Leave immediately warning issued for towns in north-east Victoria
VicEmergency just issued an emergency warning for an area west of the town of Walwa in the state’s northeast, comprising the Bungil, Thologolong and Granya areas due to a bushfire.
The blaze is not yet under control and is traveling south from the Mt Lawson state park area towards Bungil, with officials warning properties in the area could be affected.
Leaving immediately is the safest option before conditions become too dangerous, the agency said.
An area further south of Bungil and Granya currently has a watch and act – leave now warning due to the blaze, and the region around Burrowye and Guys Forest is under a watch and act warning as conditions change.
Key events
Cait Kelly
Cool kits and $100 vouchers for drinks and food available to Melburnians in need amid heatwave
Chief Heat Officer at the City of Melbourne Krista Milne said the council had activated its cool hubs, which included the libraries, pools and community neighbourhood centres, to keep people safe.
She said:
We are making sure everyone has a cool place to go. So if they’re out on the streets, and they’re feeling hot, they can visit one of those places.
Community safety officers have also been going around the CBD, checking on those experiencing homelessness and handing out cool kits. The kits include water, Hydralite, towels people can wet and put over their necks and maps of cool places in the city.
They are also offering those who need it, $100 7/11 vouchers so they can buy cool drinks and feed themselves.
With the heatwave building through the next three days, that will be the community safety officers’ focus. They’re out there with those vouchers, engaging with people, making sure they have options and are safe. At this point, there haven’t been any issues reported.
She said the council also had a cool route map up online, so people could plan the coolest way to get form A to B, when they were out in the city. City of Melbourne residents can also swim at the outdoor pools for $2 in January.
Lord Mayor Nick Reece also called for people to stay safe in the heat:
We want every Melburnian to take the heatwave seriously. If you need to cool down, head to one of our libraries, cool places or swimming pools – and our Community Safety Officers have bottled water on hand for those who need it.
Cait Kelly
Melbourne libraries become designated cooling spots
Libraries across Melbourne have become designated cooling spots, extending their hours, making sure there is water and staff checking in on people sheltering from the heat. Cool spots with extended hours include those in Yarra, Port Philip and Maribyrnong.
Despite running air-con and free drinking water, both the St Kilda library and North Fitzroy were quiet leading up to lunch.
A regular at St Kilda said a few of the locals who are homeless had come in to take shelter from the heat, but it was not any busier than a normal Wednesday.
The streets in the inner suburbs are quiet, with hardly anyone out. Most businesses are keeping their doors closed to keep in the cool air.
Anthony Albanese attends funeral of Bondi victim Peter Meagher
The prime minister was in Sydney today to attend the funeral of former NSW police detective sergeant Peter Meagher, who was killed in the Bondi terror attack.
Albanese placed holy water on the coffin at St Mary’s Cathedral in the CBD. Meagher was working as a freelance photographer at the event on 14 December when he was killed.
His funeral is the last to take place after the mass shooting.
Petra Stock
Extreme heat can increase risk of power outages, but here’s how to prepare
Electricity network company Powercor said networks were designed to cope in the heat, however extreme conditions could increase the risk of outages.
It was closely monitoring the situation and ready to respond, asking customers to prepare in case of localised outages. A spokesperson said:
Victorians can act too by preparing for power outages as part of their emergency plan. They should charge phones and other devices, have a battery-powered radio available for real time news updates, and sign up for SMS notifications about power supplies at www.powercor.com.au/notify.
People that rely on life support equipment or need electrical items to care for others should have a back-up plan ready.
Another emergency warning in place in central Victoria over grassfire
There’s another emergency warning in place in central Victoria around the Moyreisk, Natte Yallock, Redbank and Stuart Mill areas due to a grassfire, with residents in the area urged to leave immediately. Details on that incident are below.
Leave immediately warning issued for towns in north-east Victoria
VicEmergency just issued an emergency warning for an area west of the town of Walwa in the state’s northeast, comprising the Bungil, Thologolong and Granya areas due to a bushfire.
The blaze is not yet under control and is traveling south from the Mt Lawson state park area towards Bungil, with officials warning properties in the area could be affected.
