Canadian PM to address parliament in March
Following his widely praised speech to Davos last week, the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, will address the Australian parliament.
Anthony Albanese told ABC’s Insiders that Carney will be visiting in March.
He said Carney’s speech – which called for middle powers to adapt to a new world order – was consistent with what he told the UN last year.
We do have a shift in the way the international politics is being played with a greater engagement from middle powers … We need greater cooperation …
That’s why I’ve engaged with Canadian prime minister. But [engaging with] others as well in our region is so important. Australia can play a really important role, given our role as a Commonwealth nation: we’re a member of Apec, we’re a partner with Asean, we’re an important leader in the Pacific Island Forum.
All of this means when you look at the global architecture, the role that we can play in our own region and around the world is of a stabilising force at a time where quite frankly there is a lot of turbulence and turmoil in the world.
Key events
Penry Buckley
After four shark attacks in New South Wales in less than 48 hours, authorities on Tuesday urged beachgoers to “just go to a local pool instead”.
Sydneysiders have heard similar warnings before – in the past, they’ve been issued for beaches polluted with faecal matter after heavy rains.
The city’s unique, outdated sewage management system has been linked to “debris balls” which have been washing up with increased frequency on Sydney beaches, including again last week at Malabar.
Experts also say dirty waters can attract more sharks, as the nutrients attract plankton, which in turn attract the fish sharks feed on.
So is there any link between Sydney’s sewerage system and the “unprecedented” number of shark attacks in a short space of time? Here’s what experts say.
Two arrests at Launceston Foo Fighters concert
Tasmania police say while the vast majority of the 26,000 attenders at a Foo Fighters concert in Launceston on Saturday night were respectful, there were two arrests.
Police said the crowd was patient entering and exiting the event, but there were a small number of public order incidents, with 10 people removed from the venue, five small disturbances, and two arrests for assault.
Police undertook wand searches, and no weapons were detected at the event.
Smoke to remain in metro Melbourne for Sunday
Finally, on air quality in Victoria, BoM’s Diane Eadie said smoke will remain in Melbourne’s air on Sunday but there should be some improvement. However, she said areas to the north like Ballarat will see smoke persist throughout today before clearing tomorrow.
Depending on the Otway fire, the smoke conditions could return on Wednesday, she said.
Victorian fires could escape as heatwave continues
Chris Hardman, the chief fire officer at Forest Fire Management Victoria, said the highest priority fire at the moment is the Carlisle River fire near Gellibrand in the state’s west.
He said the fire broke containment lines at 6pm on Saturday and moved towards Gellibrand. Hardman said it would continue to threaten communities around Gellibrand and further to the north.
Fires in the current conditions are highly dynamic and things can change dramatically. We have seen in this fire season all too often that fire behaviour can change associated with plumes and unstable atmosphere. The weather conditions are reasonable for fire fighters to do some fantastic work on that fire today, but really keen that people understand that the heating that will be with us on Tuesday will again cause that fire to move potentially rapidly as a result of the change conditions.
He said the Walwa Mount Lawson fire is over 100,000 hectares, and firefighters have worked to contain the fire on the southern boundary, but with hot temperatures remaining, it will be challenging for firefighters to hold it within containment lines.
It could escape as early as later today or early tomorrow and move south, he said.
Although there is no large communities at risk, this is one to watch in the weeks ahead, and we ask community members to stay informed. If you’re in the vicinity of that fire, that fire will potentially move into Gippsland in the days ahead.
He said a Wonnangatta Dargo fire could also challenge firefighters in the days ahead, but currently there is no elevated risk to the community.
For Mallacoota residents, the Lake Barracuda fire will be visible and they will see smoke. But firefighters were working hard to contain that fire and there was no immediate threat to communities, he said.
Victoria facing most significant heatwave since 2009, authorities say
Turning back to the emergency services press conference in Victoria, Dale Armstrong from Ambulance Victoria said Victoria over the next week is facing its most significant heatwave since 2009, and pleaded with people to not leave children in cars, following nearly a dozen call outs on Saturday.
And I want to be really clear hot cars can kill. Yesterday, Ambulance Victoria responded to 11 cases of children in cars. This is an extraordinary number for us.
The temperature inside a car can double and become deadly within minutes, even on a mild summer days, an inside a car can be up to 20 to 30 degrees hotter than the ambient temperature outside.
He said never to assume a quick stop is safe. He said Victorians also need to be cautious and prevent heatstroke, particularly elderly, young and pregnant people, and those with medical conditions.
Heat causes illness such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke and tragically, heatstroke is up to 80% fatality if it occurs. Heatstroke is a medical emergency and if it happens, when the body overheats it can no longer cool itself. If someone is experiencing symptoms such as confusion, seizures, collapse, loss of consciousness, call triple zero immediately and it’s important to understand heatwaves are a very busy time for ambulance.
He said people should remain hydrated, and avoid alcohol if possible.
Police report unconfirmed sighting of triple murder suspect in NSW central west
Nino Bucci
NSW police say a sighting of Julian Ingram, who is suspected of murdering three people in remote NSW, has been reported about 70km north of where the shootings occurred.
The unconfirmed sighting was made early on Sunday morning at Mount Hope in the NSW central west.
Ingram, 37, is suspected of shooting dead his former partner, her new boyfriend, and her aunt on Thursday afternoon in Lake Cargelligo, before fleeing the town.
The reported sighting is the first since the shooting, and has resulted in police deploying en masse to the vast region.
‘Record breaking’ temperatures expected in Victoria this week
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Diana Eadie is giving an update on the weather in Victoria amid a heatwave and a fire in the west of the state.
She said while there have been cooler temperatures south of the ranges in the state today, it remains very hot in the north, with extreme fire dangers for parts of the north-east today.
