Key events
No Australian evacuation flights from New Caledonia today
Ben Doherty
There will be no Australian evacuation flights from New Caledonia today. A government source told the Guardian:
The government has been working with French authorities to plan additional flights for Australians to depart Noumea today and tomorrow. French authorities advise that significant operational demands will preclude flights today. Nonetheless, Australia stands ready to undertake further flights as soon as approvals can be granted. Australians registered with Dfat were advised of this via email last night.
One can presume the “significant operational demands” are the logistical and security requirements around the visit of the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Solar Citizens reacts to Eraring power station extension
Following news of Eraring power station’s extension, Solar Citizens is calling on the NSW government to legislate that no further coal power plants are extended beyond their agreed license.
In a statement, CEO Heidi Lee Douglas said:
It’s deeply disappointing that in 2024 the NSW government is backing yesterday’s outdated, polluting technology… This must not happen again. Solar Citizens calls on the [state] government to legislate for no further extensions for any existing NSW coal power facilities beyond their agreed license for polluting power production.
Solar Citizens also asks for the upcoming NSW state budget to include a substantial investment in support for more solar for those currently locked out of energy savings – like residents in social housing, and to provide a ‘battery booster’ rebate for household batteries.
Victorian household power bills to fall by $100
Victorian households will pay about $100 less for electricity, AAP reports, with the state’s regulator lowering its recommended pricing for power companies.
More than 340,000 or 12% of customers on default offers will pay an annual bill of about $1655 from 1 July, representing a 6% cut, the Essential Services Commission has confirmed.
More than 58,000 or 19% of small businesses will pay a $3,530 yearly bill, making for a $260 reduction. A further 180,000 customers in embedded networks, including apartments and office blocks, will pay no more than the recommended price set by the regulator.
The commission made its decision based on feedback from stakeholders, market data movement and network tariffs approved by the Australian Energy Regulator.
But the Victorian Council of Social Services said the 6% reduction would do little to ease cost pressures. Thier chief executive, Juanita Pope, said:
This modest reduction will save households about $2 a week and be quickly obliterated by rising expenses like food, rent and petrol. Given last year’s decision increased baseline bills by $352, prices are still going in the wrong direction.
Tanya Plibersek caught on hot mic during Sky News broadcast: watch
Earlier, we reported on a rogue microphone moment on Sky News from environment minister Tanya Plibersek, while the shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, was being interviewed.
You can now watch that moment for yourself below:
Reactions to extension of Eraring power station continue
More reactions are flowing to the extension of Eraring power station in NSW to August 2027. The Australian Conservation Foundation’s national climate policy advisor, Annika Reynolds, said:
Now is not the time for a two year delay, it’s the opposite – the Minns government must speed up the renewables transition and not fallback on unreliable coal clunkers like Eraring.
Eraring is the largest coal-fired power plant in Australia. It contributes almost 3% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions and just last year, the mercury pollution rose by 130% which is bad for local health…
It is positive to see the Minns government commit $8.4m to accelerate big battery connections but it is a pittance compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars it’ll take to prop up Eraring beyond its closure date.
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Meanwhile Tim Buckley, director of independent public interest think tank Climate Energy Finance, labelled the decision “the devastating consequence of a decade of government planning failure.”
Critically, this decision is a powerful disincentive to clean energy investors that sends exactly the wrong signal. It will act as a deterrent to private capital looking for opportunities to invest in the energy transition as the world rapidly decarbonises … The NSW government has now left action on transition and a decision so late that they have no other option than to capitulate.
More delays for stranded Australians in New Caledonia
Australians looking to come home from riot-hit New Caledonia may be forced to wait for further evacuation flights from the Pacific territory, AAP reports.
The federal government had been working with French authorities to plan for more flights that were able to leave Noumea today and tomorrow.
However, French officials have advised Australia that operational demands in New Caledonia would mean no further flights would be able to take off on Thursday.
Australians still looking to leave New Caledonia have been told by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade further delays were likely for evacuation flights.
The federal government has indicated it was ready to carry out further flights for stranded Australians once approvals were able to be granted.
There have been 187 Australians and their family members who have returned from New Caledonia to Australia, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, said.
A group of 103 people were repatriated to Brisbane on Wednesday on the latest flight, while 84 Australians and 24 others were flown in on Tuesday.
It’s estimated there are about 500 Australians in New Caledonia and about 300 had registered their interest with Dfat in coming home.
Labor, independents continue pushing Coalition to release detail on nuclear policy
Labor and independents are continuing to push the Coalition to release details around its nuclear energy policy.
In a post to X this morning, the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said it has been “660 days since Peter Dutton first said the LNP would go down the path of risky reactors”:
660 days, still no detail.
Corangamite MP Libby Coker questioned whether the shadow climate change minister, Ted O’Brien, had visited her community, where the Coalition is reportedly considering putting a nuclear reactor. The Labor MP wrote on X:
I wonder if Ted O’Brien has ever been to my federal electorate of Corangamite? People are in utter disbelief that Peter Dutton and the Liberals are considering a nuclear reactor in the peaceful seaside village of Anglesea on the [Great Ocean Road].
