What we learned: Thursday, 9 January
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Thanks for reading, we’ll be back first thing tomorrow with all the latest news.
For now, here were the major developments of the day:
Rescued hiker Hadi Nazari has thanked emergency services for their “tireless work” searching the Snowy Mountains for 13 days to locate him, in his first statement since his rescue.
The family of a pilot killed in a seaplane crash near Rottnest Island have paid tribute to a “dear friend, brother, son and partner” in a fundraising post. The organiser of the GoFundMe wrote the loss of James Sai Meng Wong was “sudden, unexpected and devastating”.
Anthony Albanese has announced $200m of funding for housing and community infrastructure across regional Western Australia during a visit to the state. He’s also announced a $50m initiative to encourage farmers and freight companies to buy up electric vehicles as part of Labor’s plans to decarbonise the economy.
A father is in critical condition with the first diagnosed case of Japanese encephalitis in Australia since 2022.
And the president of Carlton AFL club and ex-head of consulting firm PwC has claimed his X account was hacked and that he was not responsible for posting a picture of a naked man.
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A signalling failure has caused extensive delays across the Sydney trains work, hitting services running from Central to western parts of the city.
A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said the delays lasted around 20 minutes from 4.30pm this afternoon, with services now resuming as normal following urgent repairs.
They affected the Blue Mountains, Cumberland and Western lines.
A statement to commuters at Central station advised people to delay non-essential travel and use alternative transport.
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Carlton president Luke Sayers says X account was hacked after ‘outrageous’ naked photo posted publicly
The president of Carlton AFL club and ex-head of consulting firm PwC has claimed his X account was hacked and that he was not responsible for posting a picture of a naked man.
On Wednesday, Sayers reportedly posted to X – formerly known as Twitter – apologising for the image, which appeared to show a reclining man’s penis, without revealing the individual’s face.
“Sorry my account has been hacked – please ignore all posts,” Sayers posted about 13 minutes after the image – which also reportedly tagged a female executive at a Carlton sponsor – was first uploaded.
Sayers’ X account has since been deactivated.
The businessman – who was in charge of PwC when it came under fire for its handling of sensitive government tax information and now runs his own firm, Sayers Group – says he was furious at the incident.
“This is outrageous – I’m investigating and will leave no stone unturned finding out who did this to me and my family,” Sayers said in a statement provided to the Herald Sun.
Sayers Group was contacted for comment. A Carlton spokesperson declined to comment.
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Albanese avoids question on election date
Finally, Albanese is asked about when the election will be called.
He reckons three years is too soon of a cycle for elections and there should be four year terms like the states, but has no plan to change that.
Instead, he forays into a speech on how Labor are “the builders” and the Coalition are “the wreckers” (the link being, Peter Dutton didn’t want four year terms).
I can confirm that I am not announcing the election date here today.
Then he’s off. For reasons I cannot fathom, there is not a single question on the growing controversy of beach cabanas.
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Turning to the wildfires, Albanese reiterates that the government hasn’t been requested to provide financial aid to California at this stage.
He says the government has reached out to the United States and notes many Australians who’ve experienced bushfires in the past will be triggered by this event and shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help.
This is very unusual, or perhaps it’s becoming more usual, that the seasons of these events are becoming longer. This is coming into their period where you wouldn’t be expecting the sort of wildfires that we’ve seen in California.
My heart goes out on behalf of the Australian people to our friends in the United States … this is an extreme event, and people who see the footage will be shocked by it.
Pointed to the elephant in the room, climate change, he says the government is committed to transition to renewables in a “sensible” way, while falling short of directly linking the current events to the climate crisis.
What you can’t say is any individual event is because of climate change, because I don’t think that assists the debate … what you can do is say over a long period of time, the trends are very clear, which is the science told us there would be more extreme weather events and they would be more intense.
That’s what we’re seeing play out in just about every continent on earth … what we need is a sensible transition, that is what is occurring.
Albanese is pointed to his own touting that this is his 27th visit to Western Australia as prime minister. He promised 30 before the election, so with any luck there’ll be more where that came from.
“Are we one of your favourites?” a journalist asks. With glee, he replies:
I love the place. And always have. And always have.
I was in Kununurra today, my first visit as PM, my fourth visit [in total] to Kununurra …
There’s something about this state’s dynamism that is very attractive and we need to harness that in the national interest … I find WA people really welcoming when I’m here, and there’s a lot to be done. It’s a growing, exciting state.
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Albanese says Coalition has not come up with ‘a single cost-of-living measure’
Albanese says Australia is now into an election year and the Coalition is yet to come up with “a single cost-of-living … proposal”.
Not one. They speak about $315bn of waste and cuts they want to make, and we know the last time government changed to a Coalition government in 2013, the first thing Peter Dutton as health minister tried to do was introduce a tax every time they tried to see a doctor.
