Scorching temperatures to hit most of the nation
AAP has more details on the extreme heat warnings in place, as a sweltering heatwave brings one of the hottest December days in years.
Temperatures in the high 40s are expected in parts of Victoria and NSW, while the Northern Territory faces severe to extreme heatwave conditions for much of the next three days.
While Adelaide sweated through a 40C day yesterday, Victoria and NSW endured a night of minimum temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees above average.
Extreme fire danger has been declared in Victoria’s central and western districts while Melbourne, with an expected forecast of 41C, will face its hottest day since January 2023 and its hottest December day since 2019.
The mercury is expected to hit 46C in Mildura in the state’s north-west, 45C in Swan Hill and 44C in Horsham. Total fire bans have been declared across most of Victoria with incident management teams and firefighting aircraft on standby in critical regional areas.
While Sydney can expect a mild start to the week with a 28C maximum forecast for Monday, parts of inland NSW could face even more extreme heat than Victoria. A maximum temperature of 47C is expected in Wilcannia, in central north-western NSW, and 46.5C in Ivanhoe, about 180km further south.
Key events
A second person has died following a fatal crash in Armidale at the weekend.
A car and several cyclists collided about 3.30pm on Saturday afternoon, before the car continued and hit a tree, NSW police said. One of the cyclists, a man in his 60s, died at the scene and is yet to be formally identified.
Three other cyclists – aged 57, 39 and a teenage boy – were treated by paramedics before being taken to John Hunter hospital and Armidale hospital in a stable condition.
The driver of the vehicle, a 30-year-old woman, was trapped and released shortly after emergency services arrived. She was treated by paramedics and airlifted to John Hunter in a critical condition and died in hospital yesterday.
Officers established a crime scene, which was examined by the crash investigation unit, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
EV sales represent one in 10 new light vehicle sales in 2024
Electric Vehicles represent nearly one in ten new light vehicle sales, a 150% increase on 2022, according to the Electric Vehicles Council.
Its state of EVs report, released today. forecasts new EV sales will reach at least 15% to 19% in 2026, based on current policies in Australia.
NSW claims the top spot based on EV policies, followed by the federal government and ACT, WA, QLD and Victoria, SA and Tasmania and the NT. The report also highlights that in Australia this year:
About 110,000 new EVs are expected to be sold this year, a major milestone for the Australian market;
There are now 122 EV models, and more than 220 variants – a 50% increase in variants compared to 2023.
The number of fast and ultra-fast charging locations across Australia has nearly doubled within a year, surpassing 1,059 sites nationwide. At these locations there are more than 1,849 high power public chargers.
The council’s chief scientist, Dr Jake Whitehead, said:
It’s clear that a growing number of Australians are seeking cleaner, more efficient cars. This year’s gradual growth in EV sales and market share builds on the momentum of a blockbuster 2023, further driving the upward trend in BEV and PHEV adoption.
By any measure, there are more EVs on our roads today than ever before and that is set to grow. The pace of this growth, however, will depend on the level of support from governments and industry.
NSW premier glad five Bali Nine members back in Australia
Chris Minns also weighed in on five of the Bali Nine members being returned to Australia over the weekend. He told the program he was glad they are back in Australia:
I’d say that the drug trade is horrible and insidious and it does take lives, but these people have been in jail in a third-world country for 20 years. That’s a big price to pay.
I have to say, I’m glad they’re back in Australia. I also think it serves as a warning, particularly to young people, of how strict and applied the prison sentences are in south-east Asian countries for drug importation and indeed for many of them, if not all of them. The sentence is death.
So as morbid as that is, I hope it’s a reminder to particularly young people to never get involved in this horrific trade, because it could take your own life in the process.
Chris Minns marks 10 years since Lindt Cafe siege
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, will today lay a wreath in Martin Place to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Lindt cafe siege.
He spoke with the Today Show earlier and said the siege occurred before he was in politics and he remembers watching it on television live everyone else and “being gripped by what was [happening and] staying up through the night.”
It was a horrifying evil act, and it’s terrible that it took two people’s lives. But I think if there’s a glimmer of hope, if you squint and you see a glimmer of hope, it’s that there was an absolute outpouring of love and community solidarity in the days afterwards. And I think we remember that as much as the evil acts on those two days.
Bureau of Meteorology says highest temperatures since black summer fires forecast across certain areas
Dean Narramore, a Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier to provide an update on the heatwave conditions across the country.
He explained that for some areas, this is the hottest summer conditions since the black summer fires, five years ago:
It’s the first big burst of heat of summer and for some, it’s probably the hottest temperatures we have seen since the terrible black summer of 2020. Five years in some areas.
As we flagged earlier, large parts of South Australia and Victoria today, including Melbourne, are facing dire temperatures:
So hot, dry windy conditions, and some dry thunderstorms this afternoon with some gusty winds definitely [are] a fire concern.
