PM

Soldiers set to patrol Sydney streets after another big jump in COVID cases and the outbreak is set to get even worse; A mask mandate's been imposed in hotspots and police have been given powers to close down businesses that don't comply, we'll speak to local MP Jihad Dib; And even with 80 percent of the population vaccinated, opening up would see thousands die in the first year. We have modelling from the Grattan Institute.

Another month of lockdown at least for Sydney, along with an assortment of new rules. But will it quash the Delta outbreak? As COVID cases continue to rise, the teacher's union's dumbfounded that face to face classes will resume for year 12. Some students are cautious too; And payments to out-of-pocket hotspot workers to return to JobKeeper levels. The Finance Minister Simon Birmingham joins PM.

Sydney's COVID outbreak is worsening, but the Premier still hasn't revealed what happens to the lockdown after Friday; The outbreak has reached another hospital and exposed an entire shopping centre full of customers over 11 days; And will this year's Census pick up the estimated 17 per cent of Indigenous people who were missed last time?

Sydney's vaccine strategy shake-up to deal with the persistent COVID emergency in the city's south-west – it'll start with priority access for supermarket workers in COVID hotspots; and amid the current Pfizer vaccine shortage, the Prime Minister announces 85-Million doses will arrive .. for next year and the year after, as boosters. But do we know we need boosters yet? Vaccine expert Dr Kylie Quinn joins us.

New South Wales declares it's in an emergency situation requiring “urgent additional measures”, with more than 130 new COVID cases; NSW hopes a vaccination surge can lift it out of the COVID hole, but National Cabinet has knocked back a request that Pfizer doses be redirected to the outbreak hot spots; And we'll go to COVID-hit Tokyo, with just hours to go before the Olympics Opening Ceremony.

The worst day of the New South Wales COVID outbreak, more than 120 new cases and at least 70 COVID positive people reported to have been in the community for some time while infectious, has the state lost control of the outbreak? Professor Raina MacIntyre joins PM; And we hear from a Tokyo resident who's seen the International Olympic Committee throw its weight around to make sure the COVID-plagued games actually happen.

The Prime Minister admits repeatedly lobbying vaccine experts to change their advice about AstraZeneca; There's also little hope of the lockdown across Greater Sydney lifting by the end of the month. Is it time to go harder against Delta? And devastating floods follow a record smashing heatwave in the Northern Hemisphere, is climate change at work?

More than half the population is in COVID lockdown as the Delta strain tests Australia's resolve; Australia's preparing to rush vaccines into arms before the end of the year in the race against Delta, we'll ask, when should teenagers get their shots? And Australia joins allies in calling out China for cyber hacking, Labor's cyber spokesman Tim Watts joins PM, saying there's more to be done.

COVID claims another Australian, a woman found dead at her home in South-West Sydney; Victoria's lockdown won't be ending on Tuesday as planned and the New South Wales case count remains high.  Can Delta outbreaks be stopped? Infectious diseases expert Professor Greg Dore joins PM; And after British media figure Katie Hopkins is booted from Australia – we'll look at why a local reality television show felt it needed her.

The tide turns for the worse in New South Wales, with its COVID outbreak proving hard to conquer, are tougher restrictions on the way? On the first day of Victoria's fifth lockdown, health care workers are burning out – hoping for a reprieve; And Indonesia's COVID catastrophe – more than 50 thousand known infections each day and too many families touched by death.

Victoria will plunge into its fifth lockdown from midnight tonight with dire warnings about how infectious and fast spreading the current outbreak is; Economic hell for those missing out on COVID disaster payments, we'll meet those in the arts struggling to get by; And should we delay second COVID vaccine doses, to get more first doses into more arms? A look at vaccination strategy with Immunologist Cassandra Berry.

A longer lockdown in New South Wales, and now alarm in Victoria with several new COVID cases; What constitutes essential work during a COVID outbreak? The New South Wales Government says use common sense, but a behavioural expert says that's bad policy; And after a prison riot on Monday, we hear from inside Sydney's Parklea Prison, claiming conditions are terrible.

Despite fewer new COVID cases reported, a leading expert tells us Sydney's lockdown still has at least four to six weeks to run, if all goes to plan; So, with more COVID cases expected, we'll revisit what to expect if you catch it and it's better news than it was 18 months ago, when the pandemic began; And all the details of new financial help announced for individuals and businesses struggling with Sydney's lockdown.

Sydney's Covid outbreak tops 100 daily cases, is the lockdown working and can authorities do more to stop the spread? Kevin Rudd's big meeting with the global head of Pfizer. The government won't even speak the name of the Former Prime Minister now, while defending its role in vaccine negotiations; And we'll look at Italy's big win, and England's devastating loss in the European Championship soccer tournament, ending in the ultimate in sporting pressure, the penalty shootout.

The worst day of Sydney's COVID outbreak, with authorities desperate to stop the spread; As NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian fears an extended lockdown, we'll hear how some faith leaders are also pushing the health guidelines; And Australia's Olympians prepare to compete in barren arenas, with spectators banished from Tokyo events. 

Sydney-siders are urged to redefine who you think of as family, it's the latest appeal as authorities try to cut visits across homes, to stop the spread of COVID; Ahead of a crucial meeting on government plans to rein in costs, we'll speak to National Disability Insurance Scheme architect, Bruce Bonyhady; And special visas for prominent women at risk from the Taliban considered by the US government, we'll get a view from the Afghan capital Kabul.

A surprising suggestion today that New South Wales give up on getting to zero COVID in the community, the state's Health Minister sparks controversy with the remark, as a longer lockdown is imposed; Authorities are now targeting Sydney's south-west, as cases there keep growing, what's the community's view of what's gone wrong? In an echo of the aged care sector, there's caution in parts of the disability sector about calls for mandatory vaccination for workers.

Alarm bells over pre-election government funding for a swimming pool in federal Minister Christian Porter's electorate; There's growing corporate involvement in NAIDOC week, marking Indigenous culture, but is it all any more than just lip service and good advertising? And parents and teachers facing the prospect of a longer COVID lockdown in Greater Sydney.

Coronavirus is in a Sydney Aged Care home, as staff are praised for working during the outbreak, some are still not vaccinated; Another huge global ransomware attack is unfolding, with a $70 million US price tag to unlock thousands of companies data, cybersecurity expert Suelette Dreyfus joins PM; And the controversial proposals to shake up the mathematics curriculum.. But what's best for students?

A plan from National Cabinet lacks detail and timelines, but sets out Australia's return to normal; The Health Minister Greg Hunt joins PM, saying the government's working on getting Pfizer vaccine doses delivered earlier than expected; And a record number of cases for this New South Wales outbreak, are too many people still hanging out for too long at the shops?

A warning in New South Wales as people are caught going about their business while sick with COVID; More bickering and point scoring around the vaccine roll out; And a hundred years of the Communist party in China, correspondent Bill Birtles looks at the big celebrations centred around Xi Jinping.

The tough choice for younger Australians and their GPs. As health authorities and politicians weigh in - is AstraZeneca right for them? In New South Wales, the Premier's hinting the two-week lockdown could do the job, despite more than 20 new COVID cases; And a voice of gratitude, Afghan translator Nawid Aaman joins PM, he arrived in Australia last weekend, saved from the Taliban.

Parts of Queensland's in a COVID lockdown after an unvaccinated Brisbane hospital worker caught the disease and took a trip north; A rush of interest in AstraZeneca vaccinations at some GP clinics, now that doctors are indemnified from legal action if patients experience ill effects; And an urgent plea for resettlement on behalf of a senior Afghan government official who helped Australians during the war and reconstruction.

The COVID alert escalates, with cases in four states and territories, in locked down Sydney police issue fines for a protest and sunbaking; The six people who didn't contract COVID at a birthday party were vaccinated; Politicians keep saying their pandemic actions are based on the best health advice, but one epidemiologist tells us we don't know who's really making the decision; And threatening punishment, Myanmar's embassy demands expats studying in Australia pledge loyalty to the military junta.

