What we learned: Tuesday, 13 January
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. We’ll be back first thing tomorrow, take care of yourselves.
Until then, these were today’s biggest news headlines:
Adelaide writers’ week 2026 will no longer go ahead as scheduled. All remaining members of the board stepped down today, with the exception of the representative from Adelaide city council, whose term expires on 2 February. Just hours after the announcement, the South Australian government appointed a new board.
It came after the festival’s director, Louise Adler, announced her resignation earlier today over the board’s decision to disinvite Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, the writer at the centre of the storm around this year’s Adelaide writers’ week.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says a visit to Australia by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, is an important sign of the strength of ties between the two countries in the wake of the Bondi beach shootings.
The NSW shadow attorney general, Damien Tudehope, has accused the state government of using an inquiry into banning phrases including “globalise the intifada” as a “law-making exercise” without public transparency.
Kevin Rudd will step down from his role as Australian ambassador to the US at the end of March.
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said the Bureau of Meteorology left residents “sitting ducks” in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji due to a lack of investment in rain gauges and called for improvements to its radar systems.
A woman who was evacuated from her home just two days ago due to the bushfires in Victoria was among the 129 climate action protesters who faced court in Newcastle earlier today for their alleged role in disrupting the country’s biggest coal port last year.
A teenager in NSW was charged after allegedly making multiple hoax reports to emergency services – a practice known as “swatting” – falsely claiming mass shootings were taking place at major retail and educational institutions in the US.
Updated
New Adelaide festival board and chair appointed
The South Australian government has announced a new board and chair to lead the Adelaide festival, just hours after the 2026 Adelaide writers’ week was cancelled and the board announced all but one member would step down.
It came after days of turmoil, after more than 180 authors and speakers dropped out in protest of the decision to disinvite the Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah.
Andrea Michaels, the South Australian minister for arts, said in a statement that the board would now be led by Judy Potter, who led the Adelaide Festival Corporation board for eight years from 2016 to 2023.
The statement said:
[Judy Potter] will be joined on the board by respected and experienced arts executive and board representative Rob Brookman AM.
Mr Brookman has led a number of Australia’s foremost arts organisations and festivals including the Adelaide Festival where he has served as Administrator, Associate Director and Executive Director, and the Adelaide Festival Centre, where he has worked as Programming Director, Producer and Artistic Director.
Respected media identity Ms Jane Doyle OAM will serve on the Board. She has a strong commitment and experience in the arts industry and is a member of the State Opera Board.
John Irving AM has also been appointed. He has a professional accounting and financial services background, commercial and legal knowledge and business experience, and has held positions on multiple government and private sector boards, including the State Theatre Company South Australia and State Opera.
Michaels said:
The Adelaide Festival is a treasured institution.
It belongs to the people of South Australia, and transcends any individual.
It is vital we safeguard the festival for the future, which is why today I have appointed a board of experienced and trusted South Australians to ensure the 2026 Adelaide Festival can proceed under new leadership.
Potter said:
I feel privileged to be invited to step back in as Chair of the Adelaide Festival Board and to use my expertise and experience to ensure the successful delivery of the 2026 Adelaide Festival.
Updated
Jazz musician remembered as ‘powerful woman and creator’
Velvet Pesu is being remembered as a creative and caring human being, a champion of the multicultural community, the homeless and jazz music.
“The Australian arts community will dearly miss Velvet Pesu,” said former collaborator Michelle Brown.
Pesu often performed at the Woodford Folk Festival, in special projects including sunrise ceremonies and pond creations.
Festival managing director and co-founder Amanda Jackes said she was “a powerful woman and creator who welcomed and supported artists from all over the world” who had long been part of the fabric of Woodford.
Pesu was also a director of a homelessness charity and would often sing for and help feed the homeless in Brisbane.
Queensland police have appealed to the public for dashcam footage of any vehicles travelling east along Acton Street, towards Waterford-Tamborine Road, at Buccan between 7.30pm on Saturday and 2.30pm on Sunday.
Updated
Brisbane musician’s death under investigation
Queensland police are investigating the death of prominent Brisbane jazz musician Velvet Pesu.
The 46-year-old well-known visual artist and musician had performed across south-east Queensland for 20 years.
Queensland police said her body was discovered at a Buccan property, in Logan, on Monday morning.
Wael Abdallah Saleem Alfar, a 36-year-old man, was arrested in New South Wales in relation to traffic offence charges at about 3pm on Monday. He is understood to be a person she was a carer for.
He allegedly failed to stop for police at Coffs Harbour before leading officers on a high-speed pursuit through Valla and Nambucca Heads, then Macksville, Warrell Creek and Eungai Creek before being stopped near Yarrahapinni, after the car crashed into a culvert.
He appeared in court on Monday charged with not stopping for a police pursuit, driving dangerously and driving while licence was suspended.
A spokesperson for the Queensland police service said:
QPS investigators have travelled to NSW today to speak with the man in relation to the 46-year-old woman’s death.
Police are awaiting results of a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of the woman’s death.Investigations remain ongoing.
Updated
Media told to leave, as WA police respond to ‘active armed offender’ in Pinjarra
Western Australia police have put out a statement saying they have advised media crews to vacate the police cordon in Pinjarra, where police are responding to reports a man is armed with a gun.
Police said:
At this stage, police are treating this as a real, active armed offender incident and news crews have been asked to vacate the area inside the cordon for their own safety.
The responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of those crews who remain within the cordon now sits with chiefs of staff, news directors and editors.
Updated
‘Offensive weapon’: woman sentenced for crepe attack
A woman who slammed a cream crepe into the face of a chief minister has been given a 12-month suspended jail sentence for aggravated assault.
Suzanne Lee Milgate was found guilty in December after being filmed hitting the then-chief minister of the Northern Territory, Natasha Fyles, with the thin pastry at Darwin’s Nightcliff markets in September 2023.
Sentencing Milgate in Darwin local court on Tuesday, Judge Julie Franz ruled the crepe was an “offensive weapon” that had caused injury to Fyles, who was left with bruising around her eye.
Milgate described the crepe incident as an act of “protest” against Covid-19 vaccine mandates by Fyles.
She told the court during her trial her husband had suffered a stroke in January 2020 and required an operation, but could not get a vaccine exemption.
– AAP
Updated
Proposed hate speech laws go ‘far beyond what’s required’, peak bodies say
The peak civil liberty organisations in Victoria, Queensland and NSW have released a joint statement accusing the federal government of going “far beyond what’s required to address the horrific events at Bondi” in broad proposed hate speech laws.
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Liberty Victoria and Queensland Council for Civil Liberties condemned the combatting antisemitism, hate and extremism bill due to its “remarkable impact on human rights and civil liberties, and because there is no evidence that it will make any of us safer”.
The groups said:
Amongst other things, the bill would create a new framework for “prohibited hate groups”. This would grant the home affairs minister extraordinary powers to designate organisations as “hate groups”, which would effectively make it illegal to be a member of or associated with that organisation. The bill is also clear that the minister “is not required to observe any requirements of procedural fairness” in making this decision. This gives the minister an extraordinary discretion along with a remarkable lack of accountability.
Many measures in the bill go far beyond what’s required to address the horrific events at Bondi.
Timothy Roberts, the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, said:
The Federal Government is not undertaking this Inquiry in good faith. Two days for submissions on legislation that potentially cuts across our democratic rights is absurd.
We do not get to social cohesion with a government playing fast and loose with the community’s freedom of speech, association, and religion. The Prime Minister cannot legislate his way towards cohesion.
Updated
Rising Tide protestor faces court, days after evacuating home due to Victorian bushfires
A woman who was evacuated from her home just two days ago due to the bushfires in Victoria was among the 129 climate action protesters who faced court in Newcastle earlier today for their alleged role in disrupting the country’s biggest coal port last year.
The 129 people were charged last November during a six-day long protest organised by Rising Tide calling for more climate action, and which an estimated 8,000 people attended.
The 129 people were charged under the Marine Safety Act and other anti-protest laws for allegedly blocking the Port of Newcastle. They faced court for the first time today, and had their matters adjourned to February.
Anna Hedigan, a Victorian who was among the 129 people who appeared in court today, said:
I protested at the Newcastle coal port last November because this government must stop approving coal and gas, and pay for transition by taxing the companies that put profit above all else.
We are already feeling the impacts of the climate crisis. On Friday, I evacuated my home in Chewton as devastating bushfires swept through Victoria, while my partner fought that fire for two days.
Hedigan criticised the prime minister, Anthony Albanese – who visited the fire-affected regions on Friday and announced emergency relief funding – for his government’s approval of new gas and coal projects.
She said:
To continue to open new coal and gas projects, is like the prime minister and his government are standing at the end of every street in Australia with a jerry can of petrol. It is unbelievably irresponsible.
Updated
BoM left Queenslanders ‘sitting ducks’, says premier
Crisafulli said the Bureau of Meteorology left residents “sitting ducks” due to a lack of investment in rain gauges and called for improvements to its radar systems.
He said there aren’t gauges “in large parts of that countryside”:
This is me not attacking the bureau. This is me saying to Canberra, get serious about investing in regional Queensland because information is life or death. They’re flying blind and as a result, large parts of this state have people who are sitting ducks and that’s not good enough. And you wouldn’t accept it in Sydney or Melbourne.
Residents in the affected areas complained that many of the bureau’s gauges were either offline or reporting incorrect flood levels on the bureau website during the flood.
Crisafulli said:
There is no world that says if there was a couple of streets in Sydney or Melbourne where they weren’t given information that could put them in harm’s way, that that wouldn’t be fixed by lunchtime, that’s the truth.
And all I’m asking is for an investment that hasn’t been there for a long period of time to begin to be rolled out.
Updated
Flood warnings for several Queensland rivers
Staying with Crisafulli’s update a short time ago on the floods in Queensland.
He said there are current flood warnings for a number of rivers, including the Diamantina, Herbert and Thompson rivers and moderate warnings for the Suttor, Fitzroy and Norman rivers. There are major warnings for the Georgina, Flinders, Connors-Isaac and Mackenzie rivers.
Crisafulli said that while rain has eased in the affected areas, there is “the real prospect of further rain in the days ahead”, falling on top of already full rain catchments.
The premier said that power had been returned to all but 1,000 of 23,000 homes.
Updated
More than 50,000 farm stock animals lost in Queensland: Crisafulli
The Queensland premier has said that the state has lost more than 50,000 farm stock animals in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji, and he fears that number “is only the beginning”.
Crisafulli said:
We’ve now gone past 50,000 stock losses from this event. I fear that is only the beginning. There are many people who haven’t had a chance to do that assessment and sadly, more animals will continue to perish. That’s going to have a massive impact economically on those communities that live and die by agriculture.
We have to do everything we can to keep every animal alive for the sake of the animal’s welfare, for the sake of the mental health of the person on the land, and for the sake of those communities that live and die on the agricultural success of those primary producers. And I commit to doing that.
Updated
David Crisafulli says full catchments may lead to ‘compounding problems’ as more rain forecast for Queensland
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, spoke a short time ago from Clermont, which has been impacted by heavy rains from ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji.
He said the rain had eased in the wake of the cyclone, but there was more rain forecasted in the coming days, adding that “rain in catchments that are already full will lead to disaster and we have to prepare for that”.
He said:
What worries me greatly is that many of these catchments are so full already, and the kind of small amounts of rain that they normally can handle will lead to some really compounding problems at a really difficult time.
My other fear is that in many cases they get blind-sided because they don’t get the information, because there aren’t the rain gauges in large parts of that countryside. And that leaves them as sitting ducks. And we’ve got to do everything we can to get them the information.
Updated
WA police respond to reports of an armed man in Pinjarra
Western Australia police are responding to reports a man is armed with a firearm in Pinjarra, which is south of Perth.
Police said in a statement:
Significant police resources are being deployed to the area.
Anyone in the vicinity is urged to follow the instructions of police in the area.
Further information will be provided as it comes to hand.
Updated
Hi there, I’ll now be with you until this evening.
That’s all from me. Jordyn Beazley will be your guide on the blog for the rest of the arvo. Take care.
Robust jobs market risks adding fuel to inflation fire
Employers are still adding thousands of new jobs, while annual wage growth eased slightly from 3.2% in November to 3.1% in December, according to Commonwealth Bank’s new monthly employment report.
About 23,000 jobs were added in December, which showed continued, but slower, hiring, CommBank said. Unemployment remained at 4.3%, with the labour market still considered tight.
The bank’s head of Australian economics, Belinda Allen, told AAP:
We’re up against our speed limits, and we continue to think the Reserve Bank will need to do some fine-tuning in 2026. Based on what they said in December, inflation is too high and we do think, based on the governor’s comments after that December board meeting, the hurdle to hike is probably lower than what we had anticipated.
Updated
Adelaide writers’ week can ‘no longer go ahead as scheduled’, festival board says
Adelaide writers’ week 2026 will no longer go ahead as scheduled, the Adelaide festival board said in a statement. All remaining members of the board will step down today, with the exception of the representative from Adelaide city council, whose term expires on 2 February.
“Many authors have since announced they will no longer appear at Adelaide Writers’ Week 2026 and it is the Adelaide Festival’s position that the event can no longer go ahead as scheduled for this year,” the board said.
The body, under intense scrutiny after withdrawing an invitation to Palestinian Australian academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, called the decision a “regrettable outcome”. The board said:
We recognise and deeply regret the distress this decision has caused to our audience, artists and writers, donors, corporate partners, the government and our own staff and people. We also apologise to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah for how the decision was represented and reiterate this is not about identity or dissent but rather a continuing rapid shift in the national discourse around the breadth of freedom of expression in our nation following Australia’s worst terror attack in history.
The board said the focus is now “on ensuring a successful Adelaide Festival proceeds in a way which safeguards the long and rich cultural legacy of our state but also protects the hardworking staff delivering this important event”.
Updated
Kevin Rudd’s resignation as US ambassador for Australia announced by PM – video
Kevin Rudd will step down as the Australian ambassador to the US at the end of March, Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday morning. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, praised Rudd for his work in Washington, saying it strengthened Australia’s economy and security.
Take a look:
Updated
Rare albino humpback whale seen off Australia’s east coast
A rare albino humpback whale was seen off the coast of Crescent Head, NSW, this weekend, according to the Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary.
The whale is thought to be Siale, a young female and one of just two of its kind ever confirmed on Australia’s east coast. She was born in Tonga in 2024 and hasn’t been seen since a sighting in November 2025.
The other whale is known as Migaloo, who hasn’t been seen since 2020.
The wildlife group urged the public to abide by a minimum 500-metre exclusion zone, which applies to all vessels, saying no one should try to approach or follow the whale. Any sightings should be reported to the sanctuary, the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia or the National Parks and Wildlife Services.
Updated
Fundraiser for Bondi Junction officer Amy Scott raises more than $350k
A fundraiser for detective inspector Amy Scott, the police officer who confronted and shot the perpetrator of the Bondi Junction stabbing attack, has raised more than $350,000 after news broke that she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.
The fundraising appeal, supported by NSW Police Legacy, notes the fees will go towards helping Scott deal with a “long uphill battle ahead to beat this insidious disease”.
This is a powerful reminder that even our strongest people are human, and this fundraiser has been created to ease the financial burden for Amy and her family during this incredibly challenging time.
The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, said in a statement “the generosity of our community is tremendous and a measure of the enormous regard in which Amy is held by the public of NSW”, adding:
Amy is the epitome of the brilliance of the NSW Police Force. Her bravery at Bondi Junction in 2024 is forever stamped in our minds. She put her life on the line and in doing so saved countless others.
Amy is supported by the entire NSW Police family who are rallying around her as she faces this challenging health battle.
Updated
SA premier still supports decision to disinvite Randa Abdel-Fattah
Speaking in Adelaide this afternoon, the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has said he still supports the Adelaide festival board’s decision to disinvite Randa Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide writers’ week, hours after its director, Louise Adler, announced her resignation in Guardian Australia.
Malinauskas said he has not spoken to Adler about her decision to program Abdel-Fattah.
“I have opened writers’ week. I’ve stood up for writers’ week, I’ve defended Louise Adler in the past,” he said.
He continued to deny he had influenced the board’s decision, saying:
What writers’ week does with this community is up to them. It’s their event. Their decisions. I can’t speak for the board. I can’t speak to the board.
If writers’ week seeks my views on things, and I certainly offered them, it’s up to them whether or not what decisions they make and they get held account for them accordingly.
Updated
Adelaide United says it is ‘extremely disappointed’ by Cavallo’s claims
Adelaide United responded this afternoon to Cavallo’s claims, saying it rejected the allegations while saying the club had always been committed to “fostering an inclusive environment”.
The club said in a statement:
The Club is extremely disappointed by the claims made and categorically rejects the allegations, including any suggestion that Adelaide United is homophobic. All on-field decisions relating to team selection are made solely on footballing grounds.
Adelaide United has always been committed to fostering an inclusive environment for players, staff and supporters and we remain proud of our ongoing work to promote inclusion across football.
Strengthening inclusivity must remain an ongoing focus for the game, and the Club looks forward to hosting the fourth annual Pride Cup this weekend against Melbourne Victory.
Josh Cavallo claims homophobia drove him out of Adelaide United
Josh Cavallo has accused his former A-League club Adelaide United of homophobia and blocking him from playing after he came out as gay in 2021.
The 26-year-old left the Reds last year and moved from Australia to England where he now plays non-league football. He signed with Stamford AFC in the Southern League Premier Division Central last month.
“Leaving the club had nothing to do with football,” the former Australian under-20 international posted on Instagram on Tuesday about his departure from Adelaide.
Decisions were made by people in power that blocked my opportunities, not because of my talent, but because of who I choose to love.
Cavallo said that during his time at the club, “it became clear that I wasn’t allowed on the pitch because of politics”.
Read more here:
Third person applies to join legal challenge against Victoria police’s stop and search powers
A third person has applied to join a legal challenge against Victoria police’s stop and search powers, after the case was expected to be dropped by the state in federal court on Monday.
Lawyers representing Victoria police were set to apply for a summary dismissal, after a six-month declaration allowing warrantless police stop and searches was revoked four months ahead of schedule on 9 January.
However, a third applicant, David Hack, an advocate for human rights who was searched by police in Melbourne’s CBD on 7 December while he was on the way to a Palestine rally, has applied to join the case in the lead up to Invasion Day on 26 January. Hack said:
I’m applying to join this case because I don’t think police should have these excessive powers and I don’t think that these powers should be able to be used to intimidate protesters and people like me who are speaking out.
I was searched by police for no reason under these powers while I was on my way to a Palestine rally in the city.
I think that these powers allowing police to stop and search and target anyone for no reason are a gross invasion of privacy.
The case was brought on by Invasion Day rally organiser Tarneen Onus Browne and environmental activist Benny Zable in early December, who have continued to challenge the laws, after Victoria police said they were considering a new declaration before 26 January.
Lawyers for Victoria police are now considering the submissions of the third applicant and are preparing for a two-day hearing on Thursday and Friday.
Updated
Flash flooding threat remains, but rain to ease across much of sodden Queensland
The risk of flash flooding will continue to threaten parts of Queensland throughout the week, but the widespread rain associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Kogi is forecast to dissipate further from today.
BoM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said high rainfall totals were more localised over the 24 hours to 9am Tuesday, with areas like Billaboo south of Clermont receiving a total of 218mm in that period.
Much of the rest of the region saw falls between 30mm to 130mm.
“Even though these may not be reaching rainfall records, they are significant because they are coming in on top of a very wet period of the last few days,” Bradbury said.
Clermont saw 203mm from the 24 hours to 9am Monday, while closer to the coast, the town of Eungella saw more than 400mm over two days on the weekend. Both towns are cut off – the latter possibly for months.
“What has changed is that, over the last couple of days, we’ve seen very widespread high rainfall totals,” Bradbury said. “Today those higher rainfall totals are likely to be more localised, more isolated, potentially driven by thunderstorms … I’d say widespread moderate falls, with locally heavy falls still possible.”
The forecaster said rain would continue to ease from tomorrow, but the week will remain wet with the chance of localised heavy falls and flash flooding.
Updated
Wong says visit from Israeli president a ‘good thing’
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says a visit to Australia by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, is an important sign of the strength of ties between the two countries in the wake of the Bondi Beach shootings.
Last week, a group of rank-and-file Labor party members urged the Albanese government to rescind its invitation for Herzog to travel to Australia, voicing outrage over his country’s military bombardment of Gaza.
The Labor Friends of Palestine group even said that if Herzog does come, he should be investigated over allegations implicating him in incitement of genocide.
But, speaking on Sky News on Tuesday morning, Wong said it was a “good thing” that Herzog is preparing to visit.
“Obviously that was a discussion that we had as part of the many discussions over the last month. I think it is a good thing for President Herzog to come to Australia,” she said.
It was put to me by members of the Jewish community [that] it was an important signal of the importance, for many of the Jewish community, of our relationship with Israel.
Updated
Kevin Rudd praised by Democrat congressman as ‘force of nature’
Influential US congressman Joe Courtney says the outgoing ambassador, Kevin Rudd, is “a force of nature”.
The Connecticut Democrat, the co-chair of the cross party Friends of Australia Caucus, issued a statement about Rudd’s decision to leave the role on 31 March. The pair have worked closely on the Aukus nuclear submarine agreement and other issues in the US-Australia alliance.
Courtney said:
From the day Ambassador Rudd arrived in Washington in March 2023, he has been a force of nature in terms of advancing one of the most complex legislative agendas for the nation of Australia in many decades.
Enactment by Congress of Aukus authorities in December 2023 required relentless interaction and presence on the Hill, with the White House, and the Department of Defense.
Overnight, Ambassador Rudd earned the respect of Members on both sides of the aisle because of his deep understanding of the Indo-Pacific region, the People’s Republic of China, and the critical importance of the U.S.-Australia alliance.
His input raised the stature of debate and deliberations above a highly polarised Congress, and in the years to come, this achievement will stand out as one of the keystones of the U.S.-Australia alliance. I wish Ambassador Rudd all the best.
Updated
Ninety homes destroyed in Longwood fire, Wiebusch says
Wiebusch said there has been a “significant jump” in homes lost in the Longwood fire over the past 24 hours, with 90 homes now assessed as being destroyed.
Wiebusch told reporters there have been many more homes and outbuildings lost across the affected region. He said:
We now know we’ve lost over 500 structures across Victoria and that’s an absolute tragic situation for many communities at this time. And our thoughts do go out to the communities being impacted by the fires.
He outlined the below losses during the press conference:
Ravenswood/Harcourt fire – 51 homes and three businesses and 23 outbuildings that have been destroyed.
Otways and Kennedy Creek fire – one structure was lost, and a range of other outbuildings are being assessed.
Grass Flat fire in Natimuk – 17 homes and 18 outbuildings and 40 power poles that have been affected.
Longwood fire – 90 homes have been destroyed and 243 outbuildings that have been destroyed or damaged.
Streatham fire – 15 homes and 39 outbuildings destroyed.
Walwa fire – four houses, 28km of fencing and over 10,000 hectares of plantation pine.
Mount Mercer fire – one house lost.
Updated
No more active warnings across Victoria, says emergency management commissioner
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner has said there is “good news” to now report after the devastating bushfire, with there now no more emergency warnings active across the state.
Tim Wiebusch, who spoke after the premier, said there were still 12 major fires burning across the Victorian landscape, but there are more “favourable conditions” today.
Wiebusch said:
With those easing conditions for the first time in a few days we no longer have a Total Fire Ban in place. But that doesn’t mean the risk is still not there in our environment.
Updated
Victorian premier announces more support for those affected by fire
Jacinta Allan has announced more support for fire-affected communities. Including:
An initial $10m allocated towards bushfire clean up.
$5m towards waiving fees at local landfills.
An emergency recovery hotline (1800 560 760) has been established today. This will provide support for those who cannot physically go to an emergency relief centre.
This builds on other support already announced, including grants of up to $52,250 for people affected by the fires who don’t have building and contents insurance.
Updated
Victorian premier urges fire-affected communities to stay informed of ongoing risks
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, is speaking now about the bushfire disaster in the state. She has urged fire-affected communities to remain aware of any ongoing risks.
She said:
I reiterate the importance of staying tuned to local conditions. Staying tuned to the [VicEmergency] app or local radio and if you are told to leave, please do so because it’s so incredibly important.
Allan has thanked the community and emergency services for their support throughout the disaster. She said:
Every single Victorian has been playing their role in protecting life and community and supporting our emergency services as well.
Updated
Abdel-Fattah rejects suggestions she made antisemitic comments in the past
On Tuesday, Randa Abdel-Fattah rejected any suggestion she had made antisemitic comments in the past.
Announcing their decision to disinvite her last week, the Adelaide festival board said that while it did not suggest “in any way” that Abdel-Fattah or her writings had any connection with the tragedy at Bondi, the decision was made “given her past statements”.
“I stand for the rights of all people,” she told ABC Radio Adelaide. “I stand for the principle that we are all equal, I stand for the rights of Jews, Palestinians, Muslims, everybody of every racial and religious group to live in.”
She said she stood by her past comment that Zionists had “no claim or right to cultural safety”, a comment that has been cited repeatedly in the media since the board’s decision was announced.
“I have never, ever called for Jews to be unsafe,” she told ABC Radio Adelaide, adding:
Zionism is not a racial or religious identity, it is a political ideology. It is as absurd as saying that communists have the right to cultural safety or Islamism or white supremacy or misogyny. I’m talking about the espousing of Zionist ideology. I have sat in rooms where people have said that ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is justified. I am entitled to say there should be no space for people to call for genocide.
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Abdel-Fattah says Louise Adler’s resignation from Adelaide writers’ week a ‘tragedy’
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, the writer at the centre of the storm around this year’s Adelaide writers’ week, has called today’s resignation of its director, Louise Adler, “a tragedy”.
Speaking on ABC Radio Adelaide this morning, Abdel-Fattah called Adler “one of the most incredible directors and icons in Australia’s cultural history”.
What we have now is Louise Adler, a Jewish woman, an anti-Zionist Jewish woman who has had to resign and step down from this festival … It really shows you that in this moment her identity as a Jewish woman has been erased, and this is an attack on me as a Palestinian and Louise Adler as an anti-Zionist Jewish woman.
“Solidarity with the brilliant Louise Adler,” Abdel-Fattah wrote earlier on social media. “I stand with her.”
You can read Adler’s piece announcing her resignation here:
Updated
Flood rescue teams deployed in Queensland overnight
Swift water rescue teams were deployed to the town of Clermont overnight after ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji dumped heavy rain across sodden catchments across swathes of central Queensland.
Two crews were called to two separate vehicles in the same vicinity just before 3am Tuesday, a Queensland fire department spokesperson said.
Two people were stranded atop a B-double truck while another was alone on their vehicle.
The rescuers worked until 6am, plucking the three people from the flood waters.
Earlier that night at around 8pm crews were called to another vehicle stuck in flood waters with two people stranded, but were not required to extract them.
The Courier Mail reports those two were a man and his daughter, who spent several hours atop the vehicle until the water receded and they could walk to safety.
An SES spokesperson said state emergency services received 123 requests for assistance across Queensland since 5.30am on Monday, 30 of those jobs being in the Rockhampton Regional, 18 in the Mackay regional and 13 in the Isaac region.
Updated
Bushfire threat eases across Victoria as number of structures destroyed nears 500
The bushfire threat in Victoria has eased, with no emergency warnings in place for the first time in almost a week, as the number of structures lost nears 500.
The State Control Centre (SCC) on Tuesday morning confirmed that while there were 12 major bushfires active across Victoria, many of which are expected to burn for days or weeks, there were no emergency warnings in place for the first time since Thursday.
The Mallee, Wimmera, south-west, northern country, north central and north-east regions continue to rate a high fire danger risk, while the west and south Gippsland, east Gippsland and central districts face a moderate risk.
The SCC estimates that 404,000 hectares of land have been burned in the devastating blazes, with more than 480 structures damaged or destroyed – up from 350 on Monday.
Read more here:
Updated
Major muslim advocacy group calls for federal minister to apologise over Adelaide festival comments
The Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (Aman) called on the federal resources minister, Madeleine King, to apologise after she said Randa Abdel-Fattah should “absolutely not” be invited back to the Adelaide writers’week.
“To be frank, in my own opinion, I’m surprised she ever got an invite,” King said on Monday.
The views that she has said in relation to wishing for the end of Israel, as well as some other pretty, you know, vile commentary, you know, doesn’t deserve an invitation to the writers’ festival.
During a press conference yesterday, King said she was on a “unity ticket” with the SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, after he reiterated his support on Saturday for the festival board’s decision to withdraw its invitation to the academic.
That move has prompted many writers to withdraw from the festival, and its director, Louise Adler, revealed in the Guardian she would resign her role as well this morning.
Aman said today:
Dr Abdel-Fattah has never engaged in hate speech. The comments attributed to the Minister reveal a concerning lack of understanding within Cabinet as to what constitutes hate speech under Australian law, as distinct from robust political expression.
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NSW shadow attorney general expresses ‘grave doubts’ about effectiveness of banning ‘reams and reams of phrases or potential slogans’
Continuing on from last post …
Tudehope condemns the use of the phrase “globalise the intifada”, but says he has “grave doubts” about the government’s ability to outlaw “reams and reams of phrases or potential slogans” without a constitutional challenge. He has called for existing laws to be used to arrest protesters who use hateful slogans, drawing attention to 93ZAA, a new offence for inciting hatred towards other persons or groups introduced in August.
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that just two people have been charged under the offence since it became law, with at least one of those charges withdrawn. Tudehope said:
So, a circumstance where you create laws which are ineffective, or the police do not know the circumstances in which they can be used, create uncertainty in the community, and they are certainly, a circumstance which I think don’t do the law any good, and we are just struggling around in a mire of legislation.
Tudehope also said a government plan announced yesterday to give councils greater powers to shut down unlawful places of worship as part of a crackdown on “factories of hate” was an “appropriate” response, but “the detail is lacking”.
Fundamentally, of course, I can see council saying: ‘do we have the resources to be able to do this?’
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NSW opposition questions transparency of ‘rushed’ inquiry into banning ‘globalise the intifada’
As the federal government prepares to debate a bill on hate speech legislation following the Bondi attack, the NSW shadow attorney general, Damien Tudehope, has accused the state government of using an inquiry into banning phrases including “globalise the intifada” as a “law-making exercise” without public transparency.
The inquiry, which closed to submissions yesterday, just three weeks after it was referred to a parliamentary committee, will not hold any public hearings. The Labor-controlled law and safety committee will report to the government at the end of the month.
Earlier, Tudehope told ABC Radio National the inquiry was “very rushed”:
In many respects, it runs the risk of being a law-making exercise, which at the end of the day will never be effective.
You have to say, unless you’re entirely politically naive, the government has an agenda, they have an outcome in mind, and they are using the committee to effectively deliver that outcome.
The committee’s chair, Labor MP Edmond Atalla, has defended the decision not to hold public hearings due to the urgent need to respond to the Bondi attack, saying the committee had reached out to more than 100 key stakeholders for submissions.
But Tudehope has called for the government to release a review of protections against hate speech commissioned in February, which retired supreme court judge John Sackar KC, handed to the government in November.
I think, in terms of transparency, the government should release that report today so that we are properly informed about what Mr Sackar has had to say about the … impositions on free speech in New South Wales, and the constitutionality, because if you have laws which are set aside because they’re unconstitutional, that has an absolutely bad effect on communities which we’re trying to protect.
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Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce use Gina Rinehart’s private jet to visit flooded parts of Queensland
The One Nation MPs Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce have used a private jet owned by the mining magnate Gina Rinehart to tour flood-affected Queensland communities.
Joyce, who defected from the Nationals last month, said the pair were saving taxpayers’ money by using the Gulfstream G700 plane and a helicopter at the weekend, including to meet with mayors in north Queensland.
He confirmed that the plane, whose registration is linked to the Bank of Utah, had been provided by the Hancock Prospecting boss.
Rinehart has previously provided travel for the former opposition leader Peter Dutton and is a longtime backer of Hanson and Joyce.
The pair were photographed exiting the plane with grocery bags in Mount Isa on Sunday, before a flight to Julia Creek, with images posted to social media.
Read more here:
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NSW teen charged over alleged mass shooting hoax calls in US
A teenager in NSW was charged after allegedly making multiple hoax reports to emergency services – a practice known as “swatting” – falsely claiming mass shootings were taking place at major retail and educational institutions in the US.
The Australian federal police (AFP) said it launched an investigation after getting intelligence from the FBI that a member of an alleged decentralised online crime network had made multiple hoax calls to trigger an “urgent and large-scale emergency response”.
Officials executed a search warrant at a house in NSW last month, seizing a number of electronic devices and an alleged prohibited firearm.
The boy was charged with 12 counts of using a telecommunications network with intention to commit a serious offence and one count of unauthorised possession of a prohibited firearm. He is scheduled to appear in children’s court today.
Graeme Marshall, the acting assistant commissioner of the AFP, said in a statement:
These types of investigations are complex, and the AFP will continue to work with private and public sector partners to educate families and schools about the threat of these online decentralised crime networks, as part of our commitment to protect our community.
