Good morning. It’s been two years today since the first confirmed case of Covid-19 in Australia. Since then, there have been more than 2.2m infections and more than 3,000 deaths, with many of those taking place in the current Omicron outbreak. The surge has caused shortages of rapid tests, which are causing stress for vulnerable people and has come at a difficult time for the return to school. In the aged care sector, some facilities are telling essential visitors to find their own rapid tests or be denied entry. Meanwhile, our economics correspondent, Peter Hannam, looks at whether Australia debt-fuelled pandemic finance party is finally over.
A 1,700km rail route between Melbourne and Brisbane has been promised by the Coalition to deliver an economic boom for Australia’s regions and rural communities. But four years after the project (worth $14.5bn and counting) was announced, just 130km of track has been laid and we are still unsure of where it will exactly start and finish. A major Guardian investigation examines the mega project to find out whether communities along its route will benefit and whether their concerns are being bypassed.