Meanwhile the independent MP Allegra Spender wrote on X that if nuclear reactor sites are ever named, “it’ll be at least 15 years before a nuclear plant gets up”:
And when it does, the power generated will be twice the cost of renewables. The Coalition’s nuclear policy is a Trojan horse for more coal and gas. Not a serious energy and climate policy.
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, was questioned about the Coalition’s nuclear policy at the national press club yesterday. He didn’t make any major announcements and said “we will announce our policy before the election, not afterwards”.
Man charged after alleged stabbing in Sydney
A man has been charged after an alleged stabbing in Rydalmere in Sydney on Tuesday.
About 3.40pm emergency services were called to a unit on Stanley Street following reports of a stabbing. Officers found a 29-year-old man that had allegedly been stabbed several times in the neck and body.
He was treated by paramedics before being taken to Westmead hospital in a stable condition. A crime scene was established.
Following inquiries, police arrested a 37-year-old man outside Blacktown hospital yesterday afternoon.
He was taken to Blacktown police station and charged with wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.
He was refused bail to appear before Blacktown local court today.
Greens leader congratulates University of Melbourne students for pro-Palestine protest
Greens leader Adam Bandt has congratulated University of Melbourne students for their pro-Palestine protest encampment, which will now be wrapped up.
As Stephanie Convery reported earlier, students announced last night they would dismantle the camp after the university had agreed to disclose its relationships and funding ties to weapons manufacturers engaged in the current attacks on Palestinian people in Gaza. You can read the full details here.
In a post to X, Bandt wrote:
Making the uni disclose links with weapons corps is another pressure point in ending Australia’s military trade with Israel. The Uni must make good on their promise to you. The Greens will continue to fight in parliament to end Australia’s two way military trade with Israel.
My colleague Daniel Hurst has looked into claims around whether Australia is exporting weapons to Israel, and you can watch the full details below:
More details on the agreement between the NSW government and Origin
Penny Sharpe said that as part of the agreement between the NSW government and Origin, they have agreed to an underwriting arrangement. She told reporters:
Origin must opt into this arrangement for 2025 and/or 26-27. If Origin opts in and Eraring generates a profit, it must share that profit, up to $40m a year, giving it back to taxpayers. If Origin opts in and Eraring makes a loss, Origin can claim no more than 80% of any losses capped at $225m each year. Origin must report profits and losses from Eraring to ensure transparency.
Sharpe framed the agreement as a “good deal for taxpayers as well as households and businesses,” ensuring the renewables transition “can be delivered without exposing the people of NSW to blackouts or price spikes.” She said:
This agreement expires in August 2027. Origin have given notice to the market and to Aemo that they propose to close then.
NSW energy minister on Eraring decision: ‘we have to keep the lights on’
The NSW energy minister, Penny Sharpe, is speaking to the media from Sydney about the Eraring Power Station extension to August 2027.
Giving a reason for the decision, she said:
We have to keep the lights on and prices down so that we can make sure that renewable energy and storage and firming is in place as we manage the exit, and the much-needed exit, of coal-fired power.
Sharpe said the agreement between the state government and Origin to operate Eraring until August 2027 is a “temporary and targeted agreement”.
She outlined what Origin is required to do under the agreement:
Under the agreement secured by the government, Origin must make sure it generates at Eraring enough power to fill the forecast gaps. This is equivalent to six terawatt hours, or around two out of their four units. Origin have to secure enough coal to do that, which gives certainty to government and coal suppliers. Origin have to maintain their existing workforce… and they have to commit to a maintenance plan to ensure the plant is reliable and safe.
Eraring decision ‘failure of climate leadership’, Climate Council says
The Climate Council has labelled the NSW government’s decision to keep Eraring open past its scheduled 2025 closure date as a “failure of climate leadership”.
Climate councillor and economist Nicki Hutley labelled the decision as a triple failure on policy, climate leadership and for the health and wellbeing of NSW communities.
As NSW residents endure worsening climate impacts – like the black summer bushfires and last year’s great deluge – driven by climate pollution, the state and federal governments have failed to build enough clean energy to ensure this coal clunker closes on time.
As a result, every NSW taxpayer will bear the financial burden of this decision, which undermines climate targets for both NSW and Australia and delays the shift to cleaner, lower cost energy.
Head of policy and advocacy, Dr Jennifer Rayner, said keeping Eraring open “sends the wrong message when urgent action is needed to fight the climate crisis.”
The science is clear: every tonne of coal burned pushes us closer to climate disaster. The latest analysis from the energy market operator shows solar, wind and storage projects in the pipeline can more than meet the electricity needs of every home and business in NSW. This must never happen again – in NSW or any other state.
Rogue microphone mishap during Sky News interview
Sky News appears to have had a rogue microphone mishap this morning, with Tanya Plibersek heard in the background during an interview between the shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, and host Tom Connell.