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PM sledges Angus Taylor as part of opposition that ‘don’t know what they’re for’
On to questions. A journalist points to claims from Angus Taylor that Australians are $8,000 worse off than when they were in power and have “never had it so bad”. Albanese is off:
Angus Taylor should reflect on the fact of how people would be had they not had energy price relief that they opposed.
They opposed every taxpayer getting a tax cut … for all those who’ve gone through free Tafe in WA … he needs to tell them … they don’t value anything which is free, which is why they have never in their heart ever supported Medicare.
Angus Taylor is part of an operation that just know what they’re against, don’t know what they’re for, and they need more time to get their act together because they certainly don’t at this point in time.
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Roger Cook says WA Labor working ‘hand in hand’ with federal Labor to make state the ‘engine room of the economy’
Cook is up, and he is “delighted” to have the PM back in his state once again.
My WA Labor government is working hand in hand with the Albanese Labor government to continue to make sure we put in place the resources, the policies, the laws and the supports to make WA the engine room of the economy.
He said the proposed ports would significantly boost economic activity and jobs for regional parts of the state, particularly the Kimberly.
Turning to housing, he said access to affordable homes continued to be an issue across the nation.
When you see the $200m announcement this morning, you see a whole range of activities to unlock the great potential of regional WA.
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PM talks up $200m WA infrastructure package
Albanese is touting the $200m housing and community infrastructure package he committed to for WA earlier today, “lifting up the quality of life for people in our regions”.
Three additional ports were also announced this morning to import and export goods in regional parts of the state, described by the PM as a “gamechanger” by providing direct customs facilities.
When I rang Rog about this a couple of days ago, he was more than pleased with this announcement. It’s part of our commitment to make sure we deliver for Australians no matter where they live.
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PM announces housing package for WA
The prime minister is appearing now at the Midland urgent care clinic in Perth alongside WA’s premier. Earlier today, he announced a housing package for regional parts of the state.
It’s certainly feeling like an election year.
Anthony Albanese said it was great to be with his friend Roger Cook on the PM’s “27th visit to Western Australia”.
We’re on target to hit the 30 visits I committed to.
(Someone’s counting.)
Albanese said the government, prior to the election, had committed to 50 urgent care clinics. There were now 87 open today.
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Conditional bail granted after man allegedly caught with counterfeit money and contraband
A man has been charged after allegedly counterfeit cash was seized on the New South Wales south coast.
The alleged counterfeit $50 and $100 notes were allegedly handed to businesses at Merimbula, Pambula and Eden in early January.
Following inquiries, the 27-year-old man was arrested in Merimbula about 12pm yesterday. He was searched, and police located and seized a number of small re-sealable bags allegedly containing drugs.
Officers searched the car and allegedly seized more drugs and a knuckle duster.
He was subsequently charged with two counts of possess false document to obtain financial advantage etc, possess or use a prohibited weapon without permit and possess prohibited drug.
The man was granted conditional bail to appear before court on 11 February.
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‘Enjoy the muesli bars’: how one hiker’s Christmas nightmare turned into a new year miracle
It’s not often you get good news these days, but Victorian man Hadi Nazari’s rescue after a fortnight in the Kosciuszko national park has been the happy ending the nation has been hoping for.
Little did he know it, but Sydney hiker Sherman’s decision to leave two Uncle Toby muesli bars inside a hut in dense bush on the side of a steep range in the park just after Christmas could have played a great part in his survival.
Read the story from Rafqa Touma here:
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Melbourne woman expected to be charged for alleged ‘politically motivated’ graffiti
A 42-year-old woman has been arrested after a string of alleged “politically motivated” vandalism in south-east Melbourne last week, Victoria police have confirmed.
Six businesses in the Carnegie region were graffitied about 9.30pm on 2 January, police say. On Thursday, the woman was arrested and interviewed.
She has since been released and is expected to be charged on summons with criminal damage and graffiti-related incidents, police say:
Police have arrested a woman after a series of politically-motivated vandalism incidents in the Carnegie area last week.
Victoria Police takes all crime seriously, including that which is motivated by prejudice, racism or discrimination.
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Australian fire authorities ready to assist US firefighters if requested
Australian firefighters are waiting for a call from their struggling US counterparts, as wildfires rip through Los Angeles and leave tens of thousands forced to evacuate, AAP reports.
As strong winds hamper efforts to control the inferno, US firefighters battling multiple massive blazes are stretched, and at least five people have died.
Australian fire authorities – including the national council for fire and emergency services (Afac) – confirmed on Thursday no official request for help has been made by the US so far.
By 1pm Thursday, fire crews from nearby US states including Oregon, Washington, Utah and New Mexico were heading to Los Angeles to join the efforts.
Victoria CFA’s chief officer, Jason Heffernan, said his force had the people of Los Angeles in their hearts and wasn’t aware of any requests for assistance yet:
Victoria all too well knows the devastation of out-of-control bushfires. We send our condolences to the family of those who have perished, and sympathy for those who have lost it all as a result of the ongoing fire crisis.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said the organisation was watching the situation “with interest”, and would weigh up a request if it comes through.