A growing COVID outbreak forces people who live and work in Central and Eastern Sydney to stay home for a week from midnight; Businesses warn they'll need financial support if the lockdown drags on, the sudden closure's already costing them dearly; And we have a report from our North America correspondent in Miami – where dozens of people are still missing after an apartment tower collapsed. 

The 'scariest time' for New South Wales, says its Premier, but she's not imposing a lockdown yet, despite COVID case numbers climbing; Even short of a lockdown, Restrictions in Sydney's hot spots are tough for tourism and hospitality, is there a case for fast tracked financial help? And Hong Kongers line up to get their hands on the last ever edition of the pro-democracy paper called Apple Daily, it's been run out of business by Beijing.

Sydney masks up as the COVID outbreak expands across the city and other states impose tough border rules; and the Taliban threat facing Australia's former interpreters in Afghanistan, veteran Stuart McCarthy says only an emergency evacuation can save them.

Tourism businesses and the Reef authority are as outraged as the government at a threat to list the Great Barrier Reef as in danger; One of Australia's top climate and oceans specialists Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg tells PM that there's no surprise the reef is at risk; And as the Sydney COVID cluster grows, so too the concern about so-called fleeting transmission of the Delta variant;

Barnaby Joyce returns to Nationals' leadership after a three-year break on the backbench; State and Territory leaders receive a reassurance about vaccine stocks, but the AstraZeneca rejig means the rollout is as stretched as ever; And what options are there for anybody who defies the official advice and rejects a second Astra Zeneca vaccine?

New South Wales battles a smouldering COVID outbreak, with transmissions through brief, passing contact. Will its rhetoric on avoiding lockdowns hold? Doctors desperate for more Pfizer shots as they cancel AstraZeneca bookings for patients in their 50s; And a backlash after Whitehaven Coal chair and former Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile is appointed Chancellor at the University of Newcastle.

Medical experts find that recent clotting side effects mean the AstraZeneca vaccine is now too risky to recommend for those in their 50s; Doctors expect more worried patients, and one GP is concerned he could be held liable for administering AstraZeneca; And after a COVID case in Sydney, new questions about safety measures around international flight crew.

The minimum wage now above $20 an hour, who gets it and who doesn't and what's it mean for the economy? An apartment complex is at the centre of Melbourne's latest COVID outbreak, should it have been locked down earlier? And after Australia drops farm work requirements for British backpackers, we'll hear from someone who's done it, and a farmer who also welcomes workers from the Pacific.

A reprieve from Christmas Island for a Tamil family seeking asylum, but there's no promise of freedom; A post-Brexit trade deal in the wind tonight between Australia and the UK, farmers stand by for rewards, but they fear setbacks too; And the US President prepares to meet his Russian counterpart, tensions are deep and wide, so how will Joe Biden handle Vladimir Putin?

Hope that a family of asylum seekers split between Perth and Christmas Island will soon be reunited; There's a massive child support debt in this country and it's owed mostly to women, we'll look at proposals to try to get more of that money into the hands of primary carers; And the new anti-doping rules set to be put to the test at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Robodebt welfare saga ends in court, a judge lamenting the anxiety and hardship the government caused; Afghanistan war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith tells a court he's the victim of a spiteful campaign from men he fought alongside; and why are more children being forced into work around the world? We're joined by an expert from the International Labour Organisation.

War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith gives evidence in his defamation case, rejecting newspaper allegations about his service in Afghanistan; Bitcoin to be formally accepted as a currency in El Salvador, but how can it work given its wild price swings? And New South Wales hatches a plan to get hundreds of international students back within months.

A COVID carrier's epic journey, escaping Melbourne's lockdown before testing positive on Queensland's Sunshine Coast; Rules relax for doctors who were previously gagged from saying anything public about vaccines; and Sydney and Melbourne drop down the list of most liveable cities, what's counting against them in the rankings?

The Prime Minister trumpets a big organised crime sting, we'll explain how the AFP and FBI got an app they could secretly access into the hands of alleged criminals; Scott Morrison is using the big bust to push the case for Australia's surveillance laws to go even further, we'll speak with Lucie Krahulcova from Digital Rights Watch who's sounding the alarm about online privacy; And homes are increasingly being sold in the days before an auction, we'll explain how that's further inflating prices and what buyers need to look out for.

