What we learned; Tuesday 28 January
And that’s a wrap for today’s live news coverage. Here’s what we’ve been focused on this Tuesday:
Police have arrested a third man after the alleged assault of two off-duty police officers in Sydney’s inner-west last week.
The body of a man was found after going missing in the Murrumbidgee River.
Multiple evacuations were made in the Victorian town of Dimboola as six bushfires raged out of control and dozens of new fires began. Fires closed the railway line between Victoria and South Australia.
Gambling advertisements are to be banned on public transport in New South Wales.
Peter Dutton defended having not one but two shadow ministers to tackle government waste and efficiency.
Queensland has suspended puberty blockers and hormone therapies for minors seeking gender-affirming care – a move that trans activists warned could be “catastrophic”.
As predicted, Sydney sweltered in temperatures of up to 42C – until a southerly buster swept through, bringing welcome, if sudden, cool.
We’ll see you again tomorrow morning. Thank you for joining us.
Updated
Police speak to teens after Wagga Wagga fire
New South Wales Police say they have spoken with two teenagers as part of their investigations into an alleged suspicious fire in the state’s south earlier this month.
In a statement, the police said that at about 11pm on Monday 20 January, emergency services were called to a two-storey business on the corner of Fitzmaurice and Kincaid streets, Wagga Wagga, after reports of a fire.
The building sustained smoke and water damage and police established a crime scene and began investigations into the cause of the fire.
After inquiries, officers from Riverina Police District spoke to a 13-year-old girl at Wagga Wagga Police Station about 5.30pm on Friday 24 January 2025, the police said.
The teenager was dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.
A second teenager has been spoken to by police and inquiries were continuing, NSW Police said.
Updated
Third arrest after alleged assault on police officers in Sydney
New South Wales Police have arrested a third man after the alleged assault of two off-duty police officers in Sydney’s Inner West last week.
In a statement, the police said that at about 3:30pm today, officers arrested a 22-year-old man on Edgeware Road, Enmore.
The man has been taken to Newtown Police Station where inquiries continue. He has not been charged.
Under Strike Force Rabnor, two men - aged 18 and 20 – were earlier charged and remain before the court.
NSW Police confirmed that both of the officers who were injured – one seriously - in the incident have now left hospital.
Updated
Cool change comes to Sydney
More on today’s temperatures in Sydney, which have plummeted after a scorching morning and early afternoon.
Different parts of Sydney experienced very different versions of the temperature plunge, it appears.
Bureau of Meteorology readings show the temperature at its Holsworthy station dropped by almost 10C in just 19 minutes, from 41.1C at 3pm to 31.6C at 3:19pm. By 4:30pm, the temperature was a comfortable 23.6C.
In central Sydney, the mercury topped 35.3C at 1pm, dropping to 24C by 4:30pm.
Updated
Queensland ban on hormone therapy for minors 'will be catastrophic', trans advocates warn
Transgender advocates have warned of the “immeasurable trauma” that may be caused by the Queensland government’s decision to block young trans people from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies.
The Equality Australia CEO, Anna Brown, said Queensland was an outlier state.
“This will be catastrophic for young trans people and their families when the evidence on the benefits of hormone treatments is clear and well established,” she said.
This move is at odds with the current evidence base, expert consensus, health services in all other Australian states and territories and the majority of clinical guidelines around the world.
Only last year a review in Queensland found that practices in the state’s gender clinics were safe and evidence based, recommending increased funding and capacity to reach regional areas.
Governments should stay out of these deeply personal decisions and leave it to young people, their parents and the expert doctors treating them.
Eloise Brook, the CEO of AusPath, the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health, said: “Hormone treatments for the small number of young people who need them are essential health care.”
The evidence shows that denying access to this care will cause young people immeasurable trauma, contributing to depression, anxiety and in some cases self-harm.
Updated
Clearly a role for government to help energy transition, Pocock says
David Pocock has spoken about Chris Bowen’s use of his ministerial powers to intervene in the acceleration of solar electrification projects around the country.
When asked by Patricia Karvelas on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing whether the senator would like to see Bowen making more interventions, he answered:
There’s clearly a role for the government to help bring forward this transition. It is totally inevitable. Electrification is inevitable. What we’ve seen is a pushback from the fossil fuel industry. They’re trying to buy up social license, left, right and centre, sponsoring your favourite sports team, running op-eds in newspapers. What we need is the government to say this is the direction we’re heading in. We want households to be able to save money and for no households to be left behind.
If you’re a low-income household, if you’re living in social housing, if you’re a renter, if you’re living in an apartment, all of these options should be available to you, and we have the blueprint for this. Rooftop solar is an Australian success story.
Updated
Sydney temperatures drop up to 18C as southerly buster arrives
The predicted southerly buster that has rolled into Sydney has delivered a temperature drop of more than 18C in some areas.
