Bushfire in Adelaide Hills; PM says ‘we’ve got the balance right’ on climate policy changes – as it happened

Firefighters prepared for a long night battling an out-of-control blaze near Montacute in the Adelaide Hills. This blog is now closed

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has responded to the admission of the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, that he wore a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party.

At a press conference just finished in Townsville, Albanese said had been in PNG but had seen the statements from the NSW premier.

I have observed his statements. That’s a matter for him, and then for others who’ll make judgments based upon the premier’s explanation.

These banknotes were sent to our Majura Forensic Facility to undergo specialist fingerprint development in a purpose built machine.

This is an extremely powerful and sensitive process where precious metals such as gold can actually enhance the fingerprints of individuals that have touched the exhibits, such as banknotes.

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Knives out: a raucous party, a Nazi uniform and a Liberal Party mystery

While questions remain after Dominic Perrottet’s Nazi uniform admission, the internal anger at the premier is real and multifaceted

It’s the biggest mystery in New South Wales politics: who was behind the rumours of a damaging photograph of Dominic Perrottet that began circulating in the weeks before he revealed that he wore a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday party?

When it comes to uncovering the culprit, one Liberal party source said: “It’s a bit like that movie Knives Out – there are about 20 people who it could’ve been and they all had a motive.”

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Doctor temporarily banned over thousands of potentially ‘incomplete’ colonoscopies in Albury-Wodonga

Almost 2,000 patients of surgeon told by health authorities they may need to have procedures repeated to ensure they do not have cancer after an investigation by regulators

A surgeon who performed hundreds of potentially “incomplete” colonoscopies in the Albury-Wodonga region has been temporarily banned from practising medicine.

Dr Liu-Ming Schmidt will remain registered as a GP and specialist surgeon in Australia, but cannot perform any medical procedures or treat patients according to conditions imposed on Friday.

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Why now? Inside Dominic Perrottet’s plea for voters’ forgiveness over his Nazi outfit

Analysis: Someone in the NSW premier’s own corner seems determined that he should pay for his 21st birthday mistake

In his maiden speech to parliament 11 years ago, the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, shared an anecdote from his childhood, in which he explained his “love of politics” began from a young age.

In the speech, Perrottet said that from the age of 10 he and his siblings were “required to present an article on current affairs to the family” at the dinner table.

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New federal court rules over access to documents branded ‘utterly disgraceful’ – as it happened

Court moves to protect respondents from early reporting of allegations but media union criticises decision. This blog is now closed

Chalmers finds it ‘hard to believe’ someone at 21 wouldn’t know Nazi fancy dress was unacceptable

Hamish McDonald asks Chalmers about the news on Perrottet’s decision to wear a Nazi uniform at his 21st birthday party.

My view about this is that we want the state of New South Wales and we want Australia to be more inclusive and more tolerant. And when something like this comes out, that’s obviously a challenge for that. People in New South Wales will have an opportunity to express their view in March on a more inclusive and more tolerant state of New South Wales in the same way that people had that opportunity nationally in May.

Do you think that it’s possible that someone didn’t know [it was offensive] was even at the age of 21?

I find that hard to believe. I think it’s a particularly hurtful thing to have done, particularly for people who remember the war; obviously the Jewish community and others will be deeply hurt by, deeply offended by that, and for good reason, and I think the ultimate judge of this will be the people of New South Wales.

The lost economic activity doesn’t really begin to capture the full human cost [to the] community and the full cost to infrastructure and assets and communities more broadly.

We’ve put that number out there, really just as a reminder that even though we are largely focused on the human cost of these natural disasters, there is a cost to the economy as well and the cost to the budget.

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Flood-hit Murray River caravan parks miss out on vital holiday tourism as clean-up continues

Piles of rubbish fill the space normally taken by summer visitors, with businesses facing the loss of a season’s earnings

Caravan parks and more than 100 national parks remain closed across New South Wales and Victoria after widespread flooding damaged infrastructure, filled waterholes with debris and made some areas unsafe for swimming.

