Anthony Albanese has bowed to pressure to hold an emergency national cabinet meeting on Monday as Covid cases spike over winter.

News.com.au has confirmed that the Prime Minister has told state premiers he will reconvene the meeting on Monday morning.

It comes amid a furore over the government’s decision to axe pandemic payments and free RAT tests for concessions card holders.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stepped up her demands on Thusday for the Prime Minister to take action and hold a national cabinet when he returns from Fiji.

“All we want is an update from the chief health officer,’’ she told the Today Show.

“Because we’re just getting a bit of mixed messages at the moment. I think the country just wants to know how this wave is going.”

Asked about the decision to halt the $750 pandemic leave payments for casuals without sick leave, the Queensland Premier pointedly said this was a matter for the Albanese government.

“Look, I’m not going to get into that. That’s a Federal Government responsibility,’’ she said.

Calls to continue $750 pandemic payments

Health Minister Mark Butler has admitted that the decision to axe the $750 pandemic payment for casual workers to isolate if they don’t have sick leave was not based on health advice.

In the first major test for the Albanese Government, a split has emerged in Labor ranks over the decision to axe the payment as ministers offer conflicting justifications for the decision.

Aged Care Minister Anika Wells claimed on Thursday that current medical advice indicates funding should be funnelled into vaccinations and antiviral treatments.

Her remarks were in response to NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns breaking ranks to call for the payments to be reinstated.

“It is best to put the money where the money is best targeted,” Ms Wells said.

“The CMO says the best use of money is on vaccinations and antiviral treatments in aged care.”

But just hours later, when Health Minister Mark Butler was asked directly if he had received any advice from the Chief Medical Officer on Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, his replied “No”

“This is a decision put in place by the former government,’’ Mr Butler said.

Mr Butler said “at some point we need to recognise that it is not the financial capacity to continue emergency payments forever.”

A spokesman for acting Liberal leader Sussan Ley said the Health Minister and the Aged Care Minister clearly aren’t on the same page when it comes to the pandemic response.

“So the question is who is lying? What advice has the Government taken on pandemic support?,’’ he said.

“Or are they just not doing the work?.”As cases skyrocket over winter, the Albanese Government has axed the $750 payment in line with the previous government’s plan to phase it out.”

NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns has called on the Prime Minister to reconsider the payment and support casuals who may be tempted to lie about their virus status rather than isolate for seven days.

“The $750 isolation payment should be reinstated,’’ Mr Minns said. “For our health and economy.

“We need to make sure that people can meet their financial obligations, if someone’s going to be at home for seven days without any financial recourse or any income coming in to meet those obligations.”

In the first sign that he may be preparing to shift gears on the issue, the Prime Minister also told Sunrise he would hold talks on the issue when he returns from overseas.

“Look, there are real challenges there. And certainly, when I return to Australia, we’ll continue to address those issues. But we inherited those cut-offs across a range of decisions from the former Government,’’ Mr Albanese said.

- by Samantha Maiden, news.com.au