The US National Interagency Fire Center said several hundred of their personnel were sent to Australia to help deal with the black summer bushfires.
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Inquiry launched into potential health issues from waste odours reported by Ipswich residents
The Queensland government has launched a public health inquiry into “odour-related health concerns” of Ipswich residents.
The inquiry, to be chaired by the state’s former chief health officer Dr John Gerrard will investigate possible health impacts from major odour issues emanating from nearby waste and composting facilities in the south-west Brisbane region.
It follows the state’s department of environment’s prosecution against operators.
The six-month inquiry will include public consultation with residents on the impact the odour issues are having on their lives.
The Ipswich mayor, Teresa Harding, said for years, residents had experienced “very real and persistent health issues” which they strongly believed were caused by waste odours. They included rashes, migraines, respiratory issues, chest pains, sore throats and eyes and nausea.
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Thanks for following the blog with me today, Caitlin Cassidy will be taking over to bring you the latest this afternoon.
What you need to know about the UK’s new travel permit for Australians
Australians heading to the UK for a holiday or work trip now have to jump a new administrative hurdle.
A US-style digital permit system, the electronic travel authorisation – ETA – came into effect on 8 January for Australians (and more than 50 other nationalities). It requires travellers to fill out some details before they enter England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and you need to get it sorted well before you travel.
Confused? Here’s what you should know:
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Picture released of Nazari’s rescue
NSW police have posted a photo of Hadi Nazari with emergency services personnel, after he was found in the Snowy Mountains.
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Rescued hiker Hadi Nazari thanks emergency services
Nazari was lost in the Snowy Mountains for nearly two weeks while hundreds of emergency service personnel and volunteers searched for him.
The 23-year-old medical student released a statement via NSW police:
I would like to thank all of the emergency services personnel for their tireless work searching for 13 days in tough conditions, to locate me.
I would also like to thank members of the public, family and friends for their well wishes and prayers.
As I continue to recover, I ask the media for privacy at this time.
The NSW southern local health district has also provided an update:
Mr Hadi Nazari is being treated for dehydration at Cooma Hospital. He is in good spirits and recovering well and is expected to be discharged within the next few days.
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Bank of mum and dad risks running dry
Many Australians are turning to the bank of mum and dad to get a foothold on the property ladder, though as many as one in 20 parents could be risking a financially stable retirement, AAP reports.
About 6% of parents have gone into debt to help their children or grandchildren, with about 2% tapping into the equity of their homes via a reverse mortgage.
Parents could be compromising their financial stability by taking on debt or exhausting their savings, financial comparison company Compare Club’s head of research Kate Browne said:
We’re seeing cases where the bank of mum and dad is effectively operating as an unregulated lending institution, but without the safety nets.
Those who had taken out a reverse mortgage were 64% more likely to be stressed about their mortgage than the average Australian, according to the comparison company’s survey of 1,000 people.
Intergenerational wealth transfers have become a prominent feature of a pricey property market first-time buyers are struggling to crack into, especially at a time of high living costs.
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Garbage truck dumps load on Sydney street as toxic vapours rise from the rubbish
Earlier today a garbage truck in Sydney was forced to dump its load on to the street after the contents started producing a toxic vapour.
The truck was carrying 150kg of a powdered bleach substance that started reacting with other materials in the load.
Fire and Rescue NSW says six fire trucks and 22 firefighters including hazardous materials experts were on the scene in Mascot, in Sydney’s inner south, as the truck unloaded its contents.
No injuries have been reported, and the source of the substance is unknown at this stage.
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Man accused of selling cannabis seeds online granted bail but warned selling more would be ‘pure stupidity’
A man accused of selling $700,000 worth of cannabis seeds online has been granted bail and warned it would be “pure stupidity” to break his strict release conditions, AAP reports.
Samuel Joseph Topia, 40, appeared in Brisbane supreme court on Thursday via video link and represented himself in his bail application.
Topia was charged on 19 August 2024 with cannabis production, possession, supply, importation and trafficking at a farming property outside Kingaroy, west of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Prosecutors alleged Topia had been running an online business offering sales of 285 types of cannabis seeds and had 1,800 packages ready to fulfil orders.
Justice Melanie Hindman asked Topia why she should grant him bail when he had previously been convicted of similar offending at the same farm in April 2023.
Topia said his time on remand since his arrest was the first time he had been in custody.
Hindman said Topia must have known after he was convicted that he could not continue the research he claimed to be doing on an illegal plant.
That might have washed, perhaps, back in 2023, but surely the inference I make now is you thought, ‘bugger it, I’ll just keep doing it’.
Topia said he had turned 40 in custody and wanted to reconnect with estranged family members.
Hindman granted Topia bail on the condition he not consume cannabis even in medicinal form and not promote the sale of cannabis on his website.
