Category Archives: Bushfires

Icac says Berejiklian inquiry sent ‘clear message’ – as it happened

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Australia’s ‘agricultural demands’ did not meet recent negotiations, EU spokesperson says

According to Politico, a spokesperson for the EU executive had this to say about the breakdown of free trade deal negotiations:

The European Commission regrets the lack of progress made during talks in Osaka today.

Our negotiating teams made good progress in recent weeks, including in the days leading up to the Osaka meeting. There was optimism that a deal was within reach.

My job as Australia’s trade minister is to get the best deal that we can for our producers, our businesses, our workers and our consumers.

Unfortunately we’ve not been able to make progress.

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Two dead in light plane crash in Queensland – as it happened

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The PM has said he has raised Julian Assange’s case with President Biden, but he shied away from calling him to intervene, saying Biden ‘doesn’t interfere with the Department of Justice’.

We keep our discussions private. I made clear Australia’s position that I made as Labor leader, the same position I hold as prime minister, which is that enough is enough, it is time that this issue was brought to a conclusion.

Well, the Australian officials are working very hard to achieve an outcome which is consistent with the position that I’ve put.

Look, this is - this is of major benefit, not just to the workers and the base there at Virginia and other places, but, of course, particularly for South Australia and Western Australia. This will be a jobs bonanza, and it will do more than the direct jobs as well.

A bit like the former auto industry did … this is highly advanced manufacturing for Australia. We will reap the benefit for decades to come.

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Residents evacuated in middle of the night from three fast-moving Queensland bushfires

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Firefighters continue to battle major blazes near Tara, where more than 30 homes have already been lost

Residents in Queensland’s Western Downs and Gladstone regions were ordered to evacuate in the middle of the night, as dozens of fires continue burning around the state.

Just before 1am on Saturday multiple emergency warnings were issued for the communities of Tara, Wieambilla and The Gums in the Western Downs region, west of Brisbane.

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Australia news live: devastation revealed in Queensland bushfire aftermath

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There is ‘a lot of anxiety’ in the Western Downs where at least 16 houses have been destroyed, the mayor says. Follow the day’s news live

Civilians in the blockaded Gaza Strip will receive an extra $15m in humanitarian aid from the Australian government.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement at a joint press conference with US president Joe Biden.

The plaintiff served years in prison that he otherwise would not have. At no stage did Victoria Police take positive steps to remedy its wrongdoing by expeditiously informing the plaintiff of Gobbo’s conduct in order to quash his conviction. Victoria Police has not apologised to the plaintiff.

Starting this court case is a significant moment for me. I am anxious about the future but also cautiously optimistic about finally holding police to account for what they did to me.

In the pursuit of justice, vindication came first, and now I see compensation as a measure of accountability.

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Hundreds flee deadly bushfire in Queensland to evacuation centres as NSW grass fires continue to burn

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Police confirm a body was found near a dam in Tara, where fire remained at emergency level on Wednesday

Queensland firefighters are hoping a shift in wind direction on Thursday will help push a deadly, out-of-control bushfire that has destroyed 11,000 hectares of bushland away from the town of Tara.

About 350 people had fled the Tara fire to evacuation centres by Wednesday afternoon. By 6.45pm, authorities had told some residents in the region to leave immediately as their lives could be in danger.

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Australia news live: properties lost in Queensland fires; Victorian hospital reopens Covid-19 ward

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NSW police have meanwhile appealed for public assistance as they investigate the cause of several bushfires along the state’s mid-north coast. Follow the day’s news live

Queenslanders in fire zones urged to pay attention to warnings

Turning to Queensland now, where the state’s Fire and Emergency Service chief, Tony Johnston, has spoken to ABC News Breakfast with an update on the bushfires across the state.

There’s been a number of structures that have been impacted but as you can appreciate, until the fire is actually contained, we won’t have a good picture of what’s actually been lost … When the crews can actually get in and ascertain the damage, we’ll have a full report.

Fires are spotting 200 metres in front of the fires themselves.

We’re asking residents to pay attention to the messaging. The messaging is important to enact your plan and what you’re going to do. Today is not a day to go sightseeing to see what’s happening in a fire area.

