<gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"65a9f5d48f0819b86aad88ab","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Felim Hanniffy has given an update on the cyclone building off the coast of Queensland.
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Hanniffy said the storm is expected to intensify into a “serious tropical cyclone”, of at least category three. It could cross the Queensland coast at that size, he said.
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“The atmosphere is certainly conducive for significant tropical cyclone development in the Coral Sea,” he said.
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“I think the bottom line is for next week there’s a high chance of tropical cyclone development in the Coral Sea and a severe tropical cyclone at that.”
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But there’s still “a lot of uncertainty” about the direction the storm will head over the next week, he said.
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Queenslanders are being urged to be prepared for their second cyclone of the season, which could hit mid next week.
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The premier, Steven Miles, has warned residents of north Queensland the storm brewing in the Coral Sea is likely to become a tropical cyclone by the end of the weekend. If the weather system does form into a cyclone, it would be known as Kirrily.
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Miles said the route of the storm is still unknown:
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It could head towards the Queensland coast, possibly around Townsville, but also possibly as far south as Rockhampton, or alternatively, it could head towards New Caledonia.
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The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of a potential “severe impact” if it does hit the state. Tropical Cyclone Jasper, in December, flooded scores of communities around Cairns.
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Major supermarkets will face a Queensland parliamentary inquiry into the gap between the cost of groceries and what farmers are being paid for their produce.
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The premier, Steven Miles, announced the inquiry on Friday, following meetings with Coles, Woolworths and Aldi. He said:
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They were good meetings and they were concerned about the concerns that I was raising with them.
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They all agreed to participate in that parliamentary inquiry.
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Supermarket chains have come under scrutiny after recording large profits, while consumers struggle with cost of living pressures. Miles said detailed scrutiny of supermarket chains was “fitting” for the kinds of concerns the government had heard from farmers and consumers.
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Transparency and scrutiny is a key first step in both addressing the way our farmers are treated as well as delivering cheaper groceries for Queensland families.
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– AAP
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Fire and Rescue NSW investigators have confirmed a fire in North Bondi, Sydney early this morning was sparked by a faulty Lithium ion battery.
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(We had this in the blog a bit earlier this morning here).
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Four tourists from South America were asleep inside a unit on Curlewis Street when a blaze broke out just before 4am, FRNSW said. One of them was woken by the sound of small explosions, and alerted the other occupants before fleeing the smoke-filled building.
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Two people were forced to escape through a window, FRNSW said, while 14 people in adjoining units were evacuated as a precaution.
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FRNSW firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, with damage contained to the unit in which it started.
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As a result of the fire, the occupants have lost all their personal possessions, including passports, phones and bank records, but have acknowledged to fire crews they were lucky to escape with their lives.
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Investigations have established an e-bike battery was left on-charge in a bedroom and ignited, sparking the fire.
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NORTH BONDI | Faulty Lithium-ion battery sparks unit fire in Sydney's east – VIDEO. Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators today have confirmed a fire at North Bondi, in Sydney's east, was sparked by a faulty Lithium-ion battery.
Four visito… https://t.co/7eD8BL0xQH
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) January 19, 2024
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The remote mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia is being told it should prepare for power outages lasting up to a week.
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This comes as “most homes and businesses” in the town are without power, according to police.
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The outages, caused by severe thunderstorms on Wednesday night, are also affecting the water supply, telephone services, internet connection, fuel stations and retail outlets, according to the department of fire and emergency services.
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Thousands of Western Power customers remain without power, across 97 active outages.
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As Kalgoorlie enters its second day without power, the town is forecast to hit a maximum temperature of 40C, with a high fire danger rating.
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WA police said it met with relevant agencies last night and would be working “around the clock to resolve the issue”.
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Western Australia has been hit with widespread storms and bushfires in recent days, and earlier in the week around 34,000 were without power as a result.
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The Inala by-election – triggered by the resignation of former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk – will be held on 16 March.
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The date was announced this morning, recommended by the premier, Steven Miles, to be held on the same day as local government elections to “minimise administrative and operational costs”.
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Palaszczuk’s resignation as the member for Inala and as premier took effect on 31 December.
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The election of a new Inala MP will mark the first time in more than 31 years that the seat is not held by a Palaszczuk – Annastacia held the seat from September 2006 and was preceded by her father Henry Palaszczuk, who represented the electorate from 19 September 1992.
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Miles said in a statement:
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I want to pay tribute to Annastacia Palaszczuk and thank her for her service.
