stable, a positive initiative designed to lift the wellbeing of the people of the Indo-Pacific," he said.

"We talked about how to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific, and the way you do that is that countries like Australia and India and the United States and Japan, we stand up for the values that we believe in, and we resist any suggestion or any pressure that would come on any of us to be anything different to what we are."

Mr Morrison said all countries in the Indo-Pacific, whoever they are, value sovereignty and independence and those ideals should be shared by all.

Mr Morrison said Australia reaching 80 per cent full vaccination would be key in getting more Australians stranded overseas home.

"Once we hit 80 per cent vaccinations, that means Australians will be able to travel in those states that are opening up, they will be able to get on planes and go overseas and come home, and that means Australians who are overseas who are vaccinated with the vaccines that are recognised in Australia will be able to get on planes and come to Australia," he said.

"The caps at the airports for vaccinated Australians to return will be lifted, and that means there will be the commercial demand for those flights to be put on. I don't think Qantas will have to be encouraged to start running those flights and putting people on seats, and I'm looking forward to them getting on with that job, because that's the business they are in."

Mr Biden declared the alliance are showing they "know how to get things done" in an increasingly complicated corner of the globe.

They made no direct mention of China as they opened the group's first ever in-person meeting, but the Pacific power was sure to be a major focus as they headed into private talks.

On broader issues, Mr Morrison and his counterparts have repeatedly made a case that Australia and likeminded allies need to deliver results on the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and other fundamental matters with the world in what Mr Biden deemed a race between democracies and autocracies.

Mr Morrison and the others seemed to pick up that message as they opened today's summit.

"We are liberal democracies, believe in a world order that favours freedom," Mr Morrison said. "And we believe in a free and open Indo-Pacific, because we know that's what delivers a strong, stable and prosperous region."

Before the gathering, Mr Biden sat down with Mr Modi in the Oval Office. He was also to have a one-on-one with Mr Suga, who is soon to step down from his post.

With Mr Modi by his side, Mr Biden played up ties to India — referencing Vice President Kamala Harris' Indian heritage and even his own family ties to the subcontinent.

The president also made clear he saw tightening relations with the world's biggest democracy — one that shares a neighborhood with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and China — as vital for both sides.

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"I've long believed the US-India relationship can help us solve an awful lot of global challenges," Mr Biden said.

Mr Modi, who met with Ms Harris and American business leaders on Thursday, noted the importance of the Indian diaspora for the US economy and said he wanted to find ways the two countries could work together to strengthen their respective economies.

At the afternoon summit, the Quad leaders were expected to announce a coronavirus vaccine initiative and plans to bolster semiconductor supply chains.

Mr Biden announced the Quad had created a program to bring graduate students in science and technology to US universities.

The Quad is an informal alliance formed during the response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 230,000 people.

Mr Biden has sought to reinvigorate the alliance, putting a spotlight on a chief foreign policy goal: greater attention to the Pacific and a rising China. The alliance met earlier this year, virtually, and announced plans to boost vaccination manufacturing in India.

The Japanese and Indian governments welcomed a recent announcement that the US, as part of a new alliance with Britain and Australia, would equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

That will allow Australia to conduct longer patrols and give it an edge on the Chinese navy. But the announcement infuriated France, which accused the Biden administration of stabbing it in the back by squelching its own $66 billion deal to provide diesel-powered submarines.

READ MORE: Families picnicking in Melbourne park allegedly 'viciously assaulted'

Tensions between Mr Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron eased after the two leaders spoke Wednesday and agreed to take steps to coordinate more closely in the Indo-Pacific.

Michael Green, who served as senior director for Asia at the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration, said Japan and India welcome the United States-United Kingdom-Australian alliance "because it will really for the next 50 years reset the trajectories in naval power in the Pacific and from the perspective of those countries stabilise things as China massively builds up its naval forces."

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian has called it a reflection of "outdated Cold War, zero-sum mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical perception" that will intensify a regional arms race.

Beijing has also sought to push the notion that creation of the alliance indicates the US will favour Australia in the Quad at the expense of Japan and India, said Bonny Lin, senior fellow for Asian security at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

China also has tried to undercut the Quad as out of step with other nations in Southeast Asia and portrayed members of the Quad as "US pawns," Dr Lin said.

The White House meeting played out as China continues making shows of force in the region concerning Taiwan.

The meeting also concludes a busy week of wider diplomacy for Mr Biden, who addressed the UN General Assembly and hosted a virtual global summit on COVID-19.

Mr Biden and leaders of other wealthy nations face criticism about the slow pace of global vaccinations and the inequity of access to shots between wealthier and poorer nations. The pushback from leaders of low- and moderate-income countries come though Biden announced plans for the US to double to one billion doses its purchase of Pfizer vaccine to share with the world.

Mr Modi was expected to bring up Afghanistan during his meeting with Mr Biden and to raise objections to the Taliban's effort to get recognition at the United Nations. The Indian government also has concerns about the influence it believes Pakistan's intelligence service exerted in how factions of the Taliban divvied up government offices in Kabul.

