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A decision by the New South Wales government to extend the life of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station has been described as deeply disappointing by environmental groups.
Eraring plant will remain open until 2027, two more years than originally expected. Origin Energy agreed to keep the 40-year power station open, with NSW taxpayers potentially underwriting the 2.88-gigawatt plant to keep generating power beyond the scheduled closure date of August 2025 Origin set two years ago.
The Australian Energy Market Operator warned slower than expected construction of transmission lines and additional wind and solar farms would create a “reliability gap” if Eraring’s closure proceeded as originally planned.
The NSW energy minister, Penny Sharpe, called the decision “a proactive and sensible step”. But Tim Buckley, the head of Climate Energy Finance, labelled it “the devastating consequence of a decade of government planning failure”.
Top news
Optus taken to court by watchdog over 2022 cyber-attack | The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) has launched a legal case against Optus over the 2022 cyber-attack that compromised the personal information of 10 million customers. The case is one of two currently being fought by Optus, with a separate class action under way. The privacy commissioner is also investigating Optus over the data breach.
Alleged killer blamed Charlise Mutten’s mother for disappearance | An agitated Justin Stein denied any involvement in the disappearance of schoolgirl Charlise Mutten to neighbours as search parties scoured surrounding bushland, a jury has heard. Stein allegedly told a neighbour that Mutten wanted to keep Charlise and not return her to her grandparents, adding that the girl was taken by one of her mother’s associates.
Melbourne Uni agrees to pro-Palestine demands to disclose weapon funding | The University of Melbourne has become the first Australian tertiary education institution to agree to some demands of pro-Palestine activists. In a statement on Thursday, the University of Melbourne says it will commit to “additional disclosure” of its research project grant agreements to help provide more transparency.
NSW man jailed for six years after killing sister’s abusive boyfriend | A former teenage speedway racing champion has been jailed for killing his sister’s abusive boyfriend after he boasted: “You should see what I do to her in the bedroom.”
Macron says troops will remain for as long as necessary in New Caledonia | French security forces will remain in New Caledonia as long as necessary, Emmanuel Macron (pictured) has said, after France’s president arrived in the Pacific territory in an urgent attempt to calm tensions after more than a week of riots that have left six dead.
Stage collapses at Mexico campaign rally | Multiple people have been killed and others injured and trapped after a structure collapsed at a campaign event for Mexican presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Máynez, local officials have said. Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said a gust of wind caused the accident in the city of San Pedro Garza García in the northern state of Nuevo Leon.
Charlie Colin, founding member of Train, dies aged 58 | Charlie Colin (pictured), bassist and founding member of the US pop-rock band Train, best known for their hits Drops of Jupiter and Meet Virginia, has died aged 58. He died after slipping and falling in the shower while house sitting for a friend in Brussels, Belgium, the celebrity website TMZ.com reported.
China announces ‘punishment’ drills around Taiwan | China has launched two days of military drills surrounding Taiwan, as “punishment” for what it called the “separatist acts” of holding an election and inaugurating a new president. In response to the drills, Taiwan accused China of “irrational provocation and disruption of regional peace and stability”.
In pictures
Roadside retro: Steve Fitch’s American motel signs – in pictures
Photographer Steve Fitch has captured motel signs across the US, showing a range of styles during different decades, displayed at a new exhibition at the Joseph Bellows Gallery in La Jolla, California. “What does matter is the idea of theme and variation, how a collection can be interesting because of the variety of specimens,” Fitch said. “A collection of butterflies illustrates this idea.”
What they said …
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“The red line bothers me – I didn’t choose the ‘wrong’ name for my child” – Karen Fox, whose children are called Eoin and Niamh.
People whose names get mangled by autocorrect have urged technology companies to fix the problem faster by launching the “I am not a typo” campaign.
“There are so many diverse names in the global majority but autocorrect is western- and white-focused,” said Savan-Chandni Gandecha, 34, a British Indian content creator whose name has been autocorrected to Satan. Fellow campaign supporter, journalist Dhruti Shah said: “It’s like saying that it’s not just your name that’s wrong, but you are.”
Before bed read
Australian politicians think 15-year-olds are old enough to go to jail but not go on Facebook. They’re kidding themselves
It would be much better for young people to be supported to navigate social media safely than ban them from it entirely, writes Samantha Floreani.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: SEC. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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