Victoria has recorded 41 deaths overnight and Queensland 21, while New South Wales has reported 18 further deaths of people diagnosed with COVID-19.

NSW recorded 8389 infections which is a significant drop from yesterday's 10,698.

There are 2337 people being treated in NSW hospitals – compared to yesterday's 2494 – and of those, 152 are being treated in the intensive care unit.

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Victoria has recorded 7810 new cases and 41 deaths.

There are 687 people in hospital with the virus and 31 people on ventilators.

This is a slight drop from yesterday's 707 hospital admissions.

Queensland records record number of COVID-related deaths

Queensland has reported 21 deaths and 8508 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. It is the most deaths the state has recorded in a day for the entire pandemic.

There are currently 727 people in hospital and 46 people admitted to intensive care.

This is a slight decrease in both hospitalisations and ICU admissions in comparison to yesterday's 732 hospitalisations and 50 ICU admissions.

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Wait times blow out for Victorian ambulances

More than a third of emergency calls aren't being responded to within the recommended time in Victoria, data reveals.

Ambulance Victoria's performance report for the final quarter for 2021 showed only 66.5 per cent of code one emergency triple zero calls are being responded to within the recommended 15 minutes.

This is compared to the same period between October and December in 2020 where 79.3 per cent of code one emergency triple zero calls were being responded to by ambulance crews within 15 minutes.

The statewide target is 85 per cent.

Code one triple zero calls require "urgent paramedic and hospital care".

The response time to code one triple zero calls is far worse in the outer suburbs of Melbourne.

In Hume, only 57.5 per cent of code one calls were being responded to within 15 minutes, while in Melton only 53.2 per cent of code one emergencies were being responded to within 15 minutes.

The data also revealed the average response time to code one emergencies in Victoria was 15 minutes and 11 seconds.

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It comes as the state announced some non-urgent elective surgery would return from next week.

After weeks of elective surgery having been paused across the state, Health Minister Martin Foley announced that private hospitals and day surgery clinics can recommence elective day surgery at 50 per cent of normal levels from this Monday.

Mr Foley said the resumption of further elective surgery would be considered a week later.

Meanwhile, the latest Victorian Health Services Performance report showed the elective surgery waitlist has blown out to 80,000.

The data showed almost 12 per cent of people were not receiving treatment in the recommended time.

The Victorian government also announced a $1.4 billion boost to help the health system cope with COVID-19.

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Victoria recorded 11,240 COVID-19 cases and 36 deaths yesterday.

NSW reported hospitalisations and ICU admissions had begun to decline, recording 31 deaths and 10,698 COVID-19 cases yesterday.

Western Australia records 25 new local cases

Western Australia has recorded 25 new local COVID-19 cases and one travel-related infection.

Of the new cases, 21 are linked to close contacts, while four are under investigation, with the source unknown.

Some of the new local cases have been infectious in the community, with contact tracers working to determine new public exposure sites.

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A man has been arrested after a police pursuit ended in a multi-vehicle crash in Sydney's Inner West.

Police tried to stop a Subaru Outlook on Parramatta Road, Leichhardt, after it was seen running a red light just after 6.20am this morning at the intersection of Johnson Street.

The vehicle failed to stop and police started pursuing the car but stopped the pursuit shortly after due to safety concerns.

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The Subaru crashed into five cars — a Jeep Cherokee, Toyota Prado, Honda Civic, Mazda 6 and Toyota Corolla — on Parramatta Road, near the intersection of Old Canterbury Road, soon afterwards.

Police helped the occupants of the vehicle who were treated by paramedics at the scene.

The driver of the Jeep, a 40-year-old man, and the driver of the Toyota, also a 40-year-old man, were both taken to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a stable condition.

The 35-year-old driver of the Subaru was arrested and taken to St George Hospital after suffering minor injuries.

He has undergone mandatory testing and remains under police guard.

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A crime scene has been established and detectives are trying to work out how the crash happened.

All east and westbound lanes of Parramatta Road have reopened in Leichhardt.

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Thousands of anti-vaccination protesters are gathering outside Old Parliament House in Canberra, the day after a similar group was cleared from a nearby lawn.

The group has been seen waving upside-down Australian flags as well as the red ensign flag, which has been co-opted by the sovereign citizen movement.

The crowd caused traffic delays in central Canberra, with local police warning residents to prepare for delays.

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"We are expecting intermittent traffic disruptions in and around central Canberra today," ACT Police said on Twitter.

"Please be patient and avoid the area if possible."

The so-called Convoy to Canberra has attracted protesters from all over the country, largely based on their opposition to the COVID-19 vaccines.

Police moved the protesters on from the Patrick White Lawns yesterday after they had been camped there for several days.

The operation was described by police as "peaceful".

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Police arrested a 44-year-old man at the protest after a modified rifle was seized.

Earlier this week, a woman was arrested after allegedly assaulting police officers. Two men were arrested for allegedly interfering with the woman's arrest.

The ACT itself is the most vaccinated jurisdiction in the country, with 98.6 per cent of people in the territory older than 12 double vaccinated.

More than half have already had a booster shot.

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The Aboriginal flag will fly permanently on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, however it will take at least six months to install.

The state government announced today the Aboriginal flag will be erected atop the landmark.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he was initially given the timeframe that it would take two years to put the Aboriginal flag on top of the bridge.

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"I mean in the 1920s it took nine years to build the Harbour Bridge but today it takes two years to put a flag pole on top of the Harbour Bridge," he said.

"I'll climb up there myself if I need to.

"I don't see why it would take that long."

Mr Perrottet said a revised timeframe has now been given and it should only take six months.

"Surely in a modern world the concept of putting an additional flagpole on top of the Harbour Bridge shouldn't take two years given we built the thing in nine back in the 1920s," he added.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese welcomed the change.

"This is a welcome move, it should fly, proudly, for 365 days a year and I look forward to being a part of a government that advances in reconciliation by recognising indigenous Australians in our national constitution, with a voice to Parliament," he said.

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Meanwhile, Mr Perrottet also flagged other measures as part of the state government's plan to acknowledge Indigenous Australians.

Mr Perrottet said he will also remediate Goat Island before handing it back to Aboriginal landowners.

"We're committed today to the remediation of Goat Island and we'll work very closely with the Aboriginal Land Council in terms of how that will be best transferred," he said.

He also plans to update the ministerial charter for his entire cabinet to include an obligation to close the gap in their portfolios.

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"I think particularly in the area of Indigenous affairs in our state and around the nation, we haven't achieved those initiatives in terms of closing the gap targets, that's not a NSW issue that's a national issue," he said.

"Part of the change we're looking at today is empowering all ministers to have buy-in to that responsibility."

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