The police will be watching very closely … It would just be pure stupidity to go back to that sort of offending and no one will have any sympathy for you.
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‘Proliferation’ of demountable classrooms blamed on lack of planning
Education leaders have defended forcing more students into demountable classrooms for the upcoming school year, blaming predecessors’ poor planning, AAP reports.
Figures suggest more than 13,000 demountable classrooms are used in NSW, Victorian and West Australian public schools alone.
The education minister, Prue Car, trying to spruik a maintenance blitz across more than 800 public schools over the summer break, complained of a lack of planning for many high-growth areas in Sydney’s north-west and south-west.
But the former NSW education minister Sarah Mitchell expects families will wait longer to get the schools they need under Labor after a slowdown in new project numbers in the latest budget.
The Australian Education Union described a “proliferation” of demountable classrooms in public schools in a 2024 report.
The report pointed to figures showing one in eight public school classrooms in NSW was a demountable in 2020, with the total portfolio exceeding 5,000 by 2022.
Victoria meanwhile had 5,761 demountables in 1,130 public schools, the report said. The WA government told local media in August it had 3,006 demountable classrooms.
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Black Friday sales boost retail figures for November
Australian retail sales rose 0.8% in November, bolstered by the ever-growing popularity of Black Friday sales, AAP reports.
Turnover lifted across all retail categories over the month, led by a 1.8% bump in department store sales as shoppers rushed to snap up hot deals.
November’s lift followed a 0.5% increase in sales in October and a 0.4% rise in September.
Australian Bureau of Statistics head of business statistics Robert Ewing said Black Friday sales events “proved once again to be a big hit, with widespread discounting and higher spending across all retail industries”.
The popularity of Black Friday sales continues to grow with promotional activity now stretching across the entire month of November, not just solely focused on the Black Friday weekend.
Businesses in food retailing also benefited from sales-induced spending. Food retailing rose 0.5%, while cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services recorded its fourth consecutive monthly increase, lifting 1.5%.
Consumer budgets have been under pressure from higher mortgage repayments and cost-of-living pain but tax cuts, stronger wage growth and lower inflation have been giving incomes a much-needed boost.
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Family of dead Rottnest pilot mourn self-proclaimed ‘seaplane tragic’
The family of a pilot killed in a seaplane crash near Rottnest Island have paid tribute to a “dear friend, brother, son and partner” in a fundraising post.
Organiser of the GoFundMe, Angela Cloeraine, wrote the loss of James Sai Meng Wong was “sudden, unexpected and devastating”.
On Tuesday the 7th of January 2025 we lost a dear friend, brother, son and partner in a tragic accident. He was known for his love for adventure, exceptional knowledge on every topic and his passion for seaplanes – a self proclaimed “seaplane tragic”. His trademark skinny jeans and peace signs will never be forgotten.
Consequently, we are hoping to raise funds to support his family and loved ones as they navigate this treacherous time. Any help is greatly appreciated.
The fundraiser had received more than $8,000 of its $10,000 target as of Thursday afternoon.
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Sixth man charged over alleged conspiracy to murder plot
Organised crime squad detectives have charged a sixth man over an alleged plot to murder a 30-year-old in Sydney.
NSW crime command’s organised crime squad established Strike Force Barralier in December 2023 to investigate the alleged conspiracy.
Five others have already been charged and their cases are before the courts.
The latest arrest of a 32-year-old man was made by detectives this morning during a vehicle stop in Miranda. Officers later searched a home in the Sutherland Shire area and police say items were seized.
The man has been charged with conspire and agreed to murder any person, and was refused bail to appear before the Sutherland local court today.
Hiker who found Hadi Nazari in Kosciuszko says he ‘couldn’t believe it’
Joshua Dart told the ABC about the moment he and his friends hiking in KNP found Hadi Nazari, who had been missing for 13 days.
My mate James looked down towards the shouting and we shouted back. We heard him [Nazari] saying, ‘I need help’…
When we realised it was him, I couldn’t believe it. We were just emotional, we were crying and he was in tears.
Dart says his group had seen the missing persons alert on Wednesday morning, so it was “fresh in our head”.
Nazari was found at 3:15pm that afternoon.
Dart shared a picture to Instagram with Nazari, which you can see here in an earlier blog post.
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‘I campaign every January,’ says PM while travelling through regions
Anthony Albanese has said he wants to represent the whole country, as he travels through regional Australia and visits seats that will be key in the next election.
So far several big-ticket announcements have been made – most notably the $7.2bn to upgrade the Bruce Highway in Queensland. Albanese says:
All of these places I have visited is because as prime minister I want to represent the entire country …
And that’s why we’ve made, I think, a substantial difference with the announcements that we’ve made today.
We don’t make decisions based upon colour-coded maps. There’s been some question about our Bruce Highway commitments. There were 41 deaths last year. It’s Australia’s worst road in terms of fatalities. Something needed to be done.
