Take your laughing birds right out of here.

Labor appears to have strengthened its position ahead of this year’s federal election, NSW and Victorian authorities are warning people to brace for more COVID-related deaths and it’s day two of the 2022 Australian Open.

The science on Omicron is starting to settle, so what does it reveal about the new dominant strain’s infectiousness, mortality and vaccine resistance.

Victoria’s nurses’ union says hospitals need urgent military support after the government declared a code brown emergency to relieve a health system buckling under the Omicron wave.

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas urged Skyworks attendees to have a great time and to do the right thing by those people around them.

The Age photographers and wire agencies captured all the key moments of this year's Grand Slam

I’m a seasoned patient. I’ve spent significant periods of time in hospitals. But my week in hospital with COVID in January was like nothing I’d ever seen.

The term “code brown” may sound innocuous, but it signifies a deeply serious scenario for sick Victorians and those who treat them.

NSW hospitals were flooded with 3500 coronavirus hospital admissions in the past fortnight, according to data provided to the Herald, with people aged over 70 making up more than 40 per cent of hospitalisations and ICU admissions.

The cases are linked to the current Omicron outbreak in Perth with the possible transmission of the virus to people who visited three massage parlours still a major concern for health authorities.

Of the 2067 submissions on the dam’s environmental impact statement (EIS) released by the state government on Monday night, more than 1930 expressed objection, with 45 in support.

Victoria recorded 20,180 COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths on Tuesday as the state declared a “code brown” for the hospital system and coronavirus vaccine boosters became available to severely immunocompromised children.

The tests, often bought in bulk initially, are being resold inside zip-lock bags at petrol stations, convenience stores and small supermarkets.

Authorities have revealed almost two-thirds of the now 45 Omicron-wave deaths have occurred in residential aged care sites.

The Queensland Police Service ordered all its employees to have a second dose of a vaccine by December 17. Many said no.

After a 16-month investigation, police searched a pastoral property near Cloncurry and businesses in Mount Isa in December.

Already-stretched Queensland health staff are fearful things will only get worse after the number of hospital admissions almost doubled in two days.

Amid soaring staffing shortages, many workers are being pressured to resume work in circumstances that previously were considered highly likely to lead to transmission of the virus.

Two people are now allowed in hospital wards, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath announced on Tuesday, to limit the COVID spread.

Today on Please Explain, environment reporter Laura Chung joins Nathanael Cooper to look at rising ocean temperatures off Australia’s east coast.

Sentencing crooks for their crimes is not as easy as it might seem, as a panel of community “judges” recently learned.

It’s the state’s highest number of daily deaths during the pandemic after Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant warned on Monday that fatalities would rise in the coming days.

Charlise, who lives with her grandmother in Queensland, was visiting her mother, Kallista Mutten, and her mother’s fiance, Justin Stein, at a Mount Wilson property when she disappeared last week.

An epidemiologist said the west would have already reached its “peak immunity” due to a vaccine’s efficacy waning over time, with opening now rather than in three weeks time making “little difference”. 

Perth’s COVID-19 vaccination rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is the worst out of all capital cities in Australia but West Australian Premier Mark McGowan says the state government has done about all it can to get Indigenous pe...

Recovery from COVID does not confer as much immunity as two vaccinations, and well below that of three.

Amid predictions of staff shortages of up to 20 per cent of private school principals have been told they can ask parents to volunteer to supervise students.

The NSW Opposition has written to the NSW Parliament Speaker urging him not to delay looming byelections amid concerns over the Omicron outbreak.

Experts predict state and federal government will wait before providing more cash assistance to COVID-hit businesses and workers.

Melbourne mother Martina Cullen has been left marooned and thousands of dollars out of pocket due to an Australian government rule on travellers that have tested positive to COVID-19.

Unions warn the planned relaxation of isolation rules for school staff risks increasing the number of COVID-19 cases, particularly among unvaccinated schoolchildren.

If you’re going to gather in large numbers, it’s safest to it outdoors, and in Melbourne there are many options for summer fun in the setting sun this summer.

I have scant sympathy for a high-profile person with such disregard for health and safety rules.

Cricket ‘Czar’ to blame, swimming to safety, and missing gold.

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today’s interactive superquiz and target.

WA Police are investigating what led to a man being shot in the leg in Port Kennedy on Monday.

And portents in the logo.

With the state borders fully open, interstate interest in Queensland remains high, particularly in the real estate market.

Queensland Health data shows a significant portion of infection growth across the state is still being driven by two key hotspots, where peak case and hospital impacts will be felt first.

The NSW Education Standards Authority accidentally published a list of top HSC achievers three days early.

Police say two young girls were also injured in the incident, when they fell off their horses at Aireys Inlet.

Fleur McKinlay runs Soul Garden holistic beauty salon in Mundaring but had to close the shop on Saturday after she had a client who was infectious with Omicron.

The class of 2021 will get their HSC results on Thursday, but their certificate will not recognise the hardship they overcame to get it.

Thousands visited Sydney’s beaches on Monday as the city was treated to a reprieve from La Niña’s wet season with temperatures close to 30 degrees.

Queensland authorities say there are no plans to close aged-care facilities to visitors amid what the Chief Health Officer described as the “very different situation” posed by Omicron.

Unions say safety measures must be improved at Australian workplaces in response to the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

Early data shows cases in the NSW Omicron wave have been less likely to enter hospital than people the same age who caught COVID-19 in mid-2021.

Exposure sites have been added from Midland to Margaret River and health professional associations are calling for immediate social restrictions to slow down spread of the virus.

Novak Djokovic won’t be defending his Australian Open title today, Anthony Albanese has outlined his election pitch to voters and total COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country.

Senior bikie Toby Mitchell has asked a court to grant him the right to go to licensed events after police rejected his request to attend the Australian Open.