No mystery cases, but still no promise that Melbourne's lockdown will lift this week; Research concludes that cracking down on COVID outbreaks early on is the best approach for the economy, we'll speak with the author; The decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith is painted as the victim of bitter jealousy; And why are used car prices still so high?

Leading epidemiologist Mary Louise McLaws tells us Victoria's purpose-built quarantine facility might only take people who test negative to coronavirus, while positive cases remain in hotels; One of the most troubling variants of coronavirus, the Delta is found in Victoria, we'll tell you what you need to know about that strain; And First Nations people are celebrated at Fashion Week and designers have a message for the industry.

Federal Emergency payments coming for some in Melbourne as the city endures another seven days of lockdown, we'll explain who's eligible and who misses out; We'll also look at why Melbourne needs this longer lockdown with infectious diseases expert Professor Raina MacIntyre; And surging insurance costs for businesses linked to the mining sector and how fears of bad publicity are scaring insurers away.

Melbournians to endure an extra seven days of lockdown, as more COVID cases are found, including another aged care resident; The Australian economy is now bigger than before the pandemic struck, but is it yet an enduring recovery? And a two week dig in outback Queensland uncovers a dinosaur specimen that could be 90 million years old.

Victoria's outbreak reveals just how easily COVID is now spreading, authorities say all it takes is to brush past someone; The Prime Minister distances himself from the mantra that the vaccine rollout is not a race, instead blaming his health department boss; And a warning about bowel cancer, as the pandemic causes long waits for colonoscopy services in the public system. 

There's no certainty that Victoria's lockdown will lift later this week, instead, a warning the state's COVID outbreak could get worse; COVID is back in aged care facilities, and unions say workers are being urged to take shifts in multiple facilities; and after the Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka boycotts a post-match press conference, we'll look at the psychology of professional sports and how reporters treat the athletes.

The desperate hunt for those who may have had contact with infectious people, and how lockdowns and border closures are causing pain for divided families.

Melbourne has been ordered to stay home for the next seven days over the latest COVID outbreak; what are the mental health and economic implications for the state? And a week ago Israel and Hamas were at war so can a delicate diplomatic tightrope act keep the ceasefire intact?

The Victorian government says the next 24 hours is crucial as the state deals with a new COVID-19 outbreak; meanwhile a parliamentary inquiry has handed down a report on Christine Holgate and Australia Post.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has released an internal review into allegations members of the Prime Minister's office briefed journalists against Ms Higgins' partner but the review found there was not enough evidence to support the claim; meanwhile the EU has slapped sanctions on Belarus for forcing a civilian airliner to land as it crossed its airspace and Alena Kudzko says Russia's role in the grounding of a passenger plane in Minsk remains unclear.

A COVID alert in Melbourne, as four members of the same family test positive, Victorians are urged to be alert and be ready to get tested; A digital permit for vaccinated travellers is in the works, it could help Australia open the borders, but could it be discriminatory? And a fighter jet diverts a commercial flight over Belarus, warning of a bomb. Now the country's accused of 'state terrorism' as there was no explosive device, instead a dissident journalist was arrested.

Relief as a ceasefire holds across Israel and Gaza, but after 11 days of war, it's the Palestinians who've suffered more death and destruction, we'll hear what it's like in Gaza and speak with our correspondent in Jerusalem; The Victorian government sends the bill for better mental health services to big business, the Prime Minister says that'll kill jobs and growth, so we'll check that claim with experts; And a warning for homeowners looking to sell and buy elsewhere, after surging prices cut some out of the market before they can secure a new home.

Politicians and health leaders push back against vaccine hesitancy, defending the Astra Zeneca we have now, after the Health Minister made clear there'd be enough of an alternative coming later in the year; The unemployment rate continues to improve but many have given up the search, we look at youth unemployment in particular and the Finance Minister Simon Birmingham joins PM; And as international pressure mounts for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel,  Former Australian ambassador to Israel Peter Rodgers shares his fears about the future for Israelis and Palestinians.