Ben Shepherd, an inspector with the NSW Rural Fire Service, said NSW would fare a bit better when it comes to fire danger because grass cutting rates are higher:
The grass is still greener than we would typically see, but it’s not going to take much until we start to see dangerous fire conditions … It now looks like we’re banking up heatwaves or high fire danger for a number of days.
That’s going to prove problematic, especially as we approach Christmas as well, and we start to see people travelling around the state and potentially entering high risk areas.
Karen Middleton New funding to fast-track pre-election social housing projects
The Albanese government says it is unlocking up to $3b more from the Housing Australia Future Fund (Haff) and has partnered with state and territory counterparts to fast-track social housing projects and build up to 5,000 new homes for low-income Australians.
The new partnership, which will be announced formally by the housing minister, Clare O’Neil, today, involves state and territory governments releasing land and joining with community housing providers to devise and oversee projects that will boost social housing stock.
The approval process is being fast-tracked, with applications closing at the end of January and decisions to be made soon after. This timing would enable the Albanese government to announce the locations of the housing development projects before the federal election, due by mid May.
Yesterday, O’Neil said:
The way out of this housing crisis is to build, build, build. This partnership is about building thousands of homes quickly and it’s one part of Labor’s ambitious plan to build more houses right across Australia, making housing more abundant and affordable.
The first round of Haff funding, announced in September, aims to build up to 13,700 social and affordable homes.
Karen Middleton More from the funding for local news and community broadcasting
Continuing from our last post: The funding for AAP over three years is designed to recognise its key role in supporting media diversity and local news. The subscriber news service provides news from around Australia and is a mainstay for local news organisations in particular.
It was saved from closure in 2020 by a consortium of philanthropic investors.
Another $3.8m is being directed towards a national media literacy strategy to help Australians apply a critical eye to the news and information they consume.
The federal government has also vowed to devote at least $3m a year of its overall advertising budget to advertising in regional newspapers for the next two years.
It is establishing an expert advisory panel to advise on how the media sector can best be supported, including through philanthropy. It also has a review under way into the sustainability of the community broadcasting sector.
The funding announcement comes after the government confirmed last week that it would impose a levy on major tech platforms which did not strike ongoing financial deals with media organisations for the use of their news content.
Karen Middleton The federal government is committing $180.5m to support local news outlets and community broadcasting through a newly established news media assistance program which includes $33m for the national news wire service, Australian Associated Press.
The funding package includes $116.7m over four years to support media organisations’ capacity to deliver public interest journalism and local news, though details were not available ahead of the formal announcement due on Monday.
A further $15m will be spent on community broadcasting, $3m of that on community television, and another $12m will support First Nations media through the Indigenous Broadcasting and Media Program.
In a joint statement, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, and Indigenous Australians minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, said local media and community broadcasting are “critical to the health of our democracy, social cohesion and informing communities”:
Local news and community broadcasting is at the heart of local communities, and makes a vital contribution to national identity and media diversity in Australia.
AAP has more details on the extreme heat warnings in place, as a sweltering heatwave brings one of the hottest December days in years.
Temperatures in the high 40s are expected in parts of Victoria and NSW, while the Northern Territory faces severe to extreme heatwave conditions for much of the next three days.
While Adelaide sweated through a 40C day yesterday, Victoria and NSW endured a night of minimum temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees above average.
Extreme fire danger has been declared in Victoria’s central and western districts while Melbourne, with an expected forecast of 41C, will face its hottest day since January 2023 and its hottest December day since 2019.
The mercury is expected to hit 46C in Mildura in the state’s north-west, 45C in Swan Hill and 44C in Horsham. Total fire bans have been declared across most of Victoria with incident management teams and firefighting aircraft on standby in critical regional areas.
While Sydney can expect a mild start to the week with a 28C maximum forecast for Monday, parts of inland NSW could face even more extreme heat than Victoria. A maximum temperature of 47C is expected in Wilcannia, in central north-western NSW, and 46.5C in Ivanhoe, about 180km further south.
Emily Wind Happy Monday, and welcome back to the Australia news live blog. My name is Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage throughout most of today.
The federal government is committing $180.5m to support local news outlets and community broadcasting through a newly established news media assistance program. This will includes $33m for the national news wire service, Australian Associated Press.
The funding comes after the government confirmed last week it would impose a levy on major tech platforms which did not strike ongoing financial deals with media organisations for the use of their news content. Karen Middleton will have all the details shortly.
Meanwhile, much of Australia will bake under intense heatwave conditions over the coming days, with multiple regions set to record temperatures above 40C. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued heatwave warnings for large parts of northern, eastern and central Australia, covering every state and territory except Western Australia and Tasmania.
As always, you can reach out with any tips, feedback or questions via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s get started.
Second person dies following fatal crash between car and cyclists
New funding for AAP and local media to support ‘the health of our democracy’
Scorching temperatures to hit most of the nation
Good morning
