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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Mostafa Rachwani and Cait Kelly

NT chief minister says Omicron ‘too infectious’ for lockdowns to work as nation records at least 88 Covid deaths – As it happened

New South Wales Covid-19 Omicron NT Ashleigh Barty Anthony Albanese Dominic Perrottet SA Barnaby Joyce United States

What happened Sunday 30 January 2022

With that, we’ll end our live coverage for today.

Here’s a recap of today’s major news developments:

  • NSW again hit a grim milestone as it recorded its deadliest day of the Covid pandemic so far, with 52 deaths. 2,663 people are in hospital, with the state reporting 13,524 new cases.
  • NSW also saw its first confirmed cases of the Omicron subvariant “son of Omicron”.
  • NSW premier Dominic Perrottet announced a $1bn support package for businesses, with Treasuer Matt Kean lamenting a lack of federal support.
  • Victoria has seen hospitalisations dip, while reporting 10,589 new cases, 20 deaths and 889 people in hospital.
  • Queensland reported 8,580 new cases and 13 deaths, as premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced schools will resume on 7 February, with a mask mandate.
  • The Australian defence force is set to help with flood relief in Coober Pedy, South Australia.
  • Tasmania recorded one death and South Australia two deaths. Western Australia reported 20 cases, while the NT reported 849 new cases.
  • Opposition leader Anthony Albanese accused the Morrison government of leaving business behind during Omicron wave.
  • Hillsong founder Brian Houston announced he is stepping down as leader of the church as he defends criminal charges that allege he covered up his father’s child sexual abuse.

Updated

So, lost a little in the morning furore around his other comments, deputy PM Barnaby Joyce also doubled down on his claim people are “hoarding” rapid antigen tests.

Joyce told Sky News it was a “matter of fact” that some people were buying more tests than they needed.

There are certainly other big issues at play, but if you deny that RATs are being hoarded at all, to deny it would be, I’d have to lie. Because people are, businesses are.

And that’s just like, people hoard toilet paper and hoard other things. I don’t know why they do that. But are you going to say that doesn’t happen as well? Of course it does.

This is the second time Joyce has claimed people are hoarding the tests, and faced a fierce backlash, with many accusing him of deflecting the government’s responsibilities to supply the tests.

Joyce said he “apologises” for people feeling frustrated, but turned again to blaming individuals, rather than being held accountable for the shortage.

Well, if they’re frustrated, I apologise for that.

But the issue is if they say they’re frustrated, because people are holding them, well, that’s a problem you have to take up with the people hoarding them.

Updated

And if you are still basking in Ash Barty’s triumph yesterday (as I assume many are), I’d highly recommend Emma Kemp’s take on Barty’s magic:

I want to return to this morning’s NSW Covid update, where treasurer Matt Kean took a swipe at the federal government for not “stepping up” and contributing to the state government’s small business support package.

As he was introducing the package (which you read about at this link), Kean said he was “disappointed” the federal government didn’t contribute.

I’m very disappointed, I was hoping to make this announcement standing next to the prime minister today and the Treasurer (Josh) Frydenberg.

But they’re not to be found.

These are not just NSW businesses, they are Australian businesses … that pay their taxes to the commonwealth government, Australian businesses that are doing it so tough at this time.

So what we want to see is rather than the commonwealth government stepping aside, we want to see the commonwealth government stepping in like the NSW government is doing to support small business and in so doing supporting our national economy because that’s in everyone’s interest.

Updated

Thanks Cait for keeping the blog alive today, Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, to dive through the news.

And with that, I am going to hand you back to Mostafa Rachwani whose capable hands will steer the ship across the evening. I am off to get boosted!

Hillsong founder Brian Houston has announced he is stepping down as leader of the church as he defends criminal charges that allege he covered up his father’s child sexual abuse.

In a statement made on Sunday, Houston said he made the decision after consulting with the church’s leadership and legal counsel.

“The Hillsong Global Board feel it is in my and the church’s best interest for this to happen, so I have agreed to step aside from all ministry responsibilities until the end of the year.

Lucky escape from Sydney balcony collapse

From AAP:

A Sydney man has escaped serious injury after his balcony fell while he was standing on it in the city’s east.

Fire and Rescue NSW says the second-storey verandah of the residential terrace in Bondi’s Botany Street collapsed on to a parked car around 9.30am on Sunday.

Firefighters used a ladder platform truck to assess the structural damage to the property and then a shoring technique to support the roof of the home.

After securing the scene around the caved-in balcony they were expected to eventually allow the occupants to return to the residence.

The man was treated at the scene by ambulance officers for minor injuries.