Albanese’s reference to “colour-coded maps” goes to the “sports rorts scandal” where it was revealed a community sports fund was being used with a bias towards marginal Coalition seats and electorates the party was targeting.
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Anthony Albanese is also asked about the plane crash off the West Australian coast that killed three people.
He says his “heart goes out to family and friends of those who lost their lives”.
When an incident like this occurs, an inquiry is automatically triggered and they will be here. If any lessons can be learned from it then they certainly will be, and will be put in place by the government in the form of any new regulations that are required.
The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, is asked if there’s any cause to ground seaplanes while the investigation is carried out:
There’s no indication of that. We’ll take the advice from the authorities.
You can read more details on the latest of that crash here:
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‘Fantastic news’: Albanese responds to Nazari being found in Snowy Mountains
The prime minister says it’s “remarkable” 23-year-old Hadi Nazari was found after 13 days, and thanked emergency service workers and volunteers who helped find him.
I just think that everyone will have jumped for joy, the whole nation at this news. I look forward to reading more about the story and perhaps seeing the movie, the documentary, the other information that will come out of this.
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Anthony Albanese is asked about the devastating fires spreading through Los Angeles.
He says the images will be “triggering” for many Australians who went through the black summer bushfires in 2020.
Albanese says he’s sent a message to the US president offering Australia’s support.
It says something that this is coming into their winter, so this is not a normal event, but more and more we see a pattern where there is a new normal of more extreme weather events and more intensity to them.
It is tragic that has already been a significant loss of life in the United States on the West Coast, and all Australians express our support
Australia resumes lobster exports to China
The prime minister is also touting the resumption of lobster trade to China, a huge industry in WA.
Albanese says the first export of lobsters left Australia for China on Christmas Day:
As of a couple of days ago there had been 565,000 kilograms of live lobster exported into China representing more than 70 separate consignments. That is about jobs.
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On making three WA ports first ports of entry, Anthony Albanese says it will make a difference to key industries in the area:
Cotton is an industry that can grow but can only grow if it has the capacity for export. In order to do that you need to have the customs facilities so you can have a seamless export process that boosts productivity. What infrastructure is about is boosting productivity, and the difference we have made in a regional Western Australia is substantial.
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Infrastructure minister details further plans for WA housing package
Catherine King is with the Prime Minister in Kununurra.
Housing is a key cost-of-living issue and will be in the spotlight during the election campaign.
King lists several infrastructure projects that will be funded alongside the housing package:
The housing package in particular across the West will support [around] 1400 new homes across the region…
These investments are unlocking the infrastructure to unlock the capacity to build more houses in our region.
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More on Labor’s regional WA housing package
The prime minister has confirmed the $200m will unlock 1367 new homes in regional WA.
These will form part of the government’s housing target of building more than 1.2m homes over five years.
Albanese says the governments housing programs will help people across the state:
It is a plan that envisages and supports investments in more social housing, in more private rentals as well a supporting home ownership through our Help to Buy scheme, a scheme unashamedly model on the successful scheme that is operated here in WA for many decades.
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Prime minister announces housing package for regional WA
Anthony Albanese is continuing his regional tour in key seats across northern Australia, visiting Kununurra where he’s announced $200m of funding for housing and community infrastructure across regional WA.
Also announced was the government’s approval of three ports in northern WA, as first ports of entry, which he says will allow for more direct international shipping.
Albanese told reporters:
This week we have been travelling across Australia, talking about building Australia’s future.
It is about building Australia’s future and at the next election this year, Australians will have a choice between a government that is committed to providing support for all people during tough times, cost-of-living relief while building Australia’s future, and an opposition just committed to negatively going backwards.
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Man who found missing hiker shares photos of rescue moment
Joshua Dart, one of the hikers who found missing 23-year-old Hadi Nazari, has posted a series of pictures with the hiker on Instagram.
Nazari, missing since Boxing Day, stumbled upon the group after. Dart posted some pictures with Nazari before he was taken for medical checks.
Thank God we found the missing hiker on our hike in Kosciuszko!
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Police release footage of person discarding burning clothes after alleged arson in Melbourne
An alleged arsonist had to shed their burning pants after allegedely setting alight a Melbourne fast food business on Christmas morning.
Victoria police said emergency services were called to a blaze at a strip of shops off Doncaster Road in Doncaster East about 2.40am on 25 December.
Police said two people had earlier driven a Toyota Tarago to a fast food outlet in Melbourne’s east where they allegedly poured flammable liquid on the store before starting the fire.
Read the full story here:
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The extraordinary story of Hadi Nazari’s survival in the Snowy Mountains
Police said he survived on water, berries and two muesli bars for 13 days until he was found.
More than 400 people searched for the 23-year-old from Melbourne, until he was ultimately spotted by some hikers.
Earlier in the blog we had more details on the search and how he survived, and Cait Kelly has the full story.
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Taliban announce death of Australian ex-hostage who returned to Afghanistan
Taliban authorities announced the death of Australian Jibra’il Omar, who returned to Afghanistan after being kidnapped and held hostage by the group for more than three years, AFP reports.