At about 1.30pm, Sydney airport hit 42.5C – by 4pm, the temperature had dropped to 24.3C, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Badgerys Creek went from 43.3C to 34.7C.
We’ll bring more detail on the speed of those temperature changes as soon as we have updates from the bureau.
Shortly before 4pm, the bureau released a severe thunderstorm warning for damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall in parts of the Sydney area.
Updated
Man arrested under ‘anti-Nazi’ laws on Australia Day released on bail
Over to South Australia, where a man charged under the state’s new “anti-Nazi” laws has been released on bail, as 14 men arrested at a march in Adelaide on Australia Day have begun appearing in court, AAP reports.
Fifteen men and one youth whom police allege are members of the National Socialist Network were arrested on Sunday and charged with various street offences including failing to cease loitering, possessing articles of disguise, and hindering and resisting arrest.
A police prosecutor told Adelaide magistrates court on Tuesday that at 11am on Sunday, 40 NSN members from around the country dressed in black assembled at the South Australian War Memorial.
“That’s the context of the entire group that we’ve got (appearing in court) today,” she said.
The National Socialist Network is a rightwing extremist group with national socialist ideology.
The group aims at preparing for a race war which it believes will usher in a white separatist ethno state.
Social media posts instructed members to wear black clothing and black face masks “because it erases our individual identity and absorbs it into a collectivity of the nation”, the prosecutor said.
A media interview with the National Socialist Network further stated that if they don’t cover up their identities, they lose their jobs.
Mason James Robbins, 30, from Perth was the first man to appear in court, charged with carrying an offensive weapon or article of disguise and using a Nazi symbol.
Under tough new laws introduced in South Australia last year, people found displaying swastikas or Nazi symbols in public or performing a Nazi salute could be fined up to $20,000 or face a year in jail.
There would be an issue “lurking in the background” about “the constitutional protection of the implied freedom of political communication”, Robbins’ lawyer said.
“It gives rise to questions about the validity of any law that seeks to prevent contact and communication between members of, if you like, a political party,” the lawyer said.
But the prosecutor said the groups were “not a political party” and had taken part in a “coordinated incident resulting in criminal offences”.
Magistrate Luke David released Robbins on $600 bail, with strict conditions, including an exclusion from the Adelaide city area, a ban on wearing disguises in public, a ban on possessing firearms and a ban on associating with 30 named people and members of the NSN and European Australian Movement.
He returns to court on 11 March.
Updated
Southerly buster brings cool change after Sydney’s hottest day of the year
The hottest day of the year so far in the Sydney region is giving way to a cool change, bringing relief from temperatures as high as 42.1C, as recorded in Penrith this afternoon.
As predicted, a southerly buster is fast approaching and thunder can be heard over parts of the city.
Earlier, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast that a “southerly buster is likely to produce damaging winds along central parts of the coast, including Sydney, this afternoon”.
Updated
Health minister announces Cairns gender clinic investigation
Staying with Tim Nicholls in Queensland, where the state’s health minister has also announced the launch of a separate investigation into allegations related to a Cairns gender clinic.
He says a preliminary review into the Cairns Sexual Health Service has found the use of puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones are being delivered in a way that “may not have” aligned with clinical guidelines or standards for clinical documentation.
“The Cairns Sexual Health Service delivered an apparently unauthorised paediatric gender service without an agreed model of care,” Nicholls says.
Last year, an independent review of the state’s gender clinics found “no evidence” to support claims children were hurried or coerced into decisions, and recommended an increase in staff levels to meet demand.
The Greens MP Michael Berkman says the LNP “thinks that 10 years is old enough to go to prison, but that a 17-year-old and their family can’t decide what health care they need.
This is essential treatment for people born intersex and for young people experiencing gender dysphoria. Hormone therapy and puberty blockers save lives.
Updated
Queensland suspends puberty blockers and hormone therapies for minors seeking gender-affirming care
Over to Queensland, where the government says it will immediately suspend the provision of puberty blockers and hormone therapies to minors seeking gender-affirming care at state health facilities, citing “contested evidence” about their use.
Before the 2024 state election, Guardian Australia repeatedly sought comment from David Crisafulli – now the state premier – about his party’s positions on the use of puberty blockers and the state’s healthcare policies for young people with gender dysphoria.
His office did not acknowledge or respond to those questions.
These included questions about a rightwing-controlled LNP branch that had sent an election-eve email claiming the state had been “captured by transgender ideology”.
Now, the health minister, Tim Nicholls, says the state will hold a review – lasting at least until 2026 – about the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies at gender clinics.
The state will “pause” the intake of new patients under the age of 18 years for hormone therapies in Queensland health facilities.
“There is a need to maintain confidence in public health services, particularly those delivered by Queensland Health for children,” Nicholls says.
Patients who are already on a treatment plan … would be exempt, similar to the steps implemented in the UK.
Updated
Thank you for joining us on the blog today. Handing over now to Daisy Dumas who will take you through the afternoon’s news.
Dutton says two shadow ministers focused on government efficiency ‘entirely appropriate’
Looping back to Peter Dutton’s comments to media in WA a short time ago, when he answered a question about having not one but two shadow ministers focused on government efficiency.
Justifying Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s new role alongside that of James Stevens, he said:
Frankly, it’s an extension of what happened in the Howard years after they came in when Paul Keating and Bob Hawke had destroyed the economy then as well.
… You’ve got a foreign affairs minister and a shadow and a junior foreign affairs minister as well, you’ve got a finance minister and you’ve got a treasurer and an assistant treasurer.
There are many roles within government where there’s more than one person doing that task, and I think that’s entirely appropriate.
Updated
Other countries are better at protecting people from scams, senators told
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network CEO, Carol Bennett, says other countries have far better regulations protecting consumers from scams and ensuring they get reimbursed for money lost.
Bennett:
Banks in the UK have been voluntarily reimbursing scam victims and an average rate of 67% since 2019, and that’s increasing to 100% in October, when new mandatory reinforcement laws come into force.
Making the companies looking after our money and our transactions accountable for losing our money is the best way to reduce scams.
[This] has been shown in other countries, including the UK, where 95% of scammed money is now returned to the customer by banks and other companies, and the number of reported scams is decreasing.
In Australia, less than 10% of scammed or fraudulently obtained funds are returned to consumers.
Updated
Labor’s proposed scam bill puts onus on consumers, Senate hearing told
The Consumer Action Law Centre CEO, Stephanie Tonkin, is speaking to a Senate hearing into Labor’s proposed scam bill.
She says Labor’s bill will result in compensation being denied, as the onus is put on consumers to prove multiple companies did not do their due diligence.
Tonkin:
The assistant treasurer has repeatedly stated the business will compensate complainants when they fail to meet their high bar obligations.
Under the framework, the bill specifically lays out the opposite, that a consumer must prove that multiple corporations didn’t meet their obligations under the framework and that the various breaches of various corporations have caused the loss.
This bill should not pass without clearly setting out liability for compensation. That is, specifying that if a regulated entity fails to meet an obligation under the framework, the consequence is a presumption of compensation for the victim’s loss.
Updated
Footage shows man climbing from balcony to escape e-scooter battery fire
We have footage of a dramatic escape from a fire in Queensland, where a resident was reportedly attempting to cool an overheating e-scooter battery in the freezer when the Gold Coast unit erupted into flames on Tuesday morning.
All inhabitants escaped the blaze, including a man who climbed off the balcony:
Six Queensland fire department crews arrived at the incident in Worendo Street, Southport, at 5.40am. The fire had engulfed the unit. All residents were accounted for by 6.20am.
The cause of fire is still under investigation, the department says.
Updated
Man extradited to Perth on 53 sexually related offences
A 49-year-old man has been extradited to Perth on 53 sexually related offences.
Detectives from the sex assault squad travelled to Brisbane after an investigation to extradite the man back to Perth. He was arrested without incident at Brisbane airport, WA police said in a statement.
It will be alleged the man sexually assaulted three male victims between 1997 and 2007 in the Perth metropolitan area.
He is due to appear before the Perth magistrates court today, charged with 48 counts of child sex offence, two counts of stupefying in order to commit an indictable offence, two counts of sexual penetration without consent, and one count of supplying a prohibited drug (cannabis), the statement said.
Updated
Tech companies are not profiting from scams, industry group tells senators
Digital Industry Group Inc says media companies such as Meta are not making money from scams.
In the Senate hearing into the Scams Prevention Framework Bill, Senator David Pocock has questioned if social media companies don’t want to stop scams because they make money from it.
Pocock said:
They say it’s an ongoing issue, where every time [a scam] gets shut down, another one pops up … it just seems pretty outrageous that Meta can’t find a workaround, and my concern is that no one’s forcing them to.
These fraudsters, these scammers, are actually paying Meta advertising revenue.
The Digital Industry Group Inc managing director, Sunita Bose, said:
Well, I don’t necessarily accept the premise that they are profiting from scam advertising, because my view, you may disagree, is that the investments that ensure a strong sector in terms of major engineering teams, technology tools, far outweigh that. But certainly take your moral point and I agree that what we want to see is continued improvements from the sector.
Updated
Dutton defends having two shadow ministers to tackle government waste and efficiency
Peter Dutton is speaking with media in Kalamunda, Western Australia. He’s been asked about government efficiency and the justification of the new shadow ministerial role given to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (see the link below for more on “smoge”).
Dutton was asked about the need for a shadow minister for government efficiency and a shadow assistant minister for government waste reduction. “Isn’t it the same thing?”, the journalist asked.
He answered:
There’s so much waste in the system, don’t forget that the government spent an extra $347bn, the government’s employed 36,000 public servants in Canberra at the cost of $6bn a year.
And I just ask every West Australian, is your life better off? Is it easier to do business? Is it less complicated when you apply for a bank loan than it was two and a half years ago before these 36,000 public servants were employed in Canberra?
And there are many other aspects of government waste that we need to address. And Jacinta Price, I think, as she demonstrated during the course of the voice, has a great capacity, not just to get across detail, but to understand what is a better path forward.
… And so there is a broader role. James Stevens is doing an excellent job, and Jacinta, I think, will do a great job across government. They’re two separate roles. So our argument is to bring that role, that function, into prime minister and cabinet as a key central agency, and then to have the authority of prime minister and cabinet to run the operation of seeing the efficiencies achieved across every department of the commonwealth.
Updated
‘Long overdue’: gambling ads banned on NSW trains and buses
Gambling advertisements will be banned on public transport in the nation’s most populous state in a move labelled long overdue by industry reformers, AAP reports.
Mirroring a move Victoria made in 2017, the NSW government announced on Tuesday that it would begin a 12-month phase-out period for the ads on trains, ferries and buses, as well as at state-owned station infrastructure.
The managers of assets the government does not own – such as bus stops, retail outlets and nearby private properties – will be encouraged to align with the ban.
“Gambling advertising has been a common sight on our public transport for a couple of years now and I’m pleased our government is taking action to remove it,” the transport minister, Jo Haylen, said.
Parents are rightly worried about the impact it has on their kids, so it’s not something that we think needs to be on our transport network.
Home to one of the state’s largest group of advertising assets, NSW’s transport system has about 800 ad boards at train stations, more than 3,700 spots for ads on buses, and other spaces that can be purchased for promotion.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive, Martin Thomas, said the ban was “long overdue”.
“These are public assets and ads that reach children, and it’s completely inappropriate they feature gambling advertisements that not only harm kids, but put a critical drain on the state budget through the damage gambling causes,” he told AAP.
The federal government has been sitting on a report for 18 months now which has recommended the full ban on all gambling ads … we don’t have to have triggering ads for people every minute we turn on our screens, or even just catch a bus.
Updated
Grampians fires ‘incredibly challenging for firefighters’
Regarding the fire in the Grampians, authorities said five fires were started by lightning strikes about 5 to 6pm yesterday.
Three were in the north-north-west and two in the south-south-west.
“These fires will continue to grow in size and will burn for some time,” the spokesperson said. “They will be incredibly challenging for firefighters to contain.”
Updated
Rail line between South Australia and Victoria closed amid fire threat
Authorities confirmed the Little Desert Nature Lodge was destroyed by fire, speaking to media about bushfires in western Victoria.
They also believe a farm house west of Dimboola has been lost, and a second farm house near the river west of Dimboola may also have been affected.
The emergency warning for Dimboola was expected to be downgraded shortly to “safe to return”.
A number of road closures were in place, and there were disruptions to buses and coaches in the area. The rail line between South Australia and Victoria had been closed.
“Inspections are under way today to assess whether that can reopen,” the spokesperson said.
Updated
Multiple evacuations in Dimboola amid fire threat
Multiple evacuations took place in Dimboola and the surrounding area amid the fire.
Dimboola hospital and aged care facilities were unable to fully evacuate people, and they were advised to shelter in place, authorities told press a short while ago.
The Horsham Senior Citizens Centre was opened up as a relief centre last night, and about 190 people attended the facility. The majority of people had now left to stay with friends and family, the spokesperson said.
Twenty seven people did stay at the facility in cars outside, and 27 “mostly elderly” people who couldn’t leave Dimboola sought support from the hospital.
Updated
Six bushfires out of control in Victoria amid dozens of new fire starts
Authorities are speaking to media about bushfires in western Victoria, which you can read more about in earlier blog posts:
There are around 60 to 70 new fire starts in private lands, and around 80 fire starts around public lands and national parks.
Six fires are not yet under control. This includes the Little Desert national park and the Grampians.
The Little Desert national park fire started about 1.20pm on Monday by dry lightning.
“The spread was incredibly fast,” the spokesperson said.
It rapidly grew through the day to 63,000 hectares burnt.
There was both air and ground attack on the fire to suppress the fire and prevent it getting out of the park and into private lands.
For comparison, the Grampians fire grew to about 76,000 hectares over 21 days, the spokesperson said.
Updated
Losses to scams falling sharply, banking association chief says
The Australian Banking Association’s chief executive officer, Anna Bligh, has told a senate committee that fewer Australians are losing money to scams.
Bligh:
Banks are ramping up protections through our industry’s scam safe accord, which is seeing a rollout of a new confirmation of payee system, a major expansion of better intelligence sharing between banks and other sectors, the use of biometric checks for new account openings and more payment delays and warnings.
The blocking of suspect payments to crypto exchanges has also made it harder for criminals to move stolen money. Similarly, telcos have introduced measures that are blocking millions of scam phone calls and texts.
She says losses reported by the public to the government’s scam Watch program fell 41% in the 2024 financial year.
This is consistent with a recent report from BDO that showed scam losses in Australia fell by 40% in the 2024 year.
Updated
Lodge 'just exploded': popular venue destroyed in national park bushfire
An out-of-control bushfire has destroyed a popular wedding venue and conference centre in western Victoria, as another dangerous blaze threatens holidaymakers at a major national park.
Firefighters are battling two uncontrolled bushfires, one at Dimboola and Wail near the South Australian border and the other in the south-western part of the Grampians national park.
The Dimboola fire was sparked by dry lightning at Little Desert national park on Monday and has already grown to 63,000 hectares, State Control Centre spokesperson Luke Heagerty said.
It’s too late for residents to leave, with anyone left in the town urged to take shelter immediately.
“The fire grew to such a size and was carrying such energy with it yesterday that it made it quite difficult for any containment to occur,” Heagerty told AAP.
Popular wedding and conference centre Little Desert Nature Lodge was destroyed in the blaze, Hindmarsh Shire Council mayor Ron Ismay confirmed.
He’s been told a firefighter on the ground said the venue and some surrounding accommodation in the wildlife reserve went up very quickly. Ismay said:
The lodge just exploded, it’s totally gone.
It’s very sad, it was a great venue for people of the area and it was used for weddings and conferences and meetings and all sorts of stuff.
So it’s a big loss to the community.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Body of man found after going missing in NSW river
The body of a man has been found two days after he went missing in the Murrumbidgee River.
Just after 2pm on Sunday, the 37-year-old man was reportedly seen to fall from a recreational floating device that was being towed behind a boat on the river at Darlington Point, NSW Police statement said.
He failed to resurface and could not be found.
Officers responded and were helped by NSW Ambulance, State Emergency Service and Volunteer Rescue Association members, with a search startingat 7:30am on Monday with NSW police divers attending, and starting up again today at 7:30am.
The body was located at about 8:10am, recovered and then a crime scene established, NSW Police said in a statement.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
Updated
Heatwave conditions as hot as 46C returning to Australia’s west and interior
On the other side of the country, heatwave conditions are returning with temperatures forecast to be 4C to 12C warmer than the typical January averages across parts of Western Australia – and up into the 40s in the next couple of days.
Some towns in the WA’s Pilbara, Gascoyne and north interior regions have forecasts of 46C today
Large parts of Queensland, including the north-west, central west and channel country, are facing temperatures in the low-mid 40s.
The Northern Territory interior is also set for a sweaty day, including in Alice Springs where temperatures are expected to reach 43C.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Late cool change could bring storm carnage to NSW’s eastern ranges and coast
Wild storms either side of a sweltering heatwave are keeping emergency services and power providers on their toes.
Scorching conditions that swept across Australia on the long weekend have moved from South Australia and Victoria to New South Wales on this morning, with much of the state – including Sydney – expecting temperatures in the high 30s or low 40s.
But a cool change expected in the afternoon could create severe thunderstorms carrying large hailstones and damaging winds.
That follows similar storms on Monday night, with 211 calls for help to the NSW State Emergency Service, mostly from metropolitan Sydney.
“The majority of incidents were for trees down on to properties and powerlines after strong winds swept through the east of the state … While (Tuesday) is hot, we are anticipating more afternoon thunderstorms with strong winds,” a spokesperson said.
NSW Rural fire service inspector Ben Shepherd warned of a “vast area of high fire danger”, particularly after 140,000 lightning strikes hit the state in the 24 hours to 7am.
BOM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said a “southerly buster” would bring a sharp drop in temperatures in NSW from this afternoon. The change should bring strong winds and could also spark potentially severe thunderstorms, mostly around the eastern ranges and out towards the coast.
– Australian Associated Press
More to come in the next post
Updated
Australian stock market only slightly lower after Wall Street tech tumble
Australian shares opened modestly lower today, after technology stocks tumbled on Wall Street, spooked by a potential disruption to the US chip sector caused by the emergence of Chinese chatbot DeepSeek.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2% to trade just under the 8,400 mark in the opening minutes of trading. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets expect Australian technology stocks could come under pressure today.
The early trading could indicate a subdued reaction here to the fallout on Wall Street, given the overnight falls are linked to an emerging AI technology battle between the US and China.
While the US market closed lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has been robust.
DeepSeek’s model uses cheaper chips and less data, and either matches or outperforms its US counterparts, according to market analysts at IG.
“Bluntly put, its emergence challenges the assumption of US dominance in the AI space that followed ChatGPT’s release in November 2022,” IG said.
A two-year tech-led bull market had assumed US companies, including the high flying Nvidia, would dominate emerging AI technologies, in the supply, advancement and use of computer chips but that narrative is being tested.
