G'day. It's Monday, January 17 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
One thing you should know
How much would you pay for a COVID-19 rapid antigen test?
The chair of the ACCC says that, in most cases, we shouldn't be paying more than about $20 for one — but it's been reported that some stores, particularly in NSW, are marking them up to as much as $70 each:
- wholesale costs for RATs range from $3.95 and $11.45 a test
- the consumer watchdog is now referring some reports of significant price hikes to the Australian Federal Police
- almost half of the retailers reported to the ACCC were pharmacies
- some convenience stores, tobacconists, supermarkets and petrol stations have also been reported.
ACCC chair Rod Sims says businesses found to be selling tests for "excessive prices" can be fined up to $10 million and individuals face fines of up to $500,000.
"I am really hoping that companies hear this message and adjust their behaviour very quickly so that we get sensible pricing for all Australians as fast as possible."
What else is going on
- Australia and New Zealand have sent surveillance flights to Tonga to assess the damage from the eruption of a huge undersea volcano. The eruption caused significant damage to telecommunications infrastructure, cutting off Tonga's internet almost completely, leaving friends and family around the world anxiously trying to find out if there were any injuries
- Elcho Island in East Arnhem Land has entered a seven-day lockdown after 19 new COVID-19 cases were identified in the community of Galiwin'ku. Yirrkala has also been locked down for 72 hours — the lockdowns apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Almost 300 new COVID cases were identified in the Northern Territory today
- Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce has proposed to his partner and former staffer Vikki Campion. The couple's relationship went public in 2018 after it was reported they were expecting a child together, which sparked a ban by then-PM Malcolm Turnbull on ministers sleeping with their staff
What Australia has been searching for online
- Aleksandar Vukic. The Aussie wildcard has claimed an early Australian Open upset with a four-set victory over South African Lloyd Harris (more Aus Open stuff a little further down 👇), finishing his first main-draw win at a grand slam tournament with a standing ovation
- Married At First Sight. Yep, thousands of you have been Googling it, the numbers don't lie. Some new details about this year's brides and grooms have been released before the new season of "Australia’s most talked-about social experiment" airs at the end of January.
One more thing
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably seen A LOT of news about a certain Serbian men's world number one tennis player doing whatever he's doing lately.
In a time that's usually full of hype and excitement for the best of the best of tennis, a lot of other stories got buried in the drama. So, ABC Sport's Catherine Murphy has taken a look at some of the players we SHOULD be reading about right now as the Australian Open kicks off:
- NAOMI OSAKA: Her withdrawal from last year's French Open made her not just the biggest story in tennis, but in global sport. Now, fans hope Melbourne will be a successful return for one of the game's most magnetic stars
- ASH BARTY: Our Ash is aiming to become the first Australian woman to win the Open singles title since Chris O'Neil in 1978, and we're so excited to see her try.
- DANIIL MEDVEDEV: The world number two has emerged as one of the favourites to take the Aus Open crown if the big dogs scupper their chances ... if that happens, there will no doubt be a memorable celebration to go with it
- RAFAEL NADAL: He's chasing a whopping 21st title, and our Serbian friend's absence now means Nadal is the sole representative of the triumvirate, with Federer having withdrawn last year due to injury. Huge
You can read Catherine Murphy's full story here, and there's another player I wanted to shout out too:
- THANASI KOKKINAKIS: The 25-year-old just won his maiden ATP title in front of a home crowd at the Adelaide International and after no turnaround time at all was back on court today against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann — but went down 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. COVID-9 recovery pending, he and long-time doubles partner Nick Kyrgios are also expected to hit the court together, too, so expect no shortage of entertainment there.
You're up to date
Thanks for reading.
ABC/wires