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Mr Suga was expected to discuss China, North Korea, Afghanistan, the COVID-19 response and climate change. He highlighted the alliance's "strong solidarity between our four nations, and our unwavering commitment to the common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

North Korea last week said it successfully launched ballistic missiles from a train for the first time, striking a target in the sea some 800 kilometres away.

That test came after the North this month said it tested new cruise missiles, which it intends to make nuclear-capable, that can strike targets 1500 kilometres away, a distance putting all of Japan and US military installations there within reach.

Victoria has recorded 847 new local COVID-19 cases in the last day and one further death.

The results come from more than 59,000 tests, while 37,000 vaccinations were administered.

There are currently 7611 active cases.

READ MORE: Scott Morrison joins Indo-Pacific leaders at first Quad nations meeting

https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1441529563406766084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Of the day's cases, 79 per cent of them were aged under 50.

"This is still largely an outbreak of people under 50, the young and the unvaccinated," Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said.

Across the state, there are 321 people currently in hospital with COVID-19, with 65 in intensive care and 45 on a ventilator.

A total of 77.1 per cent of the eligible population has received one dose of a vaccination and 49.6 per cent has received two.

Mr Foley said authorities are closely watching regional Victoria as the number of cases "steadily but slowly rises".

He said Chief Heath Officer Brett Sutton will make an announcement in within the next 24 hours about restrictions in both Mitchell Shire and the Greater Geelong area, both of which are due to have their lockdown measures reviewed.

READ MORE: NSW records 1007 new local cases, 11 more deaths

However the Surf Coast region will definitely be coming out of lockdown as at 11.59pm tomorrow, Sunday September 26.

COVID-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said that the majority of new cases continue to come from Melbourne's northern suburbs.

"It's a very consistent picture over the last few weeks, we have seen continual high levels of household transmission, particularly across the northern suburbs," he said.

"We have over 60 per cent of those cases in the northern suburbs, and of those are in the borough, and the majority of those cases are in five postcodes."

The key suburbs of concern continue to be Roxburgh Park, Craigieburn, and Broadmeadows.

"We now have just under 5000 cases in the northern suburbs, just under two-thirds of the total cases in all the Victoria," Mr Weimar said.

There are 30 cases across regional Victoria and around 10 of those are workplace incursions from people living in regional Victoria working in metropolitan Melbourne.

Today's death is a man in his 80s from Hume.

Yesterday, there were 733 new local cases recorded – the highest daily increase this year.

Authorities have warned that they expect numbers to continue to soar as the outbreak worsens, with the peak expected within the coming weeks.

Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton has urged for Victorians to refrain from illegally gathering over the grand final long weekend.

"Enjoy your fancy cheese boards or whatever you want to enjoy at home," he said.

"Put the barbecue on, put your iPad up, have your phones on FaceTime, cry, scream and laugh over the internet to connect with friends and family and enjoy the spirit of the day in full.

"Don't go to households, don't think that you'll be alright … that's how we are seeing transmission occur."

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A great villain can make or break a story.

Having built a franchise famous for its bad guys, the pressure was on Far Cry's narrative director Navid Khavari; who has dreamed up a dictator in Anton Castillo, who's proving to be a charismatic cut-throat.

Did I mention he's played by the incredible Giancarlo Esposito?

Far Cry 5 set the bar incredibly high. The Seed family was genuinely unhinged. Did you feel the pressure when you sat down to write Far Cry 6?

"Yeah, I'll tell you that my beard was black when we started this game," laughs Navid pointing to a lighter patch of his gloriously greying beard.

"This section right here is devoted to Anton."

"It's about finding a charming antagonist who doesn't necessarily see themselves as a villain at all, who is able to sort of coax you in, charm you into thinking whatever twisted reality they've constructed in their head actually makes sense.

"The real sort of light bulb moment was starting to think about what would it be like to actually be in the living room of a dictator? It's that simple (laughs).

"What would it be like to just sit there, you know privately and just say, 'why are you doing this?!'

Talk to me about how this dictator differs. What is Anton Castillo pushing for? You've had such a ridiculous talent engine Carlo Esposito come on board. I'm curious, what came first? Giancarlo? Or crafting Anton?

"Crafting Anton came first for sure we were really interested in this idea of legacy.

"His father was in power, in the 60s and Anton watched his father be deposed and was in the cell next to him as he was getting executed. So he lived with that trauma.

READ MORE: Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito brings video game villain to life

"We wondered, what it would be like for someone like that to come into power again with this sort of message of rebuilding paradise?

"We always had Giancarlo up there as sort of a dream as a writer, right? You have your dream cast. He would be amazing but we'll never get this.

"We had a meeting in New York and it just felt perfect. I can't stress that enough. The empathy and knowledge and you know, I've said this before but he's the most prepared actor I've ever met.

"He had copious notes on the scripts with his own ideas and thoughts."

