1. Labor to go green without the Greens
The Federal Labor government has vowed that if they are to win office next year, they will not be teaming up with the Australian Greens on its climate change policy, or any other power-sharing arrangement for that matter. The announcement defies a recent statement from Prime Minister Scott Morrison who harkened back to similar campaign rhetoric from the 2019 election when he said, “It’s a choice between the Liberals and the Nationals, and Labor and the Greens”. Labor has set a 2030 target to reduce emissions by 43% over 2005 levels by 2030, assuring that they will not increase this target even if the 2022 election lands in their court.

2. Aussies taxed to the hilt
A new report has found that out of the OECD nations, Australians are the second-highest taxed citizens as a percentage of government revenue, behind only Denmark. According to the report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, governments in Australia raised almost double the amount of revenue from taxes on property compared to other wealthy nations, chiefly due to state-based stamp duty on real estate purchases. “Personal income tax revenue rose to 42 per cent of total tax collected by federal and state governments in 2019, nearly twice as much as the OECD average of 23.5 per cent,” the AFR reports.

3. Encouraging first signs from Omicron data
Preliminary data is starting to emerge that could give us a clearer picture of what we’re dealing with as experts pore over early omicron observations. The White House’s chief medical advisor, Dr Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday that early data was “encouraging,” but cautioned that more information was needed to fully understand the variant. This comes just two weeks after the World Health Organization designated the new Covid omicron variant as being “of concern”, and thus: “While this early data may be encouraging, it’s important to keep it in perspective: it is based on preliminary findings from a small number of people,” reports CNBC.

4. US officials to boycott Beijing Winter Olympics
As a stand against “crimes against humanity”, US officials will not be attending the Beijing Winter Olympics in February next year but will still permit its athletes to compete. In a statement on Monday, White House Secretary Jen Psaki said: “The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, and other human rights abuses”. This move comes only weeks after Biden and President Xi’s virtual summit, during which the US President addressed allegations regarding human rights abuses against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang.

5. ASX to rise amid surge in the US
The Dow Jones skyrocketed almost 700 points overnight, in what is again partly thanks to a positive rebound in Omicron sentiment, as well as an increase in oil prices. ASX futures were up 25 points or 0.1% to 7310 near 7.10am AEDT, with the AUD trading back above 70 US cents. On Wall St: Dow Jones +2%, S&P 500 +1.3%, Nasdaq +1.1%. The RBA will release a statement at 2.30pm AEDT, with economists expecting the central bank to continue to hold the cash rate at 0.1%.