Tuesday will be the next big day of concern, she said.
We’re also forecasting potentially record breaking temperatures, particularly in western parts of the state. Hopetoun and Walpeup both forecasting 48C on Tuesday.
We could potentially see an all-time record for those two locations elsewhere in the state, Hamilton 46C, Horsham forecast to be 47C and Mildura a forecast temperature of 48C.
Eadie said Melbourne would reach 43 degrees on Tuesday, with a cool change that will arrive at around 10pm.
There will be extreme fire dangers for the south-west on Tuesday, and potential extreme fire dangers into Wednesday, despite the cool change.
Smoke could also return to metropolitan areas during the week depending on the fire situation.
WA residents brace for heavy rain as Luana heads inland
Tropical Cyclone Luana is running out of steam after making landfall, but West Australian residents in its path face damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall as the system tracks inland, AAP reports.
The system, expected to be downgraded to a tropical low on Sunday morning, is packing winds gusts of up to 95km/h and heavy rain across the north-west Kimberley district, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
The area between Broome and Cockatoo Island, including Derby, was expected to bear the brunt of the cyclone as it tracked south-east.
BoM said:
Tides will be higher than normal between Beagle Bay and Kuri Bay and large waves may produce minor flooding of low-lying coastal areas
Wind and rain impacts are continuing near the system centre, predominantly on the southern side of the system.
A cyclone watch and act alert was previously issued for an area from Coulomb Point nature reserve to Cape Leveque, both on the Dampier peninsula, with residents and visitors told to shelter indoors.
Bureau forecaster Jonathan How said heavy rain leading to flash flooding was possible.
This may cause roads to become flooded and communities to be isolated.
Ben Smee
Science teachers from Queensland Open Brethren schools told to teach students about vegetarian dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark
Teachers employed by a large group of Queensland Christian schools were told to teach creationism in science classes, including that vegetarian baby dinosaurs would have been taken aboard Noah’s Ark.
Last year, the Open Brethren organisation Christian Community Ministries (CCM) hosted a Christian science conference by the US-based fundamentalist group Answers in Genesis, which once built a replica of Noah’s Ark – with model dinosaurs included.
Some Queensland science and humanities teachers working at CCM – which operates 15 schools around Australia – were told it was compulsory to attend the event.
Julian Leeser says Sussan Ley has his ‘unequivocal support’
Liberal frontbencher and moderate Julian Leeser declared Sussan Ley had his “unequivocal support”, amid suggestions there could be a leadership spill in the coming weeks.
AAP reports Leeser told Sky News:
During this period where Australia has been in a period of national crisis, she has shown the leadership that the prime minister has failed to do.
Asked if Andrew Hastie, who has publicly spoken about his leadership ambitions, would be effective at countering rising support for One Nation, Leeser replied: “Sussan Ley is our leader and Sussan Ley is the person that I support in that role.”
Liberal sources have spoken of internal anger towards the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, for having blown up the political alliance on Thursday, which is being viewed as an act of intervention in the senior coalition party.
Littleproud has repeatedly denied he demanded Ley resign in a phone call during the week.
Littleproud said the three Nationals senators who resigned from the shadow cabinet after voting against Labor’s hate speech laws needed to be reinstated before the parties could reconcile.
That’s the threshold question that our party room took. That’s the threshold question that was given to Sussan, she wasn’t prepared to accept it.
By voting against Labor’s laws, an agreed position, the three senators broke the convention of shadow cabinet solidarity, triggering their resignations – which were accepted by Ley.
Measles alert issued for Sydney
Two new cases of measles have been confirmed in Sydney, leading to NSW health advising people to be alert for symptoms.
One case acquired locally from a known case earlier this month, and the other case recently returned from south-east Asia.
There are now four cases in the past week, and 13 cases since 1 December last year.
The health department has released a list of exposure locations.
Dr Leena Gupta, director of Sydney Local Health District’s Public Health Unit said people should monitor for symptoms of measles and check the list of locations:
If symptoms develop and you’ve been at one of the locations at the time listed on the website, see your doctor or health service, including an emergency department. Call ahead to let them know that you may have come into contact with measles so you don’t spend time in waiting rooms with other patients.
Symptoms to watch out for include fever, runny nose, sore eyes and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head to the rest of the body.
NSW govt puts $4.2m into safety measures after shark attacks
After a spate of shark attacks in Sydney, the NSW government has announced $4.2m for research, real-time tracking and drone surveillance to monitor sharks.
The government said the research and monitoring will build a clearer picture of where bull sharks are, how they move, and when risks are higher.
Surf Life Saving NSW shark surveillance drone coverage will be increased with 30 additional beaches added from this weekend, with 19 new locations in Sydney and 11 regional beaches.
Drones will operate seven days a week until the end of the April school holidays.
The research will include tagging and monitoring of sharks, and there will be shark listening stations installed in Sydney Harbour.
Minister for agriculture, regional and western NSW, Tara Moriarty, said:
Recent shark incidents following storms and heavy rainfall have highlighted the importance of clear, practical information for people using the water.
This funding will help expand drone surveillance, improve education and ensure timely warnings, so swimmers and surfers can make informed decisions about when to enter the water.
There’s no single solution, and no government can ever promise to make the water completely safe, which is why we’re using a range of tools to keep people informed and as safe as possible.
Read more on what might be behind the attacks:
Air quality warning issued as smoke haze hangs over Melbourne
An air quality warning has been issued for Melbourne and surrounding areas, as smoke from the fire at Carlisle River has drifted to Melbourne, and may linger for the next few hours.
Victoria’s emergency agency has warned smoke may aggravate heart and lung conditions, cause irritated eyes, coughing and wheezing.
People sensitive to smoke are advised to limit prolonged or heavy physical activity, and where possible, stay indoors.
