Anthony Albanese agrees to meet state and territory leaders as calls grow to bring back Covid support

Labor says it has no money' to continue pandemic leave payments as state leaders and some of its own backbenchers urge rethink

• Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcast

Anthony Albanese has agreed to hold a national cabinet meeting on Monday with state and territory leaders to discuss Australia's Covid situation, after several premiers voiced concern over the trajectory of new cases and changes to federal supports.

But the Labor government appears unlikely to reverse the decision to end the pandemic leave payment for people forced to isolate, despite calls from state leaders and some of its own backbenchers, with the social services minister saying the government had no money to be able to extend that".

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning