Category Archives: Western Australia

New Year’s Eve 2023: heat and hail forecast in Australia’s weather mix as crowds gather early for fireworks

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Displays expected in cities across country to ring in 2024 while predicted wild weather on east coast could disrupt revelry

Heat and hail have been forecast across parts of the country as hundreds queue outside the Sydney Opera House to secure front-row seats for the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

Lines in Circular Quay began to form at 8am on Sunday as people sought to stake their claim to a view. By 11.24am, organisers announced the Sydney Opera House vantage point is full and advised members of the public to seek alternative options.

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New Year’s Eve fireworks in Australia: ‘your cracker night could end in hospital’, authorities warn

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Illegal use of fireworks can lead to thousands of dollars in fines and even jail. Here are the rules around the country

Hefty fines and even jail time are on the cards for those who set off illegal fireworks this New Year’s Eve.

People right across the country used to partake in the annual “cracker night” festival, setting off fireworks in their backyards, but most states and territories began banning this practice in the 1980s.

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Marble Bar to reach 49C as severe heatwave grips parts of Queensland, NT and WA

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Conditions 8C to 12C above average across large parts of Australia’s north, with little reprieve for storm-ravaged areas

A severe heatwave is expected to affect parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia heading into the new year.

Large swathes have been put on alert, with conditions 8C to 12C above average.

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Queensland power supply to face strain as heatwave sends demand to near-record levels

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Surging consumption comes despite ‘very sleepy period’ for electricity use, energy expert says

Queensland’s electricity supplies are expected to be strained for a second day in a row as the heatwave roasting much of northern Australia lifts power demand to near-record levels.

The mercury exceeded its forecast maximum for Brisbane of 37C by early afternoon and was recently at 38.3.5C, or eight degrees above the December average, Bureau of Meteorology data showed.

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Two people dead and a dozen injured after multi-car crash in NSW – as it happened

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Tasmanian yacht Alive is in the box seat to take out Sydney to Hobart yacht race’s overall honours, with skipper Duncan Hine confident the 66-footer has a winning time on the board.

Hine and his crew finished the 628-nautical-mile blue water classic yesterday afternoon as clubhouse leaders on handicap time.

It’s a waiting game. We’re looking good, though. I believe we could do it again, but the reality may be different. Now we wait with bated breath to see if anyone can beat our time.

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Two more homes destroyed as Perth bushfires continue to burn

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Authorities say blaze south of the city is under control after homes were lost around Keysbrook

A blaze that destroyed two homes south of Perth has been brought under control, but firefighters are urging people to remain vigilant for bushfire threats.

Seven emergency-level bushfires have engulfed homes and torn through bushland, rural properties and suburbs on Perth’s fringes in the past three days.

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‘Severe, intense conditions’: Christmas weather could be stormy in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra

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NSW SES warns heavy rain may cause flash flooding with storms forecast across three states from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day

Residents of Australia’s eastern states have been warned to prepare for severe storms forecast over the Christmas weekend.

Thunderstorms are expected between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day across a broad region, including much of New South Wales and south-east Queensland and spreading down into Victoria.

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Christmas bushfire warning for Western Australia after homes destroyed on Perth’s outskirts

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The weather bureau has issued an extreme fire danger warning for the Burrup district on Saturday

Firefighters on Saturday continued to battle multiple blazes across Western Australia as authorities warn of more “difficult” days ahead.

Seven emergency-level blazes have destroyed homes and torn through bushland, rural properties and suburbs on Perth’s fringes in the past three days.

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Marles will ‘make right decision in Australia’s interest’ over deploying navy vessels to Red Sea, Farrell says – as it happened

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Up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs prevented from reaching Australia

Australian federal police and international law enforcement partners have prevented up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs from reaching Australia throughout the past financial year.

The AFP cannot overstate the amount of harm that 29 tonnes of methamphetamine could have caused to the community if it had not been intercepted by law enforcement.

On average, close to 12,000 Australians are hospitalised from methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin use every 12 months.

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Some of Australia’s strategically important coral islands at great risk of vanishing, study finds

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Fate of more than a dozen islands ‘hangs in the balance’ because of climate crisis, with vexed questions about maritime jurisdiction

More than a dozen of Australia’s coral islands that help to extend the country’s maritime jurisdiction are at high risk of disappearing because of climate change, according to a study.

The fate of the low-lying islands now “hangs in the balance”, said the scientist who led the study, with rising sea levels, marine heatwaves, intensifying weather systems and ocean acidification compounding the risk.

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Sydney bakes in 43C temperatures and heatwave conditions; southerly change expected from 6pm – as it happened

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‘Climate change a threat to people’s health as well as to our environment,’ Albanese says amid heatwave

Speaking at a press conference in Sydney, prime minister Anthony Albanese said the current heatwave is “a reminder that there just might be something in this climate change stuff”.