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I am looking forward to continuing the strong legacy our government has built for the Inala electorate and all Queenslanders.
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The speaker of the house, Milton Dick, has announced that the Dunkley byelection will be held on 2 March.
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The Speaker of the House of Representatives @MiltonDickMP has announced the details for the issuing of the writ for the electoral division of Dunkley. The date of polling will be Saturday, 2 March 2024. pic.twitter.com/D6tKbMMHju
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) January 18, 2024
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The Dunkley by-election was triggered following the death of MP Peta Murphy, who held the seat centred on the outer Melbourne suburb of Frankston.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has been campaigning with Labor’s candidate, community leader Jodie Belyea, while the Liberals have touted Frankston’s mayor, Nathan Conroy, as its candidate.
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Sydneysiders hoping to beat the humidity and go to the beach are being warned to check for pollution.
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Beach Watch is warning that due to the recent rain, a number of beaches have poor water quality, with pollution possible. A number of locations are listed as “unsuitable for swimming” due to pollution, including Balmoral Baths, Foreshore Beach and Rose Bay Beach.
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Some places are listed as possibly containing pollution. An alert for Bronte Beach reads:
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Caution advised for swimming. Water quality usually suitable for swimming, but young children, elderly or those with compromised health may be at increased risk.
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Pollution is listed as unlikely for Bondi Beach today.
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Some beaches with pollution warnings will have signage up at the beach, but you can read the full list of alerts here before heading out.
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A remote Northern Territory community could be inundated for a week after days of heavy rain as another tropical cyclone building in the Coral Sea has Queensland in its sights, AAP reports.
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Flooding has hit Australia’s Top End with motorists stranded and about 100 people evacuated. There was a report last night of a helicopter pilot rescuing three people from a truck roof and taking them to the Victoria River roadhouse, west of Katherine.
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About 40 people from Pigeon Hole, a settlement on Bilinara Aboriginal land trust surrounded by Victoria River Downs pastoral property, have been relocated while another 50 at nearby Daguragu left for Kalkarindji.
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Some Pigeon Hole homes were inundated, with police predicting the community would be flooded for up to a week. About 35 Pigeon Hole residents were expected to be transported to Darwin with another five medically vulnerable people sent to Katherine.
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The acting assistant commissioner for NT police, Matt Hollamby, said:
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We want them to be safe and comfortable.
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Authorities are also on standby at Daly River where flood levels were being monitored.
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A monsoon trough continues to produce heavy rain in the NT, with 690mm recorded across seven days at Wadeye south of Darwin. Roads are closed along the Victoria River between Katherine and the Western Australia border while the Buntine Highway has also been cut.
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Police said a number of motorists had been stranded.
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The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has met with the head of a key UN agency and pressed for further action to address criticism of its teaching materials – days after she announced funding to help it deliver services to the people of Gaza.
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The $21.5m in humanitarian assistance announced on Tuesday included $6m for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) “to provide urgent lifesaving assistance including food, shelter and emergency health care”.
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This element of the Australian government’s package has been criticised by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Coalition’s home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, who told the ABC earlier this week that UNRWA-run schools “have been implicated in teaching antisemitic content to their students”.
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Wong met yesterday with the commissioner-general of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, and “reaffirmed her support for the vital work the organisation does”.
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Wong also expressed her condolences for the 150 UNRWA staff that had been killed in the current conflict.
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Officials said the minister “welcomed Mr Lazzarini’s recent announcement that the organisation would hold an independent review into claims of pro-Hamas activity in his organisation”.
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It is understood Lazzarini “confirmed that UNRWA had investigated and identified a small number of problematic sections in textbooks and that material inconsistent with UN values was not taught in classrooms”. Officials said Wong “pressed him to go further and remove them”.
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Lazzarini told the ABC’s 7.30 program last night:
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I have informed your minister that UNRWA has taken the decision to commission an independent review, to look at all the allegations regarding UNRWA and its activities in Gaza.
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Lazzarini said his agency had been subjected to “quite a number” of “smear campaigns” so it was important for a review to be conducted at arm’s length.
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The Australian government says it is “deeply troubled” by ongoing delays in the case of Australian writer Dr Yang Hengjun, with today marking the fifth anniversary of his detention in China.
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But the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, also praised Yang’s strength, and promised that the Australian government would continue to advocate for his interests and wellbeing at the highest levels in talks with China.
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Yang, an Australian writer and avowed democracy activist, was detained in China in January 2019 and charged with espionage later that year.