The reaction from Wall Street was brutal, with Nvidia falling more than 17%, erasing about US$600bn ($954bn) in value from its market cap, representing the biggest one day loss for a US listed company.
Updated
Fires destroy holiday cabins, Dimboola faces ‘very serious’ risk, Victorian premier says
The Victoran premier, Jacinta Allan, says cabins at an accommodation lodge in Nhill, in the state’s north-west, have been lost in a bushfire raging in the region.
Allan says the main building and a number of cabins at Little Desert Nature Lodge have been destroyed. She says emergency authorities are bracing for further property loss given the “ferocity of the fire”.
Allan says Dimboola – a town under a emergency warning in the state’ north-west – is facing a“ very serious and real risk”:
That fire has taken off, it’s taken off really, really quickly. In just a matter of hours the size of that fire spread to 64, 500 hectares.
Updated
Dimboola resident, Bruce Donnelly, took these photos yesterday as the temperature hit 43.6° and the Little Desert erupted with fires and extremely high winds.
Updated
New emergency warnings for Victoria fires, including for Strachans
A second emergency warning has been issued for Strachans, Victoria Point and Victoria Valley in the Grampians national park.
That blaze is about 180 hectares, in an area that has a mix of private property and campsites.
The area was not affected by fires burning in the Grampians earlier this summer, but holidaymakers and residents are now being told to evacuate while it’s still safe to do so.
People in the path of fires have been told to take medications and pets, while those travelling in the area are urged to turn on their headlights to help navigate through the smoke from the fires.
State Control Centre spokesperson Luke Heagerty says it’s expected crews will be fighting the fires for several weeks and authorities are concerned there may be other fires.
We can also have scenarios where dry lightning starts a fire in a tree stump, for example, it might not show up for another week or two.
We’re probably expecting that we’re going to be fairly busy out of what we saw moved through the state yesterday.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
More on the out-of-control bushfires threatening homes and holiday spot in Victoria
Firefighters are battling two out-of-control bushfires, with residents of a regional town told it’s too late to leave and holidaymakers at a national park urged to flee while they still can.
The blazes are at Dimboola and Wail in northwest Victoria near the South Australian border, and in the southwestern part of the Grampians National Park.
The Dimboola fire was sparked by dry lightning at Little Desert National Park about lunch time on Monday and has already grown to 63,000 hectares, State Control Centre spokesperson Luke Heagerty said.
“The fire grew to such a size and was carrying such energy with it yesterday that it made it quite difficult for any containment to occur,” Heagerty told AAP.
He said it appears the fire had spread from public land to private property near the Wimmera River, close to the Dimboola Golf Course.
It’s believed most residents had evacuated to Horsham while it was still safe and it’s not yet known if any homes were lost. Heagerty said:
Assessments for property impacts will start today once there’s some better light in the area and it’s safe for our crews to do so, because they still need to make sure that it’s safe even for our crews to get in there and have a look at the impacts of the fire.
An additional 25 fire trucks were sent to attack that fire, with embers sparking small blazes ahead of the main blaze.
- Australian Associated Press
More to come in the next blog post.
More than 1,200 sites in NSW still affected by power outage after storm
More than 1,200 sites are affected by power outages this morning following lightning and stormy weather conditions in New South Wales last night.
The number of outage sites listed on the Ausgrid site jumped to more than 2,400 earlier this morning, after a tree fell in Cessnock. Power was out for those sites for less than 30 minutes.
The number of outages is back to 1,211 as of 10am this morning.
Updated
Motoring body drives push for road safety ratings
A globally recognised risk rating system should determine how the Australian government funds major roads, a peak motoring body says.
The national road toll has hit a 12-year high, with 1,300 people killed on roads in 2024, up from 1,258 the previous year.
Federal road funding would be better based on a risk assessment for the road, including information about how the proposed work will lift the road’s safety rating, the Australian Automobile Association says.
The International Road Assessment Program protocols help road authorities identify safety upgrades that will reduce road deaths and injuries. It is used in about 130 countries, including Greece, Vietnam, Croatia and Saudi Arabia.
The Australian version of the assessment program would highlight where the risk of fatal or serious injury is greatest across the road network.
The star ratings, between one and five, would be calculated using a range of risk factors and information, such as average daily traffic, speed limits, the number of lanes in each direction and the presence or absence of road barriers. That information would then be overlaid with crash data to understand how infrastructure contributes to crashes, enabling authorities to identify potential road works that will reduce the risks.
The Association says the greatest number of lives saved and serious injuries avoided per dollar invested are seen when upgrading low star roads to at least three-star safety standard.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Oceanography head named as Australian chief scientist
Oceanography professor and former CSIRO chief Tony Haymet has been appointed as Australia’s next chief scientist.