Firefighters had to shore up the roof of a Bondi terrace after its balcony collapsed.
Firefighters had to shore up the roof of a Bondi terrace after its balcony collapsed. Photograph: SUPPLIED/PR IMAGE

Updated

New Zealand records 103 new Covid cases

New Zealand has reported 103 new cases of Covid.

Currently, 11 people are in hospital.

94% of the population aged 12 and over have had two doses of the vaccine.

Updated

The Morrison government - which has been under pressure over shortages of rapid antigen tests during the Omicron wave - has gone on the attack over Anthony Albanese’s free RAT policy.

The Labor leader told the ABC’s Insiders program today that the free rapid antigen tests would be subject to “limits based upon the health advice”, including a cap on the number of tests a person could receive each month, in order to “control supply”. Albanese said:

What you’ve had from this government is a ‘let it rip’ approach when it comes to the market delivering and the market hasn’t delivered.

A statement issued by the government this afternoon tried to claim Albanese’s comment represented a “backflip”. The statement - attributed to the health minister, Greg Hunt, and the industry minister, Angus Taylor - says:

He is a weak leader who doesn’t know what he stands for … Under the slightest pressure to explain what he intended, Mr Albanese’s vague, sound-good pledge has collapsed to simply endorsing the Government’s program which in the first five days has delivered two million RATs, through 2600 pharmacies and to 467,000 concession card holders.

The federal finance minister, Simon Birmingham, fronted the cameras in Adelaide to accuse the Labor party of “thought bubbles”:

It sounds like it’s a great big hoax, and it’s a policy that is falling apart at the seams.

Let’s pause for a moment of analysis: the federal government has been under significant heat over RAT shortages amid accusations it failed to properly plan for “living with” the virus. It’s unclear how much this will influence the coming election, due by May, but generally the fierceness of a government response is a good guide as to how much an issue is biting with the general voting public.

Birmingham was also asked about the friendly fire the federal government received from the NSW Coalition government today, with the state treasurer, Matt Kean, expressing disappointment that the commonwealth had not chipped in funding for an economic support package.

The federal finance minister defended the level of economic support the federal government had provided to date, and contrasted the NSW announcement with the one made by the South Australian Liberal government a day earlier “without any fuss, without any demands of the commonwealth.”

Updated

Parts of the NT are reportedly struggling with serious food shortages due to the flooding in SA.

The tennis and wider sporting world has delighted in Ash Barty’s grand slam triumph after the world No 1 became the first local to win the Australian Open women’s singles crown in 44 years.

Barty beat American Danielle Collins in straight sets on Rod Laver Arena to become the first Australian to triumph at Melbourne Park since Chris O’Neil in 1978.

Men’s tennis great Rod Laver posted a photo on Twitter with Barty, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, O’Neil and Judy Dalton and hailed the 25-year-old’s “special” achievement.

Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina has returned to its home port of Hobart from Antarctica after discovering a giant underwater canyon and an undersea mountain on its maiden voyage.

The previously unknown canyon, more than 2200m deep, 2000m wide and at least 55kms long, was discovered after the ship departed Casey research station, following its refuelling operation.

Environment minister Sussan Ley said on Sunday the “spectacular start” for the state-of-the-art icebreaker had “turned a 39-day commissioning and resupply mission into a voyage of international discovery”.

Samples from the canyon could drastically add to our understanding of how quickly glaciers in Antarctica are melting due to global heating.

The data from this and other mapping efforts on board Nuyina will also feed into global efforts to map the world’s oceans by 2030.

Water from the canyon was sampled using a conductivity, temperature and depth instrument used to measure changes in water properties, including ocean temperature and salinity near glaciers.

With AAP

Updated

The Australian defence force is set to deliver 20 tonnes of food and supplies to Coober Pedy in South Australia where grocery shipment routes have been affected by flood waters.

Inland floods this week damaged rail infrastructure in South Australia and cut food supply lines to the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Shortages of food and essential supplies are now a concern in Darwin, Western Australia and remote towns including Coober Pedy.

Hillsong church leader Brian Houston has stepped down from his role while he defends a charge that he allegedly covered up child sexual abuse allegedly committed by his father Frank Houston.

More to come.

Updated

NT records 849 cases

On top of the 849 new cases, there are 121 people in hospital.

Of those eight people on oxygen and three people are in ICU.

The lockouts for Alice Springs, Amoonguna, Yuendumu and Yuelamu will end today as scheduled.

Gunner says from Tuesday people do not need to do a rapid antigen test in the week they arrive, neither locals nor travellers.

Updated

Michael Gunner says Omicron 'too infectious' for lockdowns and lockouts to work

Chief Minister of the NT Michael Gunner is speaking now.

He says lockdowns and lockout have lost their effectiveness.

“Omicron is too infectious and moves too quickly”.

Updated

We are expecting NT health authorities to give an update soon

The Health Services Union has welcomed comments from Anthony Albanese on Insiders that aged care workers would see a pay rise under a Labor government.

HSU national president, Gerard Hayes said:

The great unresolved crisis in aged care is wages. Until the commonwealth government commits to pay aged care workers a decent wage this crisis will only get worse.

Today we see a clear difference emerge between the major parties. Mr Albanese’s declaration of support for the HSU case to lift aged care wages is hugely significant.

In the short term it will lift the spirits of aged care workers. But in the longer term we need to lift wages to allow more workers to stay in the industry and stem the short staffing crisis.

We’re into our third year of this pandemic and an exhausted aged care workforce who can earn more stacking shelves in a supermarket are barely holding on.

Updated

Western Australia records 20 new cases

WA has recorded 20 new cases, 19 of which are linked to known clusters.

More to come.

National Covid-19 update

Here are the latest numbers from around the country, which today recorded at least 88 coronavirus deaths:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 584
  • In hospital: 62 (3 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 52
  • Cases: 13,524
  • In hospital: 2,663 (182 people in ICU)

NT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 849
  • In hospital: 121 (3 people in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 13
  • Cases: 8,580
  • In hospital: 745 (41 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 2
  • Cases: 1,633
  • In hospital: 289

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 594
  • In hospital: 20 (1 person in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 20
  • Cases: 10,589
  • In hospital: 889 (111 in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Cases: 20

Updated

Along with schools, the Queensland government is also encouraging workplaces to go back from 7 February.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk:

As long as you’re wearing masks indoors, it is safe to gradually return back to work.

So, of course, speak with your employer, speak with your supervisors. If you’re part of that vulnerable group, you may decide not to be returning to work at the moment before we get through this wave. So very good advice there for people, but I’m quite sure that employers will be speaking with members of their staff to have a safe return to work.

Updated

Thank you Mostafa!

Of the 13 QLD deaths in the last 24 hours, two of them were aged in their 60s, four in their 70s, 3 in their 80s, three in their 90s and one over the age of 100.

Of them five were unvaccinated and eight had two doses.

CHO Dr John Gerrard said the number of hospitalisations had reduced overnight.

We now have a total of 745 people in hospital being treated for Covid-19. Now, that’s a substantial decrease over yesterday when it was 833. So we have gone from 833 to 745. Of course, we shouldn’t be paying too much attention to a single day, but that is a very substantial decline. So it’s hard not to feel that that is a real phenomenon that we’re observing.”

Similarly, the intensive care admissions have declined in the last 24 hours. We have gone from 53 patients in intensive care down to 41. 41 in Queensland public hospitals, and 14 of those patients in Queensland public hospitals are ventilated.

Updated

And with that I will hand the blog back over to Cait.

QLD Schools to resume 7 Feb

Palaszczuk has announced Queensland’s back to school plan, saying school will return from Monday 7 February.

The premier said masks will be mandatory in high schools, and “strongly encouraged” from year 3 upwards, adding that masks would be made available at schools.

Teachers will be able to remove their masks when teaching, and students can remove them when seated.

Unlike in NSW, students will not need to take regular rapid antigen tests. RATs will only be provided for students that develop symptoms.

Palaszczuk said there was no strong evidence for regular testing:

Now, there is no health advice by the chief health officer or by AHPPC that staff or students need regular testing. On top of that, many parents have raised with me concerns about how they would administer these tests to their children.

Updated

QLD records 13 deaths, 8,580 cases

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has stepped up to give a Covid update, saying the state has recorded 13 deaths overnight, all in people aged over 65.

8,580 cases were recorded, with 745 people in hospital and 41 in the ICU.

Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you for a little while this morning, beginning with the Country Liberal Party, which has just confirmed it has received a letter of resignation from Senator Sam McMahon.

In a short statement, the party says the senator’s correspondence will be addressed at the next central council meeting :

The Country Liberal Party would like to confirm that we have received a letter of resignation from Senator Sam McMahon.

The senator has been advised that her correspondence will be referred to at the next Central Council meeting to be held on the 26 February 2022 for consideration.

Updated

I am just going to hand you over to Mostafa Rachwani who will take you through the next little bit while I eat some lunch!

Wayne Phillips has both feet firmly on dry land as he acts out cutting a whale loose from fishing gear.

The 51-year-old head of marine sciences at SeaWorld in Queensland oversees the park’s marine rescue team – four cutters, a coordinator, a captain and a videographer – who untangle humpback whales that have become bound up in rope and net.