Omar, originally named Timothy Weeks, was taken hostage in 2016 alongside an American academic as they left the American University in Kabul, where they worked.
Both men were released in 2019 to the custody of US forces in southern Afghanistan in exchange for three high-ranking allies of the Taliban.
Omar had converted to Islam, and changed his name following his release and returned to Kabul in 2022, a year after the Taliban returned to power, the ABC reported.
The Afghan interior ministry said in a statement:
Unfortunately, Australian lecturer Timothy Weeks currently named Jibra’il Omar has passed away of cancer today. He had been suffering from the concern for a long time.
Ben Doherty reported on Omar’s was released in late 2019:
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Dangerous jetski behaviour prompts warning from Victoria police
Water rescues in Victoria have shot up in the new year, sparking a fresh warning for those misbehaving.
The water police squad has been called to more than 100 incidents in the first week of 2025, up from 17 during the same period in 2024 and 36 in 2023.
Police say many of the call-outs were related to dangerous jetski behaviour including speeding, travelling too close to other swimmers and colliding with other vessels.
The warning comes after Life Saving Victoria made 145 rescues on Saturday, Victoria state control centre spokeperson Reegan Key said:
That’s a really high number and, obviously, there are lots of people on holiday at this time of year.
We’re asking people to be a bit more aware and careful as they head to the beach, rivers and lakes.
– Australian Associated Press
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Election campaign won’t be big-spending ‘free-for-all’: Chalmers
The federal election will not be a “huge cash splash”, the treasurer says, as the prime minister prepares to announce millions more in commitments while travelling around Australia.
With Australians due to cast their votes some time before 17 May, Anthony Albanese has kicked off the year by courting voters in marginal electorates across multiple states.
The rising cost of living remains a chief concern for many Australians with treasurer, Jim Chalmers, telling ABC News Breakfast today that while the government will do what it can, it must be responsible:
People shouldn’t expect this election to be a big free-for-all of public money, or a huge cash splash.
We’ve got to continue to manage the budget responsibly, but if we can do a little bit more to help people with these cost-of-living pressures, of course we’ll consider that.
After journeying through Queensland and the Northern Territory, the prime minister’s trip will continue into Western Australia, where he is expected to reveal funding for infrastructure and housing in the state’s regional areas.
The state was crucial to Labor’s 2022 election win and the party will attempt to maintain its grasp and grow support in a handful of knife-edge electorates.
– Australian Associated Press
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More photos aboard the Elvis Express
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All aboard the Elvis Express
If you’re in Sydney, it’s time to pop on your blue suede shoes and head on the Elvis Express to Parkes today, for the annual Elvis festival.
Hundreds of fans venture to the central NSW town, with plenty of song, dance and hopefully no heartbreak.
Commuters around Central station say they’re seeing “total scenes” with people in costume ready to rock’n’roll.
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Stay put at a water source if lost, police say
Asked for advice on what to do if lost or disoriented while hiking, Supt Andrew Spliet says to stay put. He spoke to ABC News Breakfast a short while ago:
Generally our searchers will go down towards water courses and so forth. That’s where people generally tend to go, down mountains … once they get a bit exhausted from being out in the conditions. But just stay put. We’ll eventually find you. We put of a lot of time and energy and resources into the searches. If you’re close to a water source of some description, we’ll get there and find you. That’s the advice.
Also if you’re going out in those sort of terrain, take a personal locator beacon. They’re life-saving.
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Police say Nazari ‘walked relentlessly’ while lost in the Snowy Mountains
Supt Andrew Spliet spoke to ABC News Breakfast earlier, describing what Hadi Nazari went through while hundreds searched for him.
Spliet said it appeared Nazari got lost and disoriented after being separated from his friends on Boxing Day in the Kosciuszko national park.
He … pretty much slept, well, rested during the evenings and just walked relentlessly during the daytime. He was able to keep himself hydrated from the water courses and the creeks and so forth up there in the high country and also looked for berries and that sort of thing, which obviously sustained him.
Also said that he came across a hiker’s hut up there that had two muesli bars and that, so pretty much all he had for the last two weeks. So a really good effort by him to stay alive
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Treasurer says Meta’s scrapping of factcheckers ‘very concerning’
Circling back to the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, on ABC News Breakfast earlier, he was asked about Meta’s decision to scrap factcheckers, which he called “very concerning”.
I think misinformation and disinformation is very dangerous and we have seen it really kind of explode in the last few years and it’s a very damaging development, damaging for our democracy.
Labor last year was forced to drop its bill to counter misinformation and disinformation online, due to a lack of support from the Coalition and members of the crossbench.
Chalmers said it’s why they have invested in the ABC, SBS and AAP, to counter misinformation.
Misinformation and disinformation is unfortunately becoming bigger and bigger part of our media, particularly our social media.