A lot of them are not easily contained. Some of those fires have been burning for quite some time. There’s a number of challenging fronts that we’ve got and obviously, worsening weather tomorrow that will cause a lot of problems with these fires and potentially new ones.

I know investigators are looking into a number of those fires and working with [police]. We have to wait for these fires to get under control before we can get in and assess the damage and carry out these investigations.

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Asio boss says violent protesters will receive ‘full force of my agency’ – as it happened

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While speaking to ABC RN, Chris Bowen was asked if he is concerned about ongoing social cohesion within his electorate amid the Israel-Hamas war. (Bowen is the MP for McMahon, located in Sydney’s outer western suburbs, which has a high percentage of Australians with Muslim ancestry.)

Bowen responded:

It’s important, in this very difficult time in the Middle East, to know that you can believe in the legitimate aspirations and rights of the Palestinian people without exonerating in any sense the heinous acts of Hamas.

You can also believe in the right of Israel to exist and to defend itself [while] expressing concern about the loss of innocent life of Palestinians who do not support Hamas and had nothing to do with Hamas.

I have been concerned by the politicisation of this issue … demanding stronger statements and stronger actions when really, I think the prime minister, the foreign minister and the government have set a very important and considered tone and I think it’s vital that the community hears that tone.

And of course … there is absolutely no place in modern Australia for antisemitism or Islamophobia. Both should be equally condemned. And in an environment like this, it’s particularly important to do so.

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Ed Husic calls for government to ‘push for de-escalation’ in Middle East – as it happened

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The Albanese government says it has reached an agreement with China on tariffs placed on Australian wine.

In a statement on Sunday, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese welcomed the progress ahead of his meeting with China’s president, Xi Jinping, in early November, saying the government is “confident of a successful outcome”.

The agreement means China will undertake an expedited five-month review of the duties it places on Australian wine producers. Australia and China have paused the World Trade Organization dispute until the review is finished.

Australia will resume the WTO dispute if the duties aren’t dropped after the review period.

Albanese will visit Beijing between 4 and 7 November to meet Xi and the premier, Li Qiang, and attend the China International Import Expo.

The leaders are expected to discuss economic links, climate change and links between their people.

Albanese said:

I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship … I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including Australian wine, to the Chinese market. Strong trade benefits both countries.

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Man dies and homes feared lost in bushfire near Kempsey as almost 80 fires burn across NSW

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RFS commissioner says death due to Willi Willi fire a ‘tragic reminder of how deadly some of these fires are’

A man has died and multiple homes are feared lost in a bushfire near Kempsey in New South Wales as firefighters work to contain the Willi Willi fire that has burned through more than 11,000 hectares.

NSW police confirmed on Tuesday morning that a man had died on a rural property 30km west of Kempsey.

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Australia news live: Elise Archer resigns from Tasmanian parliament after ultimatum from premier; fire tears through Kings Cross hostel

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Jeremy Rockliff writes to Elise Archer asking that she advise whether she will remain in parliament

No property loss in hunter region bushfires, NSW RFS deputy commissioner says

Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, NSW RFS deputy commissioner Peter McAfee also provided an update on the bushfires in the Hunter region.

So some really great saves by firefighters in really challenging conditions.

We still have some high fire danger days right across northern NSW with with extreme up in the north-west, so it’s not over this period of fire activity, but some good news to see that change moving through the southern part of the state.

It really was a serious incident there right into the evening, with crews protecting properties throughout.

We’ll have our teams in there at daylight this morning. They’re already getting in there, just looking at exactly what’s occurred. It’s [was] too dangerous to do all that work overnight.

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Australia records driest September as fires rage in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania

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The month was also Australia’s third-warmest September on record as El Niño and the climate crisis combined

Australia has recorded its driest September since records began in 1900 with a national rainfall average of just 4.83mm.

The data from the Bureau of Meteorology on Monday came as fires burned out of control in Victoria and New South Wales amid warnings of potential flash flooding later in the week.

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Australia news live: Greens’ McKim says Pezzullo should be ‘working on his resignation letter’ after texts leaked

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Senator and home affairs spokesperson calls Pezzullo’s position ‘completely untenable’. Follow the day’s news live

Residents rescued from suspicious apartment block blaze in Melbourne

Residents trapped inside a burning Melbourne care facility have been safely rescued, with the blaze regarded as suspicious, AAP reports.