The science minister, Ed Husic, said Haymet would be able to provide advice on different approaches for scientific work in Australia. He told ABC Radio earlier this morning:
He’s got extensive experience advising government on science, particularly taking science leadership around climate change.
As we diversify supply chains, that means we need to do things differently and be able to find new ways of getting things done.
Haymet is a former director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and was the chief of marine research at the CSIRO. As well as serving as the chair of the Antarctic Science Foundation, he co-found MRV Systems, a company that makes robots used in the ocean.
He will take over from Cathy Foley, who finished up in the role in December. He is the tenth person to be named as chief scientist and will serve a three-year term.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Search resumes for missing man in NSW’s Murrumbidgee River
NSW police will resume a search in the state’s south today for a man missing in the Murrumbidgee River.
Just after 2pm on Sunday, a 37-year-old man was reportedly seen to fall from a recreational floating device that was being towed behind a boat on the river at Darlington Point, a NSW Police statement said.
He failed to resurface and could not be found.
Officers responded with assistance from NSW Ambulance, State Emergency Service and Volunteer Rescue Association who commenced a search. The search recommenced at 7.30am yesterday with NSW police divers attending.
The man is yet to be found, with the search resuming at 7.30am today.
Updated
AFP warns parents over rise in AI-generated child abuse material
There has been an increase in the use of AI-generated child abuse material in the past year, including students creating material like deepfakes to harass or embarrass classmates, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has said.
AFP Cmdr Helen Schneider said young people might not know that creating such material of classmates using AI could constitute a criminal offence:
Children and young people are curious by nature, however, anything that depicts the abuse of someone under the age of 18 – whether that’s videos, images, drawings or stories – is child abuse material, irrespective of whether it is ‘real’ or not.
The AFP encourages all parents and guardians to have open and honest conversations with their child on this topic, particularly as AI technology continues to become increasingly accessible and integrated into platforms and products.
Updated
Only one of 16 alleged neo-Nazis arrested at Invasion Day rally was from SA, premier says
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, spoke to ABC News Breakfast a short while ago about arrests involving an alleged neo-Nazi group delaying Adelaide’s Invasion Day rally on the weekend.
He said:
As a society, I think that it demonstrates the need for us to place a high value collectively on a civil political discourse, rather than an extreme one.
I wasn’t surprised to learn that of the 16 arrests, only one person was from South Australia and the rest were scattered from all over the country and for whatever reason, decided to convene in Adelaide.
Updated
Emergency warnings over two out-of-control bushfires
Here is more on the major bushfire warnings in Victoria.
Residents in the path of an out-of-control bushfire have been told they are in immediate danger and it’s too late to leave, while those under threat by a second raging blaze are urged to flee while there’s still time.
An emergency warning to take shelter has been issued for Dimboola and Wail in Victoria’s northwest, with a fire at Little Desert National Park not yet under control and heading east.
The VicEmergency website states:
You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive.
The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately. It is too late to leave.
A second out-of-control fire is burning at Strachans, Victoria Point and Victoria Valley in Grampians national park in the state’s west, an area popular with holidaymakers.
As of 7am on Monday, anyone in affected areas was told they still had time to evacuate.
“Leaving immediately is the safest option before conditions become too dangerous,” the emergency authority said.
Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay.
People in the path of fires have been told to take medications and pets, while those travelling in the area are urged to turn on their headlights to help navigate through smoke.
The blaze flared over the long weekend as temperatures reached the high 40s, followed by a cool change and gusty winds.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Bid for better education standards to fix skills crisis
Australia must set new education targets aimed at returning to the top 10 rankings among developed countries for key subjects, or else risk a chronic skills shortage, a peak business group says.
The Business Council of Australia is calling for a lift in standards to reverse the decline in students’ performance and for a careers counsellor to be placed in every school to help meet future demand.
Data taken from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows Australia’s education performance had fallen since 2006.
While Australia was once ranked sixth for reading and science and eighth in mathematics, it slipped out of the top 10 for reading and maths in 2022 and was 10th for science.
Council chief executive, Bran Black, said year 12 retention rates were also an issue with current data showing only 79% of students staying on to that year – the lowest rate in 12 years.
He said the trends were a major concern for the nation’s economic prosperity and jobs pipeline if things weren’t improved:
We can’t be a leader in AI, digital skills and a developer of new technologies in advanced manufacturing if we’re not equipping our students with the basic skills and education required to take on those jobs.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Good morning, Rafqa Touma here to roll your live blog updates through the day. Thank you to Martin Farrer for kicking us off this morning.
Federal agency directed to consider home solar funding
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, has written to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to accelerate solar electrification projects and save households more cash.
Bowen used ministerial powers to direct the board to consider funding solar panels and home batteries after a deal struck with crossbenchers in exchange for support on Labor’s Future Made in Australia legislation. The minister wrote to the agency in late 2024 but only revealed the direction on Tuesday.