We have tried during the course of this parliamentary term to build support for changes on misinformation and disinformation. Unfortunately, the parliament did not find a way to support those kinds of changes and so we’ll have to look for other ways.
You can read more on Meta getting rid of factchecking (and whether you should leave Instagram as a result) here:
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Man with Japanese encephalitis in critical condition
A father has been in critical condition with the first diagnosed case of Japanese encephalitis in Australia since 2022.
Stevie Bond first experienced headaches and a fever in early December when he was taken to Shepparton hospital in northern Victoria, a GoFundMe on behalf of the Bond family said. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he was airlifted to St Vincent’s ICU, Melbourne, in critical condition.
Bond’s “future capacity to live is unknown”, the GoFundMe said.
St Vincent’s confirmed the hospital is caring for one patient with Japanese encephalitis who is in a critical condition.
VicHealth issued an alert of the first human case of Japanese encephalitis in Victoria this mosquito season on the last day of 2024.
“These findings indicate that JE virus is likely circulating in northern Victoria this summer,” the VicHealth alert said.
The deadly virus is transmitted through mosquito bites. It can cause a rare but potentially serious infection of the brain and is spread to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes, VicHealth said.
“This beautiful, kind, loving, funny and much loved man is fighting for his life,” the GoFundMe on behalf of Bond’s family said.
Doctors have advised Cilla and family that should Steve be able to continue his fight and his brain start to recover, the recovery will take months in ICU and years of rehabilitation.
Here is more on Japanese encephalitis:
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Jim Chalmers argues Labor making ‘sustained progress’ against inflation
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is “pretty pleased to see underlying inflation come down yesterday”. He is speaking live on ABC News Breakfast:
Also pleasing to see that headline inflation has been for some months now at the bottom end of the Reserve Bank’s target range because what that tells us is that we are making and have made really substantial and now sustained progress in the fight against inflation.
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Brisbane traffic congestion ranked 10th worst in world but experts question ‘black box’ analysis
Brisbane ranks among the world’s most congested cities – ahead of sprawling megacities such as Bangkok and well in front of Sydney and Melbourne – according to a transport analytics report.
According to the report, an average Brisbane driver lost about 84 hours to congestion in 2024, an increase of 14% on 2023. That ranks the city as the world’s 10th-most congested, behind Istanbul (105 hours), New York (102 hours) and London (101 hours).
But experts have cast doubt on the methodology of INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard, which compares travel times when roads are empty in the middle of the night with speeds at peak hour to calculate what it calls “delay”.
“This is a rogue metric,” said Matt Burke of the Griffith University Cities Research Institute.
“INRIX scores are a bit of a black box. You don’t quite know exactly how they’re calculating this.”
You can read more here:
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More than 1% of Northern Territory population imprisoned as record jail numbers predicted to climb
Police watch houses in the Northern Territory are being repurposed as long-term prison cells as record imprisonment numbers push the system to breaking point.
There were 2,613 people locked up in the NT on Tuesday – more than 1% of the territory’s population of 255,100, according to the NT Department of Corrections.
By contrast, in Western Australia – the state with the next highest imprisonment rate – about 0.2% of the population is behind bars. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the NT incarceration rate is more than five times the national average.
More than 250 people are being held in NT police watch houses, spilling over from overcrowded prisons unable to cope with a surge that is only expected to grow as tough new bail laws take effect this week.
“Police watch houses are overcrowded, they’re oppressive, the lights stay on, the noise is constant. Prisoners complain that they don’t have privacy when they go to the toilet,” Clancy Dane, the principal lawyer at Territory Criminal Lawyers, said.
Read the full story here:
New research into one of Australia’s most specialised and bizarre animals has revealed the marsupial mole’s biology is as unusual as its appearance.
Despite the animal’s striking resemblance to “true” moles from Africa and parts of the northern hemisphere, marsupial moles were most closely related to bandicoots and bilbies, the study in Science Advances said.
University of Melbourne researchers, who led the study, extracted DNA from a museum specimen then sequenced and analysed its genome to uncover the evolutionary secrets of the golden-haired species, about which “almost nothing is known”.
You can read more here:
Appetite for discounting on show in retail figures
After yesterday’s inflation numbers, analysts will turn their attention to retail sales from the Australian Bureau of Statistics today for a read on consumer behaviour.
An early start to discounting helped fuel a solid 0.6% lift in retail sales in October.
Consumer spending has been trending generally weak, reflecting a barely growing economy and households under pressure from higher mortgage repayments and inflation.
The Reserve Bank has been keeping a close eye on consumers as too much spending could complicate the inflation task and keep interest rates higher for longer.
– Australian Associated Press
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‘Good news for renters’: slower growth recorded
Rental growth across the nation is slowing amid the housing crisis, as economists predict a greater “balance” in the market.
New data released by REA Group, which owns Australia’s leading real estate site, shows advertised rents were unchanged in all capital city markets apart from two in the December 2024 quarter.