The cutters, he explains, are armed with a gaff – a graphite pole similar to a fishing rod but topped with a reverse knife that doesn’t cut into the whale if it connects – and work in pairs to combat muscle fatigue.

ACT records zero deaths and 62 people in hospital

Updated

South Australia records two deaths

Premier Steven Marshall announced the two deaths were men in their 80s.

There are 289 people in hospital.

The 1,633 positive cases were reported on Sunday.

On Insiders, Anthony Albanese refused to say if he would raise the rate of JobSeeker.

Spokesperson for the Antipoverty Centre, Kristin O’Connell has these comments in response:

Unemployed people received another slap in the face today when Anthony Albanese said every federal budget should “consider” whether we are in a position to improve the JobSeeker rate. For many of us, callous comments like these have a devastating affect on our mental health.

I would ask the opposition leader if he “considers” whether he is in a position to pay for basic necessities on a month-to-month basis, or whether he plans a budget to make sure he can.

There is no excuse for our government to force us to live in poverty ever. For any reason.

He and every other major party politician are treating our health, our ability to live, as an optional extra when it should be non-negotiable.

Unemployment payments at half the poverty line means eight out of 10 people regularly skipping meals. Why is the opposition leader willing to accept this?

Updated

Andrews said they are expecting tens of thousands of extra enrollments.

Obviously we’ve had to recruit to deliver this commitment and we are delivering it in full despite the challenges.

We are in the process of recruiting another 6,000 early childhood teachers and educators, and 5,000 construction jobs as we build new classrooms, upgrading the sector so we can double the work and at least have double the benefit for our Victorian community.

Andrews says all 79 local government areas from this week will be delivering five hours of three-year-old kinder.

The important thing today - a little while ago we promised we would basically double kinder and early childhood education across our state, that we would offer support places to save families thousands of dollars each and every year and we go to five hours of three-year-old kinder.

All international evidence shows you if you invest in two years of early-childhood education rather than just one, then you change the life opportunities, you change the lives of so many young people as they get older.

This is all about brain development, socialisation, education beginning much earlier. It is great for parents, great for families, great for people to get back into the workforce. It is really obvious.

Updated

Andrews:

889 people are in hospital, significantly down from 953 yesterday, and a seven-day average of 995.

111 people are intensive care, down from 114 yesterday. 35 are on a ventilator, down from 39 yesterday. And sadly I have to report that 20 Victorians with Covid-19 have passed away, 10 of those in the last two days.

We, of course, send our sympathies, condolences and best wishes to their families. This will be an incredibly difficult time for them.

In terms of case numbers, 6,110 self-reported positive rapid antigen tests. A further 4,479 people received a positive PCR result.

Updated

Andrews:

Just on childhood vaccinations, 5,396 little ones got their vaccine in state-run centres yesterday, plus, of course, GPs will have done that work, too.

243,883 kids aged 5 to 11 have at least one dose to date. That is good, strong performance in a relatively short period of time.

We thank every parent and every little kid for going along and getting vaccinated.

Andrews:

63% of Victorians over 70 have had a third dose, 46% in their 60s, and 54% in their 50s. All of those numbers are building, but we do need to do more and do need to do better in terms of matching our second dose, two-dose performance with our third-dose performance.

23,863 doses were delivered yesterday at state sites, plus more that will have gone on in community pharmacy and also in GP practices, and we thank them for the partnership.

Updated

Premier Daniel Andrews is peaking in Victoria now.

More than 2 million Victorians have had a third dose, but still 2.1 million are eligible and have not yet had a third dose, so, again we appeal to all of those Victorians who are eligible.

I think it’s only a matter of time before the relevant federal agencies confirm that this is three doses, but it is not two plus a bonus.

It really is three doses to be protected not just against really critical illness, but to be protected or minimise the likelihood that you get it and give to the people that you love.

Updated

From AAP:

Matilda, Levi and Theodore have all made their debut in the top 10 of the most popular baby names in NSW for 2021.

Amelia and Oliver remain the most popular names for the state’s newest residents, as recorded by the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

There were 90,059 babies born in NSW last year, 14 more than the 90,045 who arrived in 2020.

Olivia, Charlotte, Isla, Ava, Mia, Grace, Chloe, Ella and Matilda joined Amelia as the most popular girls names of the year.

For boys, Oliver was followed by Noah, Jack, Henry, William, Leo, Lucas, Theodore, Levi and Thomas.

At least 60% of Australians eligible for a Covid booster have received one, according to new government data. However, an analysis of government figures by Guardian Australia shows the booster rate could be as low as 50% once new, expanded eligibility criteria are taken into account.