The summer holidays would usually be the busiest time of year for the McLean Beach holiday park in Deniliquin, in the NSW Riverina region.

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Carp spawning event fills Murray-Darling flood waters with masses of flailing fish

Experts say while boom in invasive species is not good news for some native fish, there will be winners – including water birds

In creeks, rivers and flood waters across the Murray-Darling Basin, an uncountable and unfathomable number of invasive carp are turning waters into bubbling masses of flapping and flailing fish.

“It’s quite a sight,” said Dr Matt Herring, an environment consultant. “I walked through one of the schools of carp a few days ago and it’s the first time I’ve trodden on fish with every step.”

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News live updates: Albanese flags Australian interest in Papua New Guinea hydro and hydrogen; NSW and Victoria rule out Pell state funeral

Victorian premier says there will not be a state service for cardinal, out of respect for victim-survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. Follow live

Visa processing problems in spotlight

Pat Conroy acknowledged ongoing visa processing issues and said the government was “hopeful that we can get a resolution on that issue”:

People in Papua New Guinea are also very keen on our Pacific engagement visa, which is about creating 3,000 permanent migration spots each year into Australia … and there’s also lots of interest in Papua New Guineans working, studying in Australia as well.

His message around democracies is that [it is] incumbent upon politicians in both countries [to] defend democracy and we defend democracy by demonstrating it’s the best system to deliver actual benefits for the people that we govern. So that’s about investing in stronger health outcomes, lifting stronger economic outcomes.

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Daniel Andrews ‘couldn’t think of anything more distressing’ for victims than a state funeral for George Pell

Victorian premier says those abused ‘at the hands of the Catholic church’ are foremost in his thoughts

Two Australian state governments will not offer taxpayer-funded public funerals for Cardinal George Pell, with the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, saying his decision was made out of respect for victims of institutional child sexual abuse.

The nation’s most senior Catholic, who was a former archbishop of both Melbourne and Sydney, died on Wednesday morning (AEDT) from heart complications arising from hip replacement surgery in Rome. He was 81.

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Two drivers hit with nails allegedly shot from passing truck on NSW highway

Nineteen-year-old man charged after drivers on M1 at Ourimbah and Somersby reported nail gun shots from white Mitsubishi

Two drivers have been hit with nails shot from a passing truck on a New South Wales highway, police say.

One man, 52, was heading north on the M1 near Ourimbah on Monday afternoon when he felt something hit his head, causing him to lose control of his car briefly.

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Competing NSW housing policies could put ‘inflationary’ pressure on prices, economists warn

Experts say Labor’s stamp duty exemptions and Coalition’s land tax policy will likely benefit sellers most

The much-vaunted housing relief packages proposed by Labor and the Coalition in New South Wales are both “much ado about nothing”, experts say, warning they are likely to put upward pressure on prices as Sydney’s over-heated property market begins to cool.

Labor fired the starter’s gun on state election season on Monday, putting a plan to increase stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers facing cost-of-living pressures in western Sydney at the centre of its bid to win government after a decade in opposition.

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Not a day to celebrate: Wollongong university staff given option to work on Australia Day holiday

Vice-chancellor says 26 January is seen as Invasion Day by First Nations colleagues and we should ‘be clear about what we’re celebrating’

The University of Wollongong (UOW) is giving staff the option to work through the 26 January holiday, making it the latest employer to offer the policy in a show of solidarity with First Nations people.

The university announced on Monday that it would offer all fixed-term and permanent employees the flexibility to work rather than taking the day as a public holiday, citing the painful associations it may have for Indigenous communities.

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Woman drowns at Gordons Bay in Sydney as surfer dies at Jervis Bay on NSW south coast

Two deaths on Monday come amid a deadly summer in the water across Australia

A woman has drowned while swimming at Gordons Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, while a man in his 60s died while surfing on the New South Wales south coast on Monday.

It has been a deadly summer in the water around Australia. At least 30 people have drowned across the country this summer, according to Royal Life Saving Australia’s national drowning toll.