"He brought his own props. I mean who does that!? He brought us a cigar and a plushie sort of a rubber ball for the grenade… it just felt meant to be.

Obviously the fans love him from shows like Breaking Bad or the Mandalorian on Disney+, for people who may not have played a Far Cry before. Are you hoping this is what gets them interested?

"(Giancarlo) didn't just want to do Gus Fring again."

"So what I think will be interesting is whether you're a fan of Far Cry or whether you're a fan of Giancarlo, he brings a very different character."

"If you get the chance to meet Giancarlo he's unbelievably charming and he has tons of energy, like I'm jealous of the amount of energy the guy has and we channelled that into Anton as someone who publicly would be boisterous and tell stories and bring everyone in but then, at the drop of a hat, would just turn terrifying and still and stare through your soul.

"He has that magic so what's exciting is I think it's a performance that feels fresh.

The themes he's playing with are really heavy. Cancer, dictatorships, political unrest but at the same time, the game's heroes can be aided by crocodiles and angry chickens! How do you balance that?

"I think that's sort of part of the Far Cry DNA to be honest."

"We talked about what makes a Far Cry game a great Far Cry game and that's something that comes with the territory."

"It is a tricky line to cross but at the same time we tried to embrace it."

"The the sort of world we're creating it is absolutely grounded but we wanted to be very clear from the outset that – and this comes from studying revolutions, insurgencies and history – while the topics you're dealing with and the situations you're in are high stakes, dangerous, intense and life or death, they do have fun.

"There is an element of adrenaline and joy and humour in what they're doing."

"Now is Far Cry a bit hyper-real? Absolutely but we wanted to embrace that side as well.

"Hopefully, if we've done our jobs right, it'll actually feel like a unique combination.

Far Cry 6 arrives October 7 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, Amazon Luna and Microsoft Windows.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel provided a rare splash of colour amid Germany's staid election campaign while visiting a bird park where she posed with half a dozen parrots.

Not content with the bird feed on offer, one of the Australian rainbow lorikeets at Marlow Bird Park took a peck at the long-time German leader's hand, prompting a theatrical scream from Merkel.

READ MORE: Germany's central bank received an influx of money that was damaged in floods

Merkel, who is not running for a fifth term, visited the northeastern state of Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania on Thursday to promote the centre-right Union bloc's candidate in the constituency she has held since 1990.

Earlier in the week, Merkel stopped to pose for selfies with locals while visiting the weekly market in her former constituency in Marlow on Thursday.

Germany holds a national election Sunday that will determine the composition of parliament.

The strongest party usually ends up leading a new government and will name a new chancellor, who needs to be confirmed by a majority of lawmakers.

Two families picnicking in a Melbourne park have spoken of their terror after allegedly being "viciously assaulted" by another group with children yesterday afternoon.

Victim Jacquelyn, her friend, and their two 12-year-old daughters were enjoying the sunshine at Slater Reserve on Grosvenor Street in Blackburn North when they were confronted by the group about 4.30pm.

A man and a woman, along with five children believed to be aged between eight and 15, allegedly began swearing at the 12-year-old girls and removing QR codes from the park fence.

Jacquelyn asked them to stop, but the group allegedly began verbally abusing her.

Her friend tried to step in, but she was set upon by one of the young girls of the group, who allegedly began "swiping" at her, trying to remove her face mask and kicking her.

Jacquelyn was then allegedly placed into a headlock and dragged to the ground by a woman, before being kicked by other members of the group.

"They were trying to rip our masks off telling us we were afraid of a cold … and trying to cough on us," she said.

"They should be ashamed – they can have their views but they don't need to force them … or attack people that share different views."

Jacquelyn said her 12-year-old daughter was smart enough to call the police, while two Good Samaritans came to their rescue.

But the two men were allegedly threatened by a man, who set off a dog onto them.

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Alex Kimberley was one of the onlookers who tried to help before he was bitten by the dog.

"He walked behind me and the next thing I know the dog's latched onto my arm," he said.

"The fear in her eyes was full-on … I couldn't believe it."

The offenders then fled the scene and were last seen heading towards the vicinity of Grosvenor Street and Rialton Avenue.

The two 12-year-old girls were not physically injured during the incident, but Jacquelyn said the girls were too frightened to sleep last night.

An ambulance attended the scene and treated the women for their injuries.

"It's just erupted into a vicious assault on these two ladies and utilising a dog to attack two males who have tried to help," Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Graham Ross said.

Investigators have released images of the two adults wanted in relation to the incident.

The man is perceived to be Caucasian in appearance and was wearing black tracksuit pants with distinctive stripes on the side, a black t-shirt and runners.

He had a sleeve tattoo on his left arm and a bald head with a goatee.

The woman is described as Caucasian and was wearing a long black jacket and black pants.

She had long dark hair and was aged in her 30s or 40s.

Police have also appealed for any witnesses or anyone who may have been in the park or surrounding area at the time to contact police.

Anyone with information or footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.