And, despite new record highs in daily vaccinations, the rollout is still lagging at least a month behind the “ideal” schedule. This is likely due to the continued expansion of eligibility criteria by federal and state governments.

The ABC has cut away from the Ash Barty presser, so I will bring you the end of it a bit later.

We are expecting the Victorian government to give an update at 11am.

Updated

Barty is asked what it means to be like Cathy Freeman or Evonne Goolagong:

I am not at their level, Evonne and Cathy are exceptional people and they have paved the path for so many of us and I am still in a category of trying to follow in their footsteps and do the best that I can.

But to be a small part of an amazing legacy that they created is really cool and I’m trying to create my own pathway and guideline of what they have done for us, as a culture and for our heritage, they are absolute superstars.

Ash Barty of Australia celebrates with champagne on Sunday.
Ash Barty of Australia celebrates with champagne on Sunday. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Updated

Any messages to young people considering taking up tennis or doing something like what you did?

Absolutely give it a go! That’s the important thing about giving it a go, trying everything, multiple things, and I played a lot of sport and I was younger and fell in love with tennis so if I can encourage any young boys or girls to pick up a racquet and have a go, that would be brilliant.

Australian Open winner 2022 Ash Barty, pictured here on Saturday.
Australian Open winner 2022 Ash Barty, pictured here on Saturday. Photograph: Action Press/Rex/Shutterstock

Updated

Ash Barty is speaking now in Melbourne.

Updated

Tasmania records one Covid death

Tasmania has recorded one Covid death, bringing the state’s total to five since the state reopened.

Twenty people are in hospital and one is in ICU.

594 cases were reported, which is about 100 less than Saturday.

Updated

Marshall says people should not travel to the area:

We, of course, want to send a very strong message to all South Australians that unless you need to be travelling in the north of South Australia, please stay away.

This is a very dangerous situation. The Department of Infrastructure and transport is doing everything they possibly can at the moment to create safe passing access to the north of the state and then further into the Northern Territory but it remains very, very difficult.

If you do need to travel, you need to make sure that you are fully provisioned because people can be stranded at very, very short notice.

But my key message to South Australians today is do not travel unless you need to be travelling at the moment.

Updated

Australian defence force to help with flood relief in Coober Pedy

We are just jumping to South Australia where Steven Marshall has just announced the Australian defence force will help residents in Coober Pedy with flood relief.

We have been successful at working with the Australian defence force for an emergency drop of essential provisions into Coober Pedy, and that could occur over the next 24 hours.

We’re very grateful for our friends in the Australian defence force who have been helping South Australia ... (with) our response to coronavirus and now to these extreme weather events.

Updated

Kean:

In addition, we know the commercial landlord sector is doing it tough because of relief they are providing small businesses so it’s worth supporting our commercial landlords by providing them extending the commercial landlord grant, up to $3,000 for those commercial landlords that have provided rent relief to small and medium businesses across NSW.

Updated

Kean:

We are expanding the small businesses fees and rebate package by $1,000, taking it to $3,000. Money can now be spent on rapid antigen tests, we will cover 50% of the costs of rapid antigen tests.

Money will come online by March to ensure that we don’t put additional pressure on the supply of rapid antigen tests in the market.

It will come online at a time when there are enough rapid antigen test to ensure they are affordable and accessible to everyone in the community.

NSW treasurer Matt Kean.
NSW treasurer Matt Kean. Photograph: Brendon Thorne/EPA

Updated

Treasurer Matt Kean is up now.

Today I’m announcing the most comprehensive business support package in the nation.

This is to help our small business sector to get through the other side so they can support the economy. It includes money to be spent to support businesses. We will pay businesses that have a turnover of less than $50m 20% of their payroll, up to $5,000 each week for the month of February.

They have to demonstrate that they’ve experienced a decline of 40% turnover for the month of January and expect that ... to continue for February.

Updated

Kerry Chant says Omicron sub-variant circulating in NSW

Chant is now talking about “son of Omicron”.

To confirm we have confirmed some of the BA.2 variant but there is likely to be more.

We have had four sequences identified as BA.2. For clarity, this is a sub-lineage, a sort of breakaway ... from the Omicron variant. We know that it is circulating in countries and we have seen it grow significantly – for instance in Denmark, it is now the dominant over BA.1.

We are seeing its prevalence, the number of proportion of BA.1 grow in some other countries so we think it may have some growth advantage over the BA.1, over the original Omicron.

But at the moment we don’t see that it is presenting anything different clinically in terms of the severity or its response to vaccine but will obviously be watchful, monitor the situation closely.

Also, we’ve been using, just to explain, we’ve been using the pathology tests that look for S gene dropout but this variant contains its – retains its S gene so that’s why we need to make for the special genomic sequencing to get a handle on its distribution.