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NSW Labor counters Perrottet’s land tax with vow to scrap stamp duty for some first home buyers

Properties worth up to $800,000 will incur no tax and a concession rate will apply to those up to $1m if opposition wins election, Chris Minns says

New South Wales Labor has pledged to eliminate stamp duty for first home buyers purchasing properties worth up to $800,000 if it wins the March state election, in a bid to counter the Perrottet government’s recent tax reforms.

Labor’s proposal, announced on Monday, would also apply a concession rate to homebuyers paying between $800,000 and $1m for their first property.

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Australia live news update: fifth child airlifted to hospital with irukandji jellyfish sting; Albanese and Dutton trade insults over Indigenous voice

Federal opposition leader wants Labor to legislate its preferred model before referendum is held this year. This blog is now closed

I’m genuinely interested in advancing the cause of reconciliation’

Peter Dutton is asked about whether the prime minister has been given a copy of his letter – Anthony Albanese has said he has not received it – and Dutton says a copy has been provided to the prime minister’s office and he expects “he will respond in due course”.

I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Certainly not racist. It’s not being opposed to reconciliation. It’s all about, frankly, just being informed about what it is they’re being asked to vote on. I don’t think that is unreasonable to ask the prime minister to provide that.

I’ve met with the prime minister and I’m grateful for the meetings that we’ve had and he knows that I’m genuinely interested in advancing the cause of reconciliation.

I’m speaking of millions of Australians, we’re asking you the reasonable questions.

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NSW government to ‘review’ proposal to make judges consider needs of children when carers seek bail

Bipartisan recommendation that would bring Australia in line with UN standards and is backed by advocates ‘noted’, but not supported

The New South Wales government says it will “review” a bipartisan recommendation to force judges to consider whether refusing bail to a parent accused of a crime would harm their children.

A NSW parliamentary inquiry last year called for the attorney general to change the law and “mandate” judges and magistrates to consider “parenting and caregiving responsibilities” when making bail decisions.

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NSW minister questions cashless poker machine proposal backed by Dominic Perrottet

David Elliott says Nationals MPs also ‘sceptical’ and warns against ‘demonising one sort of gambling’

Dominic Perrottet is facing pushback from within his own ministerial ranks over his support for a cashless gambling card on poker machines in New South Wales after his transport minister, David Elliott, questioned whether the policy would work.

While admitting Nationals colleagues were “very sceptical” about the proposal, Elliott said he had cautioned the premier against “demonising one sort of gambling” in poker machines.

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NSW woman Mariam Raad granted bail after being charged with entering Islamic State territory

Raad, who was repatriated from Syria to Australia in 2022, was forced to surrender her passport and will appear at court again in March

A New South Wales woman who was repatriated to Australia from a Syrian refugee camp has been granted bail after being charged with entering and remaining in parts of Syria that were under Islamic State control.

Mariam Raad, 31, was arrested on Thursday in Young, in the state’s southwest, where she had been living since being returned in October.

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Lifesavers rescue 1,200 over holiday period in Australia – as it happened

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‘Challenging night’ for WA fire crews in south-west

Earlier today, Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Peter Thomas said it had been a “challenging night” for fire crews in the south-west, as bushfires threaten the region.

So our volunteers from the Donnybrook area across the south-west [who have] come to deal with this incident.

We’ve had some strong winds that have been coming consistently from the east, but been fairly strong and making it challenging for our crews.

When we allow sportspeople from Russia to participate in the Australian Open, we do exactly what Putin wants.

It doesn’t matter what flag Russian Federation players compete under. It has Ukrainian blood on it.

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State premiers united in pushing for Medicare overhaul, Dominic Perrottet says

NSW leader says counterparts will back moves to fix national health system, after raising issues with access to bulk-billing GPs

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, believes all state and territory leaders will be united in pressuring the federal government to overhaul Medicare and healthcare services through national cabinet.

Dominic Perrottet and his Victorian counterpart, Daniel Andrews, came out in agreement this week on calling for better integration between primary care and public health systems across the country.

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