The agency has to look at funding a project in every state and territory, including at least one in an Indigenous community and one in a low socioeconomic area.
They would be modelled off the North Wollongong community electrification testbed funded by the renewable energy agency in 2024.
Projects will still be subject to a final independent assessment by the agency’s board.
It will allow chosen suburbs to act as test beds for the regulatory changes needed to scale up renewable energy use and scope out how government support can help achieve electrification, independent senator David Pocock said.
The Future Made in Australia legislation, which leverages billions of dollars to invest in renewable energy and critical resources needed for such technology, missed an opportunity to support household electrification, Pocock said.
“This agreement helps remedy that gap,” he said.
– Australian Associated Press
Read more here:
Updated
Labor government to spruik childcare savings
The Albanese government will attempt to shift the political debate to childcare today, trumpeting its record in cutting fees for families and shoring up the educator workforce as it spruiks its long-term vision for a universal system.
As workers return to the office after the Australia Day long weekend, Labor will release new figures showing families on an income of $120,000 a year have saved about $2,770 in childcare fees since new subsidies were introduced in July 2023.
Separately, new data reveals the number of online job ads for early childhood educators has fallen 22% since December 2023, a decline the government argues is a sign providers are managing to retain staff.
It will point to figures from Goodstart – the nation’s largest childcare provider – showing job applications are up 35% year-on-year.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said the figures were proof the government-funded 15% pay rise over two years for workers was keeping staff in the sector.
This shows our 15 per cent pay rise for early educators is working. Applications are up and job vacancies are down.
Labor has put childcare at the heart of its re-election bid, promising three days of subsidised childcare a week for families earning up to $530,000 and $1bn to build centres in areas of high need.
The commitments, which the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced in December, are framed as the next steps in Labor’s long-term plan to create universal childcare.
Anthony Albanese will reiterate that vision today:
Building Australia’s future is about more than bricks and mortar. It’s about investing in people, especially our children and their future opportunities.
We want to make sure we are putting in place the building blocks for a universal childcare system, while providing immediate cost of living relief for families and educators now.
Updated
Sydney temperatures tipped to hit 40C
The Bureau of Meteorology is anticipating milder conditions across much of the south-east today – with the exception of New South Wales – after very high temperatures on Monday.
Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said it would be a “much milder, more settled day” for the south-east, meaning Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria, but the heat was still peaking through New South Wales.
Sydney CBD is forecast to reach 40C today, with temperatures likely to be higher in the western suburbs.
The risk of wet weather in Queensland is also expected to ramp up, Bradbury said.
We do have that risk of pretty high rainfall totals, the possibility of flash flooding about the north-east tropical coast, just as moisture is directed against the coast and just really ramps up any showers and storms that develop.
Looking ahead into the weekend, Queensland could also see its first tropical cyclone this summer, she said. Low pressure systems forming over the Coral Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria posed a low to moderate chance of becoming a tropical cyclone.
We’ve only seen two cyclones in the Australian region so far, or that have originated in the Australian region so far this season, and they’ve both been in Western Australia.
The forecast this morning for capital cities today is:
Sydney: min 24, max 40
Perth: min 19, max 37
Canberra: min 19, max 37
Darwin: min 25, max 33
Brisbane: min 21, max 32
Adelaide: min 17, max 27
Melbourne: min 17, max 22
Hobart: min 15, max 20
Updated
Major bushfire warnings in Victoria
There are two major bushfire warnings in Victoria this morning.
Last night at 9pm the CFA issued a “leave immediately” warning for the Grampians, Mirranatwa and Victoria Valley, over a bushfire at Victoria Valley’s Bullawin Rd that was out of control and moving north-east.
And just before 6am the CFA issued a “take shelter” warning – meaning it is too late to leave safely – for Dimboola, Wail, over a bushfire at Little Desert national park that is not yet under control and moving east.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories and then it’ll be Rafqa Touma to guide you through the news day.
Anthony Albanese will be out and about today to spruik his government’s childcare subsidy changes after federal education department figures showed that families have saved an extra $2,768 on average since the extra payments kicked in last year. More coming up.
And on the subject of the cost of living more generally, we have a special investigation today into how the inequality of Australia’s dental care system is forcing people to skip regular checkups and leading to record numbers are turning up to hospitals for dental procedures. The share of costs that the patient pays for dental care is nine times higher than GP visits, and half of the federal money earmarked for dentistry goes to subsidising the uptake of private health insurance.
Most of New South Wales including Sydney and some of its western suburbs can expect temperatures in the high 30s or low 40s today as the state takes the brunt of the front that sent temperatures in parts of South Australia and across Victoria into the 40s yesterday. A cool change has brought relief to the south-east and that cooler air is expected to move north as the day goes on.
But in the wake of the heat there were two major bushfires in Victoria overnight, with some residents in the Grampians and Victoria Valley being told to leave their homes. More on that soon.