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Yang has previously stated he is “100% innocent of the allegations” and that he “will never confess to something I haven’t done”. His closed trial was held in Beijing in May 2021 but he has still not received a verdict, with the court granting multiple three-month extensions on the deadline for handing down a decision.
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In a statement issued today, Wong said:
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I was moved to read the letter from Dr Yang’s sons late last year. All Australians know how much Dr Yang loves his family and his country. I want to acknowledge the strength that Dr Yang has demonstrated, and the strength of his family and friends. Our thoughts are with them all.
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Wong said that the Australian government had consistently “called for basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment for Yang, in accordance with international norms and China’s legal obligations”.
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Earlier this week, China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, argued Yang’s case was “different in nature” from the case of fellow Australian Cheng Lei, who was released late last year. Xiao added:
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To be honest, I cannot expect that the case would come to such a conclusion likewise.
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Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be lining up some of the best overnight stories for you before my colleague Emily Wind takes the keys.
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The star-rating system for aged care homes is a “total waste of time”, according to one expert, amid concern that some providers are winning four or five-star marks despite poor performance. Our top story reports on concerns that families are potentially being misled after it emerged that 150 aged care homes that did not meet minimum standards for safety and care were awarded four or five-star compliance ratings last year thanks largely due to a loophole in the system.
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About 40 people have been evacuated overnight from Pigeon Hole, a remote settlement about eight hours south of Darwin, with police warning it could be inundated for a week as a monsoon trough continued to dump heavy rain on the territory. More than 690mm of rain was recorded across seven days at Wadeye, south of Darwin, and several roads have been closed with flash flooding warnings in place around Katherine. To the east, a tropical low building in the Coral Sea is expected to turn towards the Queensland coast from Sunday, with the system most likely becoming a tropical cyclone by Monday. More coming up.
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Welfare advocates have renewed calls for the Labor government to drop the work for the dole program after a major not-for-profit announced it was cutting ties with the scheme over concerns it pushes participants into hardship. The Brotherhood of St Laurence announced this week it would no longer participate or use jobseekers from the program, saying it is “not in the best interests of people who are unemployed”. It follows a report by MPs which found the scheme “does not increase employability, fails to enable social participation, and creates safety risks in some cases”.
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Key events
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines from the day:
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. Have a wonderful Friday evening.
An update on the severe storms in QLD here:
⛈️QLD Storm Forecast for Sat 20/1. Severe storms with heavy to locally intense rainfall likely in parts of the Maranoa & Warrego that may lead to dangerous flash flooding. Heavy rain & damaging wind gusts with storms are possible in parts of western, central southern & FNQ. pic.twitter.com/9vmt2GPRs3
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 19, 2024
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⛈️QLD Storm Forecast for Sat 20/1. Severe storms with heavy to locally intense rainfall likely in parts of the Maranoa & Warrego that may lead to dangerous flash flooding. Heavy rain & damaging wind gusts with storms are possible in parts of western, central southern & FNQ. pic.twitter.com/9vmt2GPRs3
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 19, 2024
Australian stock exchange bounces back
The local stock exchange has snapped its five-day losing streak, with gains nearly across the board, AAP has reported.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Friday finished up 74.7 points, or 1.02%, to 7,421.2, while the broader All Ordinaries added 76.7 points, or 1.01%, to 7,652.3.
For the week, ASX200 finished down 1.0%, however. It’s also down 2.2% so far in 2024, after a 7.1% gain in December.
The Australian dollar was also bouncing back, buying 65.77 US cents, from 65.52 US cents at Thursday’s ASX close.
The queues for petrol in Kalgoorlie are hundreds of metres long after the city was hit by a blackout. Watch the video below:
NSW fire hydrants stripped of metal parts
Nearly a tonne of metal has been stolen from fire hydrants across western Sydney in a few months, rendering some inoperable, AAP has reported.
Fire and Rescue NSW has found 38 hydrants with missing components from apartment buildings and other sites across a dozen suburbs since November.
The missing parts are mainly brass and copper fittings, which are valuable when sold for scrap metal.
FRNSW and police have identified the removal of about 850kg of metal fittings, which can sell for as much as $10 a kilogram.
One plumber, aged in his 40s, has been arrested and charged with 18 counts of theft following the hydrant-stripping.
The fittings were important structural components and their loss might render the hydrants unusable and firefighters unable to properly respond to emergencies, authorities said.
Director general of NSW Department of Primary Industries leaving role
The man responsible for overseeing NSW agriculture and managing threats such as fire ants has departed abruptly from his role, AAP has reported.
Scott Hansen was two months away from marking a decade as the director general of the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) when it was announced on Friday that he was leaving.
The reason for the change, made by regional NSW secretary Rebecca Fox, was not immediately given.
“The department thanks Mr Hansen for his service and significant commitment through some of the toughest conditions NSW’s primary producers and our regional communities have faced during the past 10 years,” a departmental spokesman said in a statement.
Deputy director general Sean Sloan will step into the director general role as the department looks for a new leader.
The BoM is warning about a severe heatwave for parts of Queensland, with maximum temperatures in the low-to mid thirties, increasing to the mid-to high thirties by the start of the new week.
⚠️🌡️Severe Heatwave warning issued for the #SEQld including Brisbane. Hot conditions continue over the next few days, with the next peak in heat expected on Monday. Very high humidity is exacerbating the heat. https://t.co/DVcIVq49qK pic.twitter.com/CcI0BSFy1G
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 19, 2024
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The BoM has put out an update on the severe weather forecast for the north of Australia. You can watch it here:
Severe Weather Update for the north of Australia, including details about the heavy rain and significant flood risk. Video current at 11:15am ACST 19 January 2024. #Monsoon #NT #WA #Qld
Latest: https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/hLlBUSjQSg
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) January 19, 2024
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Unemployment rate steady despite full-time job losses
Thousands of full-time workers lost their jobs over the holiday period but despite this decline the unemployment rate remains stable, AAP has reported.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Thursday reveals the number of full-time jobs in December plummeted nearly 107,000, marking the largest monthly fall in employment since the COVID-19 lockdowns.
However, the jobless rate managed to hold steady at 3.9% because of outsized job growth in the months before with 52,000 more employed in December than September.
Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil says the innocuousness of the unemployment rate is masking concerning trends in the labour market.
While the number of Australians employed full-time declined, part-timers surged by more than 41,000, suggesting employers are hiring on a casual and insecure basis rather than offering permanent jobs.
The data also reveals 80,000 fewer women were employed full-time than in November and 42,000 entered part-time work while the overall underemployment rate increased to 8%.
Andrew Messenger
Current estimates suggest it could take one of several tracks across the coast and end up over Tenant Creek in the Northern Territory, or bounce off the coast and make ground at New Caledonia. Residents as far north as Cooktown and as far south as Mackay should be on alert, he said.
If it does make landfall in Queensland, Hannify said residents should be prepared for “catastrophic flooding, obviously a storm surge in the vicinity of the low, and obviously very destructive wind gusts”.
“It’s not a guarantee, but certainly a risk for the Queensland coast to have a severe tropical cyclone crossing during next week.”
‘High chance’ that severe tropical cyclone will cross Queensland, BoM says
Andrew Messenger
Senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Felim Hanniffy has given an update on the cyclone building off the coast of Queensland.
Hanniffy said the storm is expected to intensify into a “serious tropical cyclone”, of at least category three. It could cross the Queensland coast at that size, he said.
“The atmosphere is certainly conducive for significant tropical cyclone development in the Coral Sea,” he said.
“I think the bottom line is for next week there’s a high chance of tropical cyclone development in the Coral Sea and a severe tropical cyclone at that.”
But there’s still “a lot of uncertainty” about the direction the storm will head over the next week, he said.
Emily Wind
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, I’ll leave you with Cait Kelly to take you through the rest of today’s news. Take care!
Wong holds final talks as part of Middle East visit
Foreign minister Penny Wong held her final round of talks as part of her Middle East visit today, this time meeting with key officials in the United Arab Emirates.
Posting to X this afternoon, Wong said this:
The UAE is a key partner for Australia in the region. We cooperate across a broad range of sectors and Australia welcomes expanding ties, including the commencement of trade agreement negotiations.
I spoke with His Highness Sheikh [Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan], and we agreed on the importance of increasing humanitarian assistance to Gaza and finding a pathway out of the conflict.
We discussed averting regional escalation and supporting a political process that meets Israel’s security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
I also met with HE Reem Al Hashimy and thanked her for the UAE’s assistance in repatriating Australians in the region and ongoing cooperation on defence and security. We agreed to continue to explore opportunities to further strengthen our relationship.