Leaving immediately is the safest option before conditions become too dangerous, the agency said.
An area further south of Bungil and Granya currently has a watch and act – leave now warning due to the blaze, and the region around Burrowye and Guys Forest is under a watch and act warning as conditions change.
Governor of NSW extended for two years until May 2028
Catie McLeod
Margaret Beazley will continue to serve as the governor of New South Wales for an additional two-year term, the premier, Chris Minns, has announced.
The extension of Beazley’s term comes after Minns’ recommendation to King Charles III was approved, the premier said in a statement this afternoon.
Beazley will serve in the role until 1 May 2028, meaning she will have nine years in the job in total, Minns said.
Minns said the extension of Beazley’s term reflected the “government’s confidence in her continued stewardship and the value placed on her experience”.
In the statement, Minns said:
I’m pleased that Her Excellency has agreed to continue in her role as Governor for another two years.
She has served the people of NSW with commitment and care, and I’m grateful she will continue in this important position.
Cait Kelly
‘Bubble wrap, sheets, and doonas over the windows’: the lengths some go to to stay cool in their homes
Advocacy group Sweltering Cities have put a small team together to call people across Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia who may be struggling in the heat today.
Executive director, Emma Bacon, said they were going to be calling around 100 people who had previously flagged that they may need assistance.
She said people were increasingly concerned about putting on air conditioning because of the bills, or from people living in poorly insulated homes that heated up quickly:
What we hear is that most people really want to stay home as much as possible. So, people are putting out aluminium foil, bubble wrap, sheets, and doonas over the windows to try and block out more heat.
She said they have heard from people who lie on the tiles in the bathroom or kitchen, with an ice pack on their chest to stay cool. For many people, leaving the house, catching public transport or walking was dangerous.
But people are going to do it because they don’t feel safe at home.
Luca Ittimani
Housing and energy prices still high despite inflation slip
Housing and electricity costs kept rising while clothing and furniture prices slipped in November, as consumers strain under a “mixed bag” of price pressures.
Housing overall jumped 1.1% in the month of November alone, at 5.2% over the year, in part due to a 4% rise in rents, the data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.
Electricity costs have surged as rebates lapsed, though they are only up 19.7% annually compared to the 37.1% spike in October.
Devika Shivadekar, economist with RSM Australia, said inflation in those important categories meant rate hikes remained a possibility. She expected the RBA would leave rates on hold when the board meets in February:
“(The data) presents a mixed bag for the RBA because inflation is easing, which supports holding rates steady, but housing and energy costs remain stubbornly high, signalling underlying price pressures.”
Food costs also picked up 3.3% in the year to November, with meals out and takeaway up 3.5% on higher wage and ingredient costs, and meat and seafood up 3.9% due to high overseas demand for Australian produce.
Clothing and footwear prices slipped 3.1% in the month of November and furniture prices fell 4.6% amid Black Friday sales, though those categories rose in price over the year. Health costs slipped 0.5% in the month after bulk billing incentives were expanded on 1 November 2025, boosting bulk billing rates and cutting households’ out of pocket doctor costs.
Catie McLeod
Disability support worker charged over client’s death in Sydney house fire almost five years ago
A 27-year-old disability support worker has been charged with manslaughter after a man in his care died in a house fire while allegedly under his supervision, New South Wales police say.
This morning, police said homicide squad detectives had charged the disability support worker, a man from Carramar in Sydney’s west, in relation to his client’s death almost five years ago.
Police have said they will allege in court that the man was negligent in his role as a disability support worker, leaving the residents unsupervised at the time of the fire on 13 April 2021.
About 7.15am on that day, emergency services were called to River Avenue, Carramar, following reports of a house fire, police said.
Police said a male resident was pulled from the single-level home and treated for smoke inhalation.
Another male resident, aged 38, was pulled from the building by staff members but was unable to be revived by firefighters or paramedics.
Police said they set up Strike Force Andretta at the time to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire.
They said they arrested the disability support worker about 8.50am yesterday after he attended Granville Police Station, where he was then charged with manslaughter.
He was refused bail to appear at Bail Division Court 6 today, police said.
