Scott Morrison says Australia ‘not alone’ in RAT shortage as union leaders demand change amid Omicron ‘crisis’

Scott Morrison says Australia is not the only country in the world suffering from a shortage of rapid antigen tests, as union leaders demand more support from the government amid worker shortages and supply chain pressure. The tests, which are now being counted in daily case numbers in most states, continue to be in short supply and many of those that are available are being sold at a premium. Some tests are now being distributed for free at selected testing centres, with more expected to come online when supply becomes available, but the government is under pressure to quickly source more. The Prime Minister is pushing back against criticism that the government should have been stocking up on the kits back in August, saying they had “no idea” how much Omicron would change the game. “We were buying them in August as a federal government to meet the requirements that we had in aged care. That’s what’s being used right now,” he told 2GB on Monday. “Back in August and even September we were dealing with Delta – and what we were focused on then was getting those vaccination rates up. “Omicron has changed absolutely everything. Most people now know someone, or indeed have had Covid. That wasn’t true six months ago “It’s been a very different virus … And the rapid antigen tests are in short supply around the world. “This is not something that is unique to Australia. It’s part of dealing with Omicron. Omicron has disrupted everything.” Among the collateral of Omicron’s disruption are supply chains, with supermarket shelves left bare across the country as workers in critical industries isolate with Covid-19. While the federal and state governments last week agreed to change the rules for close contacts in a number of industries, unions are concerned not enough is being done to protect workers and provide for Australia. Mr Morrison said his government was being told that the changes being made were “alleviating the situation”, and were helping to ensure Australia could “get through this difficult period”. But, Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil said the crisis was escalating, and the needs of working people “seems to have been ignored”. The ACTU has called an emergency meeting on Monday to further discuss the crisis, with Ms O’Neil acknowledging that while the change to close contact rules meant asymptomatic household contacts could work, too many key workers were presenting with symptoms and unable to get a test. “Our health system is being overwhelmed and there are serious problems in our supply chain,” Ms O’Neil told ABC Breakfast. “The issues that need to be resolved to keep workers safe at work include free and accessibility of RATs. Free access is really important, and there are other matters that need to be considered as well. “We’ve called on the Prime Minister to work with us as he did in 2020 to deal with this crisis. But those calls have fallen on deaf ears, so we need to step up here. “It’s our role as unions to make sure that every worker is safe at work, and these things need to be dealt with as a matter of urgency.” Ms O’Neil said the ACTU had written to the Prime Minister more than a week ago saying that free and accessible RATs were “urgently needed”, and among other demands that had been ignored. “We’ve had a complete radio silence from the Prime Minister, despite the fact that we’ve offered to work together to try and make sure that workers are safe and that we don’t have this virus spread further in workplaces, and of course to people’s families and the whole community.”