I also met with HE Reem Al Hashimy and thanked her for the UAE’s assistance in repatriating Australians in the region and ongoing cooperation on defence and security. We agreed to continue to explore opportunities to further strengthen our relationship. pic.twitter.com/VfH3xZxlET
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) January 19, 2024
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I also met with HE Reem Al Hashimy and thanked her for the UAE’s assistance in repatriating Australians in the region and ongoing cooperation on defence and security. We agreed to continue to explore opportunities to further strengthen our relationship. pic.twitter.com/VfH3xZxlET
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) January 19, 2024
The WA department of fire and emergency services has issued further advice on the widespread power outages affecting Kalgoorlie and the wider Wheatbelt, Goldfields and Great Southern regions.
Here is the latest from them:
There are 8,800 homes and businesses still without power across the network, including 3500 in Perth Hills, 700 in parts of the Goldfields and 2000 in the Wheatbelt
Crews are at work and aim to repair extensive damage to the network “in the next few days”.
“There will be some customers who remain without power for a longer duration,” DFES said.
Police are increasing patrols in the area to assist the community
People should treat all damaged infrastructure as if it is live
Customers who have experienced an outage longer than 12 consecutive hours can apply for an extended outage payment once power is reconnected
Water supply disruptions are continuing – people may experience a total loss of water or low pressure
Power has been restored to some ambulance stations, however some people remain unable to call triple zero (000)
Major hospitals are operational
Branches from Westpac, NAB, ANZ, CBA and Bankwest have power and will be open for business in Kalgoorlie
Non-essential travel should be postponed, and people planning travel to the area should reconsider
Tory Shepherd
Peregrine’s final moments tracked in Canberra
Canberra’s Deep Space Station Network tracked Peregrine’s final moments, as the moon lander burned up on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere.
The lander’s mission to reach the lunar surface was foiled by a fuel leak not long after launch – but it would have been the first US moon landing in 50 years.
Please enjoy this footage of of the network’s antenna, Deep Space Station 36, ‘watching’ it go down:
Deep Space Station 36 #DSS36 was providing communications and tracking for @Astrobotic's #Peregrine Mission (#APM1), as it made its final approach and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.📡
It's never easy to see a mission end, but we look forward to an #APM2 in the future.🚀🌖 pic.twitter.com/5UpIQKq7PL— CanberraDSN 📡 (@CanberraDSN) January 18, 2024
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DSN outreach manager, Glen Nagle, said the US company Astrobotic and NASA would make official announcements about the re-entry, but that they were proud to have played their role. He said:
In our control room, people were watching and expressed how fascinating it was seeing the steadiness of the spacecraft’s signal throughout the final moments.
On our screens the signal [was] dropping fast, which was very evocative of what would have been Peregrine’s final plunge into Earth’s atmosphere. Suddenly the signal was gone, signalling for us the end of the mission.
Caitlin Cassidy
Editor of the Kalgoorlie Miner Neil Watkinson has had one of the biggest 24 hours of his career.
Power died in their office just before 6pm on Wednesday evening and didn’t return until this morning. But against the odds they managed to get a paper out.
“There were two key elements,” he says.
We have a battery system backup that kicks in if the power goes out, but it only has a limited life. We could have our computers on but didn’t have power to the server – internet, or email, and most reporters didn’t have phone reception.
For some reason I’m still not entirely sure of, my phone was able to mobile hotspot for the entire day. I was expecting one or both to go out at any point in which case we would’ve been completely blind. We developed all these alternate strategies – down to a plan where we might physically take a photo of the text we had written and text that photo to the subs [in Perth] who would rewrite it all out. That would’ve been insane.
With no air conditioner in 42 degree heat they were able to “keep the Kalgoorlie Miner chugging for another day”.
The paper came on the truck this morning. Everyone was hot and bothered but we were out on the ground amongst the community, doing what we have always done.
Repair of Kalgoorlie power lines could take up to a week, mayor says
Glenn Wilson, mayor of the Kalgoorlie-Boulder council, is providing an update on the widespread outages following Wednesday night’s storm.
As we reported earlier, the main transmission line for Kalgoorlie’s power sustained significant damage and there are five power lines down. The community has been told the outage may last for up to one week as these are repaired.
Thousands are without power, with the outage also affecting the water supply and some mobile connectivity.
Speaking on a Facebook livestream, Wilson thanked the community for their patience, and the local power agencies and emergency services for their efforts.
He said the council looks forward to working with premier Roger Cook to look at safeguarding Kalgoorlie’s energy reliability for the long-term, to prevent things like this from happening.
To have our backup go down [as well] is not good enough.
There was a previous week-long power outage in 2017.