The Elvis Express left Sydney this morning, bound for Parkes
Elvis fever has taken over Australia’s largest railway station, as Elvis impersonators, die-hard fans and curious first-timers joined the annual pilgrimage to pay homage to the King, AAP reports.
A bumper crowd is expected in the NSW central west town of Parkes for the award-winning Elvis Festival, with the 2026 edition taking inspiration from his debut film.
Organisers say Love Me Tender, released in 1956, captures America’s south after the Civil War, with the festival to reflect the film’s resilience and romance.
Before boarding the Elvis Express – a themed train from Sydney to Parkes – amped-up revellers gathered at Central Station on Wednesday morning, comparing outfits and singing songs before boarding for their seven-hour journey.
The scores of Elvis and Priscilla Presley fans and impersonators ranged from veterans to rookies.
February interest rate rise now less likely, markets bet
Luca Ittimani
Markets are betting an interest rate rise previously expected as soon as February will be delayed after inflation came in lower than expected for November.
The 3.4% annual rate of the increase in consumer prices was lower than the 3.6% economists had predicted, after prices held steady in the month of November instead of ticking up a predicted 0.1%.
The ASX200 has jumped from 8,700 to 8,725 index points and the Australian dollar has slipped from nearly 67.4 US cents to 67.3, suggesting traders have more confidence rates will stay lower for longer.
Inflation slips to 3.4%
Luca Ittimani
Inflation slipped to 3.4% in the year to November, still above the RBA’s preferred range of 2% to 3% but slightly lower than expected.
October had seen consumer price increases of 3.8%. The less volatile trimmed mean measure also fell from 3.3% to 3.2%.
Pauline Hanson asks PM to overturn parliament suspension after burqa stunt
One Nation’s leader, Pauline Hanson, has asked the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to overturn a temporary ban from the Senate so she can participate in debate surrounding new legislation on hate speech and a national gun buy-back scheme if parliament is recalled early.
The prime minister has said he plans to do so after the Bondi terror attack, possibly before the 26 January holiday.
Hanson was censured by the Senate and suspended from the chamber for seven sitting days in November after repeating her burqa stunt, meaning she would be unable to appear as the suspension is still in effect.
She wrote in a letter to Albanese yesterday:
Despite my constant warnings about radical Islam infiltrating Australia, your government chooses to vilify me in every possible way … I am seeking your support to overturn the ban imposed upon me by the Senate to debate these urgent bills …
You can read the full letter below:
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Sussan Ley clarifies claim about ‘far-left neo-Nazis’
Josh Butler
Going back to Sussan Ley’s press conference earlier this morning: the opposition leader has attempted to clean up what might have been another important error, where she said a royal commission should investigate “far-left neo-Nazi extremism”.
Nazism and neo-Nazism is generally accepted as being an extreme right ideology, including by the United States Holocaust Museum, the Southern Poverty Law Centre and Asio’s director general, Mike Burgess.
Key figures in Australia’s neo-Nazi movements have called for the intake of migrants to be slashed or halted altogether, targeted Indigenous Australians and rallied against transgender Australians.
Ley, in her press conference, demanded a royal commission after the Bondi attack “must include reference to radical Islamic extremism as well as far-left Neo-Nazi extremism”.
Questioned later whether she thought neo-Nazis were left-wing, Ley initially downplayed the question by saying “these are political concepts about left and right, but what is most important is that radical Islamic extremism and Neo-Nazi ideology, however people may choose to frame that in a left-right continuum, that they are included”.
Asked again to clarify, she claimed: “far-left and neo-Nazi extremism were the words I used”, stressing “and” between the two concepts – a word she did not use in her initial comment.
It was potentially a misspeak while reading off notes. In an earlier written statement on a royal commission, Ley called for investigating “the role of radical Islamic extremism, as well as far left and neo Nazi extremism”.
It comes after Ley mistakenly referred to Russia as the Soviet Union last week, saying “the government should always stand ready to support the illegal occupation of Ukraine by the USSR”. Her office updated the official press conference transcript to replace the USSR and Soviet Union mentions with “Russia”.