During the interview, Paterson was responding to a question when a rogue microphone could suddenly be heard over the broadcast, with Plibersek saying: “Don’t say anything horrible about James Paterson.”
Paterson stopped talking, before stating “I can hear Tanya Plibersek in the background there.”
Connell said, “okay that’s why you paused, I wasn’t sure” and added: “so we’ve had a little bit of a rogue microphone”.
Throughout the exchange Plibersek could still be heard over the broadcast, seemingly without her knowledge, heard saying “get out of my way” – but the rest is inaudible.
Plibersek could still be heard for a few more moments as Connell launched into his next question, before the rogue microphone was shut off.
The NSW energy minister, Penny Sharpe, and treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, are just about to hold a press conference on the latest Eraring power station development. We’ll bring you the latest from this as soon as we can.
More reactions to Eraring extension announcement
Justin Page, coordinator of the Hunter Jobs Alliance, has accused the NSW government of “dragging the chain” in both its energy transition and employment framework to “ensure no one is left behind”.
Reacting to news that Eraring power station has been extended by two years to 2027, Page said:
The 2025 closure for Eraring has been earmarked for some time, and local workers have been waiting in earnest for guaranteed job protections during the transition, yet the Net Zero Authority legislation has not passed parliament and NSW Transition Authority still don’t have any formal framework for hundreds of workers both at Eraring power station and at the mines which supply coal to the power station.
NSW are dragging the chain both in the energy transition and the employment framework required to ensure no one is left behind, and extending Eraring is only going to make matters worse. With the Hunter’s workforce and manufacturing capabilities we are a key region for industrial and employment growth in the energy transition economy, but our governments can’t keep sitting on their hands and being reactive in their decision making; the hard-working people of the Hunter deserve better than that.
Reactions flow to extension of Eraring power station
Reactions are flowing after details of the agreement between the NSW government and Origin Energy over Eraring’s two-year extension were released.
Marilyne Crestias, the interim CEO at the Clean Energy investor group, said delaying the closure “not only jeopardises our renewable energy goals but also undermines efforts to combat climate change and secure a sustainable energy future.”
The extension of the Eraring power station cannot set a precedent for other coal-fired power stations to be extended, and the NSW government must make that clear to the investors who stand ready to finance the NSW energy transition.
Stephanie Bashir, principal of Nexa Advisory, labelled the decision as “disappointing”.
Rather than focusing their efforts on extending an old, unreliable coal-fired power station, the New South Wales government should be focusing on practical solutions which remain untapped and can help address forecasted reliability gaps.
These solutions could include accelerating demand response measures, leveraging the potential 1.1GW of demand-side management from commercial and industrial consumers, as well as residential consumer energy uptake, she said.
These practical solutions are not only actionable before 2025, but also provide New South Wales with additional insurance against extreme weather and electricity reliability events which will become more common whether Eraring is extended or not.
Major DV crackdown launched in high-offending Queensland suburb
A major police crackdown in one of Queensland’s worst domestic violence-offending suburbs has resulted in multiple arrests, AAP reports.
Queensland police launched Operation Shield in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, to reduce domestic and family violence offending in the area. The region was identified as having a high risk of domestic violence harm with police data revealing there have been 1254 breaches of domestic violence prevention orders so far this year.
Statewide, there have been 204,460 breaches of domestic violence orders.
The tactical operation charged 14 high-risk offenders with a string of offences. Offences include stalking, assault and breaching domestic violence orders.
The arrests were a result of police assessing the risk of known offenders who were identified as potentially escalating their behaviour.
Man charged with murder following suspicious death in Auburn
A man will face court today charged with murder, following the suspicious death of another man in Sydney’s south-west yesterday.
Shortly after 7.30pm emergency services were called to a unit complex in Auburn following reports of a domestic related incident. Officers spoke to a 32-year-old man before he was arrested.
Police and paramedics attended the scene and found a man suffering head injuries. The man, believed to be in his 50s, was treated but died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.
A crime scene was established and forensically examined, with detectives and the state’s homicide squad commencing an investigation.
The younger man was taken to Auburn police station and charged with murder. It will be alleged that the two men are known to each other. He has been refused bail to appear at Burwood local court today.
A postmortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Peter Hannam
Origin’s Eraring deal would cap losses – and profits – for the government
More details of the agreement between the NSW government and Origin Energy over Eraring’s two-year extension have been released. Origin has also confirmed the deal to the ASX.
The agreement seeks to cap the losses for the NSW at $225m or 80% of what it costs to operate Eraring (presumably whichever is lower). On the other hand, should Origin turn a profit, the state will collect 20% of the gains, up to $40m a year.
The plant, which supplies a bit over 20% of NSW’s power station is about 42 years old. Lately it has also had two of its four units down for unplanned repairs. Let’s hope the reliability isn’t a problem – repairs could be costly.
Here’s the full story:
