• Another Friday, another National Cabinet meeting and on today’s agenda is another look at the national roadmap out of COVID when 70-80% vaccination targets are met. A couple of states (ahem a lot of them…) have developed their own spin on lifting restrictions since it was last discussed.

• Victoria took it up a notch, recording its highest-ever daily number of COVID infections yesterday. Officials said that more than 500 of the state’s 1,438 new cases are linked to illegal AFL grand final get-togethers. And in NSW, lockdowns have been extended and introduced across several regions following an uptick in cases.

• And Treasurer Josh Frydenberg yesterday said the $161 billion deficit forecast by the 2020-21 Federal Budget will end up being $134.2 billion. $26.8 billion came as the country started to reopen and recover earlier this year. But let’s not look at FY’22 – Frydenberg said the ongoing lockdown drama will amount to a “significant hit”.