Updated

Kerry Chant says there will be a change in reporting times.

I just want to alert the community and the media to the fact that we will be changing and adjusting our cutoff periods on the first, Tuesday the 1 February.

This means the reporting period information will go from 8pm close-off to a 4pm close-off.

The reason for that is that we are transitioning our public reporting to allow our epidemiologists and surveillance officers and data analysts that have been working day and night to move into a more sustainable footing.

Updated

Chant:

Of the 52 people who died, three were in their 60s, 11 people were in their 70s, 26 people were in their 80s, 11 were in the 90s, one was aged more than 100 years old.

31 of the 52 deaths were aged care residents, 21 died in aged care facilities, 31 died in hospital, and no one died at home.

And of those 31 people, just two had received booster doses. Twenty had received two doses of vaccine, two and received one dose and seven were not vaccinated.

Again reinforcing the importance of boosters. One person who died aged under 65 was a gentleman in his 60s – he had received two doses of vaccine and had underlying health conditions.

Updated

Chant:

We’ve got 37.4% of children who have had their first dose, and 40.8% of the eligible population have received the boosters, and I thank those people are coming forward.

We currently have 2,663 people in the hospital, including 182 people in ICU, of whom 73 are ventilated. We’ve had 13,524 positive test case results returned, and that includes 6,032 positive rapid antigen test and 7,492 PCR tests.

Now, 7,492 positive PCR tests were returned from 50,771 PCR tests. Sadly today we are reporting the deaths of 52 people with Covid, 33 men and 19 women.

Updated

Dr Kerry Chant is up now.

Getting vaccinated will be part of living with Covid, as it is with other infectious diseases such as the flu.

I just want to stress to the community, being up-to-date with your immunisations for Covid involves having that booster dose.

So people should consider those three doses essential to being up-to-date with your vaccination, and for some, those with underlying conditions which suppress the immune system actually need to have four to be considered up to date.

So please check what is right for you and get vaccinated.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant. Photograph: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Updated

Perrottet says they are extending the support to landlords who are providing rental relief.

This has been a successful program over the last two years. When I’m speaking to businesses across the state, I am noticing that some of that communication has fallen away between landlords and tenants.

I want to encourage landlords and tenants today to get in contact with each other. We have provided the opportunity for rental relief in this period of time there is also support there for landlords and tenants alike.

What has helped the state over this period of time is that we have worked together. We have looked out for each other. If we continue that over the course of 2022 that will ensure that our businesses will get through.

NSW premier reveals financial support package for businesses

Perrottet is now announcing a financial support package for businesses.

Our budget is the strongest in the nation.

By being able to do that, we have enabled to deploy our financial might to help businesses get through the difficult times of lockdown, and now we are doing that again.

So today’s announcement for small businesses with a turnover of less than $50m, and if you have had a 40% downturn over the summer period, we will provide 20% of your wages bill, to a maximum of $5,000.

We know this will help many small businesses who have been doing it tough.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet.
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

Perrottet says boosters are key to keeping everyone safe.

If you take a step back from everything over the last two years, our health response has been strong, our economic response has been strong, and that is because of the efforts everybody has made across the state.

So please, one last push, people can continue to go and get that booster shot, make an appointment, make that resolution, that appointment today, and ensure that you keep safe during this period of time.

Updated

Perrottet is up now. He sends condolences go to the family and friends of the 52 people who have died from Covid within the last 24 hours.

One point before I talk about the financial package I am announcing today, which I would like to make, there is a sustained push here in our state for boosters.

Today we have about 40% of the eligible population in New South Wales who have received a booster shot. There are many appointments available right across our state, we know that just a week ago we had capacity for an additional 100,000 bookings in our hubs alone.

Updated

We are expecting NSW premier Dominic Perrottet to address media any minute now.

Updated

The New South Wales government will unveil a $1bn support package for businesses after a summer of exploding Covid-19 infections caused by the Omicron variant.

But the scaled-down, jobsaver-style payment for small- and medium-size businesses will be capped at half of what was offered during the Delta wave of infections in 2021, after the federal government refused a request from the NSW government to split the cost of the package.

Our political editor Katharine Murphy has just made this important point on Insiders about whether Australia is prepared for this year and schools returning.

We could be in for another significant wave of infections as kids return to school and basically infect their parents.

In terms of preparedness, again it is all running slightly behind the fact ...

I don’t think people have really got their heads around this. The booster program is running well behind where it should be.

Compared to the massive sprint for people to get vaccinations here and our high vaccination rates, boosters are running behind schedule.