Brisbane and Canberra were the only capital cities to record rent increases over the past three months, but Adelaide and Perth experienced the strongest increases over the past year.
Median advertised weekly rents in Sydney ($730) and Melbourne ($570) flatlined for six months, with rents growing at their slowest pace since late 2021.
The relief comes at a time when housing affordability in Australia continues to deteriorate, as households buckle under the strain of high cost-of-living pressures.
In regional areas, advertised rents didn’t move from $550 a week in the last three months, but spiked by a massive 10% over 2024.
REA Group senior economist Paul Ryan said the figures meant good news for renters.
“We’re seeing broadly, the market come back into a bit better balance between renters and landlords in a bit more rental availability,” he told AAP.
– Australian Associated Press
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Thanks to Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog this morning.
I’ll be rolling your news updates through the day – let’s get into it.
More on that seaplane crash from AAP:
The owners of the seaplane say they are distraught over the tragedy.
“We are devastated by those injured and the loss of the two passengers involved in the terrible incident yesterday,” Swan River Seaplanes company director Kristy Bailey said.
“Our deepest and sincere condolences are with their families and friends.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of James [Wong], a talented and dedicated pilot who was an integral and deeply cherished member of our team.”
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Investigators to try to salvage remaining seaplane wreckage off Rottnest Island
Investigators will today attempt to salvage the remaining wreckage of a seaplane that crashed during take-off, killing three people and seriously hurting three other passengers, AAP reports.
It is believed the aircraft carrying seven people struck a small limestone outcrop near popular holiday spot Rottnest Island, off the coast of Perth, about 4pm on Tuesday.
The Cessna 208 Caravan 675 plunged nose-first into the water near Thomson Bay, killing pilot James Wong, 34, a 65-year-old Swiss woman and a 60-year-old Danish man.
Investigators hope the sunken plane and wreckage already retrieved will provide answers about the cause of the crash, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner, Angus Mitchell, said on Wednesday.
“Any of the information that we can gather from on board the plane, that’ll be our focus tomorrow as we recover the plane from the seabed,” he said.
“Any of the recorded information from on board, from mobile phones.”
Mitchell said bureau investigators working with police would continue interviewing witnesses to the crash.
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Kosciuszko hiker Hadi Nazari expected to return home today
We will be hearing more about Hadi Nazari’s Kosciuszko national park ordeal today after he is debriefed by police.
He spent the night at Cooma hospital but is expected to be sent home today.
“I have every confidence that he’ll be released very soon,” NSW police Insp John Broadfoot told reporters yesterday.
“Our specialist paramedics have had a look at him and he’s seemed in great condition so full hopes he’ll be on his way home very shortly.”
In a statement on behalf of the family, sister Zahra Nazari said they were grateful he was safe and sound.
“We are grateful for everyone involved in helping us find my brother,” the family said.
In the meantime check out this piece by Cait Kelly about how he foraged for berries and drank water from creeks to keep going.
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$50m federal incentive for farmers and truckers to go electric
The Albanese government will today announce a $50m initiative to encourage farmers and freight companies to buy up electric vehicles as part of its plans to decarbonise the economy.
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, said a deal between the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Metro Finance will offer eligible farmers, freight companies and other small and medium businesses the option to take on cheaper loans to buy electric vehicles.
A farmer financing a $60,000 electric vehicle, for example, could save about $1,700 in interest over five years, the government said.
More than 4,000 electric vehicles were bought using the financing subsidies as of December 2024.
Bowen said:
Australian motorists deserve more choices of cleaner, cheaper-to-run cars and that’s exactly what the Albanese government is delivering.
Electric vehicles made up 9.5% of light vehicle sales last year, rising from 8.4% in 2023 and 3.8% in 2022.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer here to take you through a couple of the best overnight stories before Rafqa Touma takes over as your news guide for the day.
Hadi Nazari will be debriefed by rescue teams today after his remarkable 13-day ordeal lost in the Kosciuszko national park wilderness. The 23-year-old was described as “alert” and able to walk after being rescued yesterday but was taken to Cooma hospital last night for checks. The Riverina district commander, Supt Andrew Spliet, said police wanted to hear from him about how he stayed alive and how he protected himself from the daytime heat. More coming up.
Peter Dutton will hold his first election campaign-style rally in Melbourne on Sunday, according to a report in the Age this morning. It says that Liberals were told an event was coming in the eastern suburbs where the Coalition is aiming to win back the seats of Chisholm and Aston as Dutton responds to Anthony Albanese’s whirlwind tour of Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia this week. Speaking of which, his Labor government is putting up $50m to incentivise farmers and freight companies to switch to electric vehicles. More coming up.
Police watch houses in the Northern Territory are being repurposed as long-term prison cells as the number of prisoners reached more than 1% of the territory’s population this week. That is more than five times the national average – and if the NT were a country it would have the second-highest incarceration rate in the world. We’ll have reaction as it happens.
