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Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 14 September 2022; Hits: 73

Paid pandemic leave for COVID-19 positive workers will be extended indefinitely, national cabinet has agreed.

The payments for infected people off work were set to expire at the end of the month but will remain in place as long as mandatory isolation periods are in effect.

The extension follows a national cabinet meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and state and territory leaders on Wednesday.

Mr Albanese said the payments would be shared 50-50 between the Commonwealth and states and territories.

"We remain obviously of the view that if people are sick, whether from COVID or from other health issues, they should not be at work and that is important," he told reporters in Sydney.

"The government has a responsibility to provide support during that period for the appropriate period which is designated."

More than $2.2 billion in pandemic leave has been paid since the scheme was implemented.

People will only be able to claim the payment three times in six-months unless they can argue extraordinary circumstances.

Since July 2022, 2.6 per cent of all claims for paid pandemic leave triggered real-time fraud checks by Services Australia, with more than half of those rejected.

In the six months to June 2022, 60 per cent of payments were to people who claimed more than once, Services Australia data shows.

Of those, 12 per cent claimed four or more times.

Pandemic leave was due to expire at the beginning of July but was extended to September following backlash and a rise in COVID-19 cases.

Mr Albanese said isolation periods of five days for COVID-19 cases and seven days for workers in high-risk settings would remain in place.

The prime minister said a decision to lower isolation period requirements was not discussed in detail at national cabinet but was likely to be raised when leaders meet in person at the end of the month.

"What we are seeing is gradually a move towards COVID being treated like other health issues," he said.

"The risk factors have changed as people go out and get themselves vaccinated."

Victorian independent MP Monique Ryan called for a summit on the management of COVID-19.

Dr Ryan, who worked as a medical researcher and paediatric neurologist before entering parliament, said she was concerned mitigation strategies to combat the virus were being rolled back.

"There's a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about the fact that the government seems to have been winding back the mitigation strategies ... without really a plan for how this is going to affect people going forward," she told ABC Radio on Wednesday.

"The reality is COVID is still with us ... pretending that it's going away or that it has gone away, it's just not working for people."

Dr Ryan said a summit could examine how coronavirus infections should be handled in coming years, amid concerns the upcoming northern hemisphere winter will see more sub-variants emerge.

The prime minister said he respected Dr Ryan's views.

"Chief health officers throughout the jurisdictions are working very hard on all of these issues including examining long COVID ... (and) the potential of what will occur in the northern winter," he said.

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 14 September 2022; Hits: 74

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants "national consistency" in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to emerge from a meeting with state and territory leaders.

Mr Albanese will chair national cabinet on Wednesday, where a possible extension of pandemic leave payments for infected workers will be discussed.

"We do need, in my view, that national consistency," he told reporters in Sydney.

"We'll have a discussion this morning and we'll come to what I want to be a collective decision as one."

The financial support is due to lapse at the end of September, despite people who test positive for the virus still being required to isolate for five days.

The payments were originally set to end in July, but were extended by the government following a backlash coupled with a surge of COVID-19 cases into winter.

Mr Albanese said he welcomed cutting the isolation requirement time from seven days to five, and would discuss the removal of public health orders.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet reaffirmed his support for moving away from mandated orders to a system of "respect" where if a person is sick, they stay at home.

Melbourne-based independent MP Monique Ryan - who worked as a pediatric neurologist before entering parliament - is concerned about the rolling back of strategies to combat the virus.

"The reality is COVID is still with us ... pretending that it's going away, or that it has gone away, it's just not working for people."

Dr Ryan says a summit should be held to examine how coronavirus infections will be handled in coming years, amid concerns the upcoming northern hemisphere winter will herald the emergence of more sub-variants.

"What people do need is a sense of surety, and I guess confidence, that the government does have a plan," she said.

Mr Albanese appeared to back an extension of the payment on Tuesday while orders remain in place for people to isolate.

Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the payments have cost taxpayers more than $2.2 billion - with $320 million of that paid out since July.

Dr Ryan said she was concerned by the government's recent decision to lower the isolation threshold from seven to five days and called for greater transparency.

"It was at odds with the medical evidence. It was also concerning that the prime minister decided not to release the national cabinet minutes from that meeting," she said.

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 14 September 2022; Hits: 72

An independent federal MP has called for a summit on how COVID-19 can be managed in the community in the future, as national cabinet prepares to discuss extending pandemic leave payments.

Victorian Monique Ryan, who worked as a medical researcher and paediatric neurologist before entering parliament, is concerned about the rolling back of mitigation strategies to combat the virus.

"The reality is COVID is still with us ... pretending that it's going away or that it has gone away, it's just not working for people."

Dr Ryan says a summit should be held to examine how coronavirus infections will be handled in coming years, amid concerns the upcoming northern hemisphere winter see the emergence of more sub-variants.

"What people do need is a sense of surety, and I guess confidence, that the government does have a plan," she said.

"It's planning for people to say 'look, it's with us, we can't wish it away, it's here, this is what we're going to do about it and this is how we're going to keep everybody safe'."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will on Wednesday chair a national cabinet of state and territory leaders to discuss the national response to the virus and whether to keep up pandemic leave payments for infected workers.

The financial support is due to lapse at the end of September, despite people who test positive for the virus still needing to isolate for five days.

The payments were originally due to end in July but were extended by the government following backlash and a surge of COVID-19 cases into winter.

Mr Albanese appeared to back an extension of the payment on Tuesday, as long as people are still required to isolate.

Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the payments have cost taxpayers more than $2.2 billion, including $320 million since July.

Dr Ryan said she was concerned by the government's recent decision to lower the isolation threshold from seven to five days.

"It was at odds with the medical evidence, it was also concerning that the prime minister decided not to release the national cabinet minutes from that meeting," she said.

"We do need transparency about what the cabinet decides and why ... I'm really concerned that our national cabinet might take away iso (isolation) periods altogether."

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 14 September 2022; Hits: 77