Updated

Albanese:

I want to run a Hawke-style cabinet government, one which gives responsibility to ministers to reform and part of driving reform in this country is to boost productivity through microeconomic reform, look at how we get growth, look at how we get more national consistency, and you can’t do that if there is no structure to drive it.

Updated

Speers: Will you stick with it or will you go back to Coag or would you have some sort of hybrid in between?

I would stick with having a national cabinet process. It worked well at the beginning before the prime minister walked away from it, essentially, and we walked away from more national consistency, but we also need to have federation reform, and Coag played an important role in that.

The sort of productivity benefits that come from microeconomic reform through a national consistency through removing duplication – all of that seems to have disappeared.

Updated

Speers: Are you saying we should be spending less or more?

It was entirely appropriate for the request to step up and spend and to stimulate the economy during the pandemic, just as it was during the global financial crisis.

What’s not appropriate is the pork-barrelling and waste that we’ve seen. What is not appropriate is the fact that the commonwealth didn’t put in place any mechanism, for example, on jobkeeper, to ensure that money didn’t go to people who didn’t need it, that were increasing their profits.

That is something like $20bn at least has gone to that purpose.

Updated

Albanese says Labor will boost aged-care funding, but cannot specify by how much.

There has been a boost.

Two things they haven’t done: One is to tie that funding of actual delivery of better healthcare for aged-care residents in terms of some of the regulatory measures required that were recommended by the royal commission, but the big missing piece in this workforce, we still don’t have a commitment to have a nurse in a nursing home.

Speers: So you would do that?

We still don’t have a commitment to increase in the number of other care workers in aged care, and we still don’t have a commitment to increases in wages and conditions so that aged-care facilities are able to attract the staff.

Updated

Insiders’ David Speers: Do you need to boost health funding?

Albanese:

Quite clearly there will be a need for increased health funding, but there is a need also to look at the particular areas of funding.

GPs, for example. One of the reasons there is so much pressure on the hospitals is we have GP shortages in terms of training, we have GP shortages in terms of some of the changes that they’ve made to the Medicare schedule that have had an impact in our regions.

Updated

Albanese says everyone should be able to get free rapid antigen tests.

Not unlimited. You would have limits based upon the health advice, David, but the health advice and the economic consequences are very clear – if you don’t get good health outcomes, you get worse economic outcomes. That’s the lesson of this pandemic in its third year.

Updated

Anthony Albanese is on Insiders right now. He was asked by who exactly would be able to access free RATs under a Labor government.

He says it would be on a basis of need.

That means, for example, is that if you’re a teacher or you work at a medical centre – I visited a medical centre in Townsville. The people who work at that medical centre need to be tested every day because they are coming into contact with patients coming into the medical centre.

David Speers: They are not getting that at the moment?

They are not. There is no supply. Everywhere I’ve been around this entire country, there has been an issue with a failure of supply and that is creating major issues. An aged-care facility – you have aged-care facilities shut around the country because there aren’t enough rapid antigen tests available for the staff, and that is having enormous consequences, David.

Leader of the opposition Anthony Albanese.
Leader of the opposition Anthony Albanese. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Updated

Stephanie Oatley recalls a day in late December when she needed to get a whole unit of young people experiencing homelessness tested for Covid. “We had a young person who started showing symptoms and a second young person got an itchy throat,” says Oatley.

“In the van they hopped. There was only one place open … They got there at 9am, and waited for nine hours.”

Updated

Contrary to Barnaby Joyce’s position, the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, emphasised in an interview this morning that it’s more important to put businesses and workers before the budget position.

Speaking on Sky News before Joyce, Perrottet was asked why Scott Morrison did not want to be part of the economic support package to be announced by the NSW government today. Perrottet replied:

Look, I mean, as a former treasurer, I have always advocated for some federal funding as we’ve gone through the ... the Delta and the Alpha variants in the past.

Perrottet pointed out that the lockdowns of those earlier waves put businesses in a difficult position and many people had lost their jobs. The premier said the Omicron wave was a different “phase” but that didn’t mean people weren’t hurting.

He said there was no doubt that over the summer period confidence had dropped and many businesses had suffered.

We’re announcing [this package] today and I think that will provide that support for businesses who had a very difficult January ... and we’ve always said in our state that we’ll put businesses and workers before the budget. That’s been our success in New South Wales over the last two years. When we come through all of it want to make sure that we’ve kept everyone in work, we’ve kept businesses open and the strength of the New South Wales budget position and our economy going into this pandemic has allowed us to ensure that we can invest to get everyone through.

Pressed by Sky News interviewer Kieran Gilbert why Morrison had not chipped in, particularly with the looming election, Perrottet said:

Well that’s really a matter for them to make a decision on. I know our treasurer has been in contact with [them].

