What we learned today, Sunday 29 January
We will wrap up this liveblog now. Thanks all for your comments, company, and correspondence. But, as we go, a summary of today’s events.
About 5.5m Covid rapid antigen tests bought by state and territory governments will expire in coming months, prompting debate about what should be done with them.
An immigration detainee from Iraq has died in a suspected suicide at the Villawood detention centre in Sydney.
The assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, has confirmed the Albanese government urged the NT government to shift to opt-out alcohol restrictions, foreshadowing further toughening of restrictions this week.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, have announced they will travel to France and the UK. They will meet their French counterparts in Paris on Monday for what is known as a “two-plus-two” consultation.
Medical peak bodies have called for an urgent boost to bulk billing incentives for doctors in order to improve patient care.
Updated
No campaign in voice referendum to propose constitutional recognition of migrants as well as Indigenous people
The no campaign in this year’s voice referendum will propose a symbolic constitutional recognition of both Indigenous people and migrants, instead of an Indigenous voice to parliament, Warren Mundine has revealed.
Mundine, a leading organiser of the no campaign, said it will run on a slogan of “recognise a better way”, proposing to insert an acknowledgment in the preamble of the constitution, via another referendum.
Updated