We have experienced 2023 as the hottest year on record. We continue to break these records, and that’s why my government’s determined to act on climate change.

Today, with the high heat levels, I do say that it’s a time to ensure that we look after each other and stay safe.

We need to have our migration levels brought to a sustainable level and we will be releasing details of that this week.

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Offshore oil regulator ‘avoiding scrutiny’ over approval for Woodside blasting and drilling

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Environmental lawyers concerned Nopsema has not published its reasons for approving work at Scarborough gas development

Environmental lawyers have raised concern the offshore petroleum regulator is attempting to avoid scrutiny by not publishing its reasons for approving seismic blasting and drilling for a major fossil fuel development in northern Western Australia.

The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) granted approval for seismic testing and drilling of up to 10 wells for Woodside’s $16.5bn Scarborough gas development last Friday.

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Stage set for national cabinet clash over GST – as it happened

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The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.

Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.

Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.

Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.

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Perth fire downgraded but extreme weather conditions expected for weekend

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Residents warned not to return to fire-affected area as bureau forecasts wind gusts of up to 80 km/h and 39C heat

Firefighters battling a blaze that has destroyed 18 homes in Perth’s outer northern suburbs will face extreme weather conditions across the weekend.

Wind gusts of up to 80 km/h and temperatures of 39C are forecast in Perth by the Bureau of Meteorology, with the fire danger also rated as extreme in parts of the city on Saturday.

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Perth fires: 18 homes destroyed as fire crews brace for more dangerous conditions

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Authorities say it will take at least another three to four days to bring blaze in city’s north-east under control

The number of homes an out-of-control bushfire has destroyed in metropolitan Perth has been revised up to 18, as firefighters prepare for a weekend of scorching temperatures.

The Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, returned from a trade mission to China on Friday and toured the fire grounds.

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Australia news live: Bruce Lehrmann back in the witness box as defamation case kicks off third day

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Former Liberal staffer’s defamation trial against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson continues in the federal court. Follow the day’s news live

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has said the government is yet to decide how to best consult with First Nations people after the loss of the Indigenous voice referendum.

Burney was on RN Breakfast earlier and said today’s Closing the Gap meeting, the first since the referendum, would focus on the silver linings from the loss.

What we have seen is a group of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people get involved in the political process.

We had 6 million Australians say yes. And the thing that really excited me about the outcome in places like the Tiwi Islands, where … Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wanted this change. And those votes are really important.

Education is the most powerful cause for good in this world, that is where you learn.

If you want to protest, do it on the weekend. School is on, we expect them to be there.

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Man found dead after statewide search – as it happened

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Hostage release essential if truce to last, Paterson says

Rewinding to Liberal MP James Paterson’s appearance on RN Breakfast this morning, wheN he said more needs to be done to free the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza.

We don’t know how many of them are still alive, and their continued release would be essential for any continuing ceasefire because otherwise Israel continues to have a legitimate military objective.

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WA government fails to back up premier’s claim expanding gas industry will be good for planet

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Western Australian government declines to say whether Roger Cook’s claims backed by publicly available government or third-party analysis

The Western Australian government has produced no evidence to back up a claim that expanding the state’s gas industry – and increasing its greenhouse gas pollution in the short term – will be good for the planet as it will lead to a “dramatic reduction” in global emissions.

The premier, Roger Cook, made the claim at a media conference on Thursday. Cook made similar arguments at a WA energy transition summit on Friday, when speakers including the federal resources minister, Madeleine King, backed the development of new gas reserves alongside renewable energy and critical minerals.

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Regional roads in dire state as Australian councils made to waste money on grants tribute signs: report

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Grattan Institute says Australia’s regional roads are a ‘dangerous disgrace’ due to paltry federal funding

Regional Australian roads have become a “dangerous disgrace”, according to a new report that warns they will get worse due to paltry funding that favours cities and forces poorer regional councils to waste repair money erecting signs in tribute to government grants.

In a new report, the Grattan Institute has found that roads across the country have become riddled with potholes and other hazards because inadequate federal and state government funding has left councils under-resourced and without sufficient knowledge or data to maintain the roads they are responsible for.

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WA community in lockdown and suspect in custody after man allegedly shot west of Perth

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Residents of Wooroloo told they could return to normal activity following earlier lockdown but urged to ‘remain vigilant’

A Western Australian community has spent several hours in lockdown and a man has been taken into custody after an alleged shooting on the outer fringes of Perth.

On Saturday morning, WA Police said officers responded to a “firearm incident” in the township of Wooroloo, about 45km from Perth.

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