Gilbert: What’s your understanding as to their reason?

I don’t have an understanding but what I know is that from the state’s perspective, we will always provide that financial support to have businesses’ back, to keep people in work. It’s not just a health pandemic in terms of those issues. It’s also one that affects businesses and affects the economy.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet.
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

NSW records 52 Covid deaths and 2,663 people in hospital

NSW has again hit a grim milestone as it records its deadliest day of the Covid pandemic with 52 deaths, up from the 49 recorded on Saturday.

Updated

Victoria has recorded 20 deaths and 889 people are in hospital

Victoria has recorded 20 deaths, down slightly from the 31 lives lost on Saturday – which was one of the state’s deadliest days.

Updated

The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, has denied the federal government is “penny pinching” by not contributing to new support packages to help businesses through the Omicron wave.

The NSW government is expected to announced that it is committing more than $1bn in economic support for businesses, particularly targeted to small to medium businesses, with some $700m of this package earmarked for a new jobsaver-style scheme, the Nine newspapers report.

Joyce, in an interview on Sky News this morning, was asked why the federal government was not stepping up to the plate, in contrast to its approach during the Delta wave. He said:

The Morrison government has paid billions and billions and billions of dollars out from jobseeker, jobkeeper, stimulus to the airline industry … payment towards obviously even concession card holder RAT tests – it goes on and on and on. So I don’t think it’s penny pinching. I’m quite happy to look at the amount of money that the commonwealth has put forward towards New South Wales, not that I’ve got a problem with the NSW, but I’m quite happy to look forward to comparing how much we’ve put forward to NSW, Queensland and any other state and what those states have put forward themselves.

Asked whether $1bn was a drop in the ocean, especially with a federal election looming, Joyce said: “Drops in the ocean all add up.” He argued the government could not “keep putting things on the credit card” and had to make “hard decisions”.

You’ve got to get to a point where you say, well, we’re going to live with this [virus] and we’ve got to move on because the more we pay out on Omicron and Covid campaigns is less money for NDIS, less money for defence, less money for education, less money for health. This is not an unlimited supply, unlimited supply of money … If every time someone turns up and says I want money you give it to them, you’re going to go out the back door.

Last week Joyce apologised for saying “people are not dying” during the Omicron wave.

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce.
Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Welcome to Sunday.

Before we get into it I want to say good morning to everyone, but especially Ash Barty – who became the first local to win the Australian Open single title in 40 years.

Among active players, only Barty and the sport’s four ‘GOATs’ – greatest of all-time contenders – Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have snared majors on clay, grass and hard courts.

“I feel very humble to be in such a select group,” Barty said in the jubilant aftermath to her 6-3 7-6 (7-2) win on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night.

“To be honest, I don’t really feel like I belong with those champions of our sport.

“There’s still work to be done, without a doubt. I’m still very much learning and trying to refine my craft and trying to learn every single day to get better and better.

Backing up this incredible win was Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis who beat Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell to win in the men’s doubles final.

In non-tennis news, more than 1m rapid antigen tests are being delivered to NSW schools, according to the Australian.

More than 3,000 schools and 5,000 childcare centres had already received their tests, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.

The federal health department has detected a “very low number” of cases of the BA.2 sub-variant known widely as the “son of Omicron” in more states and territories.

The sub-variant has been detected in more than 40 countries and there are concerns it may be more contagious than Omicron.

In politics, prime minister Scott Morrison has re-stoked debate about border security by issuing a stern vaccination warning to US rap star Kanye West.

The 22-time Grammy winner has scheduled an Australian stadium tour in March but is widely known for his anti-immunisation stance and is yet to indicate whether or not he’s vaccinated.

“The rules are you have to be fully vaccinated,” Morrison told reporters on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on Saturday.

“Those are the rules. They apply to everybody, as people have seen most recently.”

Kanye West (right) and Julia Fox.
Kanye West (right) and Julia Fox. Photograph: JM Haedrich/SIPA/Rex/Shutterstock

And women could hold the key to getting insecure men to try eating less meat, according to a new study about vegan food.

Men who view meat consumption as a central tenet of their masculinity are a particularly hard market for vegan fare, and according to recent research, women could be the answer to broadening their horizons.

While they feared their mates would make fun of them for eating a vegan burger or showing up to a barbecue with a round of plant-based patties, if their girlfriend took them to a vegan restaurant, those fears dissipated.

“It was very interesting the importance of romantic relationships, some of the men were saying ‘if she likes it I’ll do it’. There’s a lot of soft power in the decision as to what kind of food men would select,” Curtin University sustainability professor Dora Marinova told AAP.

Let’s get into it!

With Australian Associated Press.

Updated

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