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Bushfires stretch along east coast as Sydney expected to break September heat record

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Dozens of blazes in NSW, Queensland and Tasmania as extreme heatwave moves north

Dozens of fires are burning across the east coast of Australia during the spring heatwave with residents forced to evacuate homes and Sydney expected to set a new September heat record.

There were 63 grass and bushland fires burning along the New South Wales coast on Wednesday morning including 12 that were uncontained.

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‘Worst risk since black summer’: schools closed as early heatwave hits south-east Australia

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Residents warned to be prepared on Tuesday as weather bureau predicts Wednesday could be even hotter with extreme fire danger

Soaring temperatures across parts of south-east Australia have resulted in high and extreme fire danger and the closure of more than 20 schools in New South Wales.

Total fire bans were declared for the NSW south coast and greater Sydney region on Tuesday with temperatures forecast to reach 34C in the city. There were 61 fires burning across the state at 9am with 12 yet to be contained.

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Sydney wakes to blanket of burn-off smoke that could linger for days

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Air quality measures at Randwick were ‘very poor’ according to the official gauge, with residents advised to stay indoors

Sydney awoke to a blanket of smoke over parts of the city on Monday from hazard reduction burns at the weekend.

Air quality degraded to “very poor” conditions in Sydney’s east, with residents urged to remain indoors and keep their windows and doors closed until conditions improved.

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NT bushfire covers Alice Springs in smoke and shuts Stuart Highway for several hours

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Emergency services recommend people with asthma and breathing ailments stay inside as reported hazard reduction burn gets out of control

Smoke blanketed Alice Springs and the Stuart Highway was closed to traffic for several hours on Sunday after what was reported to be a planned fuel reduction burn in Tjoritja West MacDonnell national park got out of control.

Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services (PFES) said on Sunday morning the fire was not contained on one or more fronts. The fire incident map for the area showed three separate blazes with two under control around Simpsons North and Larapinta.

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Black summer bushfires may have caused rare ‘triple dip’ La Niña, study suggests

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Smoke aerosols from the fires interacted with clouds to cool the south-eastern Pacific, helping the wet weather pattern to form

Smoke from Australia’s 2019-20 black summer fires may have resulted in the rare “triple dip” La Niña that lasted from 2020 to 2022, research suggests.

Modelling from scientists at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research has found that smoke aerosols from the bushfires interacted with clouds to cool surface waters over the south-eastern subtropical Pacific Ocean.

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‘Unique’ frogs in NSW rainforests feared locally extinct after black summer bushfires

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Pugh’s mountain frog, which has been ‘evolving since Australia was connected to Antarctica’ was worst affected of nine threatened species, researchers say

Several frog species are feared to be locally extinct in parts of New South Wales after the black summer bushfires, a survey of amphibian populations has found.

Scientists conducted a survey of 411 sites in north-east and south-east NSW, monitoring 35 frog species for 18 months after the 2019-2020 bushfire season.

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NSW swelters in record heat as firefighters battle blazes

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Wagga Wagga experiences its hottest March weather yet, breaking a previous high set in 1983

Inland New South Wales sweltered through record-breaking March temperatures on Sunday as fires burned across the state.

While inner Sydney remained relatively cool – the mercury peaked at 28.9C, thanks to a sea breeze – the state’s western districts scorched, with temperatures above 42C in Bourke, Cobar and Brewarrina.

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Queensland mother whose son took his life calls for change at robodebt royal commission – As it happened

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Inquiry into the unlawful scheme, which ran from 2015 to 2019, is ongoing. This blog is now closed

Final robodebt hearing shines light on people affected

A Centrelink employee and a customer impacted by the illegal robodebt scheme will be the final two witnesses appearing at the royal commission’s public hearings, AAP reports.

The international standard now in the OECD area is beyond 52 weeks. It’s great we’re moving to 26 but we are not going fast enough, doing what other countries are doing. We have slipped down the international rankings on paid parental leave.

It’s very important that we give the support to parents when a new baby arrives so they can share the leave, they can begin life with a new child, give that child the best shot and alongside that, of course, we need quality, early childhood education and care which we in the Greens think should be free, just like primary school.

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