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Kevin Rudd says ambassadorship has been ‘an honour’
Kevin Rudd just released a statement after the prime minister announced he would step down from his role as the ambassador to the US this morning.
Rudd said:
It has been an honour to serve as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States over the last three years. I thank the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister for their kind remarks today.
I also thank the Trustees of Asia Society for offering me the position of global President & CEO, as well as President of the Asia Society Policy Institute and Chair of the Center for China Analysis. I will be remaining in America working between New York and Washington on the future of US-China relations, which I have always believed to be the core question for the future stability of our region and the world.
As a ‘think and do’ tank, Asia Society’s formidable Center for China Analysis will be an important platform to that end.
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Victoria bushfires all downgraded
There are still many bushfires burning across Victoria, but none are currently at emergency level thanks to much cooler conditions in the state.
There are dozens of watch and act warnings for communities spanning Victoria and several areas are still not safe to return to yet around the large Walwa fire in the state’s north-east.
WATCH & ACT - BUSHFIRE - Not Safe to Return
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) January 12, 2026
This Watch and Act message is being issued for Nariel Valley, Cudgewa, Corryong, Towong, Thowgla Valley, Biggara, Walwa, Burrowye and surrounds.
More details at https://t.co/pp4elDXrwi pic.twitter.com/CCB31nYsjd
Adelaide festival ‘the canary in the coalmine’: Louise Adler
Louise Adler has written a strongly worded piece for the Guardian about her decision. She said:
In my view, boards composed of individuals with little experience in the arts, and blind to the moral implications of abandoning the principle of freedom of expression, have been unnerved by the pressure exerted by politicians calculating their electoral prospects and relentless, coordinated letter-writing campaigns …
We need writers now more than ever, as our media closes up, as our politicians grow daily more cowed by real power, as Australia grows more unjust and unequal.
AWW is the canary in the coalmine. Friends and colleagues in the arts, beware of the future.
They are coming for you.
Read her full remarks below:
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Louise Adler resigns as director of Adelaide writers’ week
The director of Adelaide writers’ week, Louise Adler, has resigned after the board of the Adelaide festival announced it had dumped the Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from the literary event.
“I cannot be party to silencing writers, so with a heavy heart I am resigning from my role as the director of the AWW,” said Adler, one of Australia’s most influential literary figures.
Writers and writing matters, even when they are presenting ideas that discomfort and challenge us. We need writers now more than ever, as our media closes up, as our politicians grow daily more cowed by real power, as Australia grows more unjust and unequal.
Adler announced her resignation in an opinion piece published in Guardian Australia on Tuesday.
Read more here:
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National day of mourning for Bondi victims to be held 22 January
The prime minister announced earlier that the country will hold a national day of mourning for the victims of the Bondi terror attack on Thursday, 22 January.
Flags will be flown at half mast in all commonwealth buildings around Australia. Albanese said the decision came after consultation with Sydney rabbi Yehoram Ulman:
This will have a theme of ‘light will win’, a gathering of unity and remembrance.
More details about the day will be announced at the end of this week.
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Alyssa Healy to retire from cricket in March
The captain of Australia’s women’s team, Alyssa Healy, has announced she will retire from cricket in March, after the upcoming series with India, AAP reports.
The wicketkeeper-batter has been playing for Australia for 15 years, making her debut as a teenager. She said:
It’s with mixed emotions that the upcoming India series will be my last for Australia. I’m still passionate about playing for Australia, but I’ve somewhat lost that competitive edge that’s kept me driven since the start, so the time feels right to call it a day. …
I’ll genuinely miss my teammates, singing the team song and walking out to open the batting for Australia. Representing my country has been an incredible honour and I’m grateful for one last series in the green and gold.
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Albanese says changes to gun laws won’t punish responsible gun owners
The prime minister was just asked if changes to gun legislation would penalise responsible gun owners. He stressed that any changes are meant to be sensible closures to loopholes, including plans to limit ownership to Australian citizens.
If you have a look at the commonwealth legislation that will go before the parliament, it will stop non-citizens from having guns. It think that is just common sense.
I reckon Australians would be surprised that non-citizens can get a gun licence … We’re closing that loophole.
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New role a ‘continuation of Rudd’s public service’, PM says
Albanese said the decision to step down was “entirely” Rudd’s, but said the ambassador’s next role will only continue his work to advance the public interest.
Rudd is leaving a year early, but he “has served three years”, the prime minster said.
Kevin Rudd has a work ethic unlike anyone I’ve ever met. … He sees this as a continuation of his public service, not just to Australia but to the global community.
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Penny Wong: ‘Kevin Rudd has served this nation well’
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is running through a list of Rudd’s achievements while in the US, echoing Albanese’s praise on Aukus under both US presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
She pointed to deals on critical minerals and AI datacentres and said Rudd’s work had helped strengthen the Australian economy and security for “decades to come”.
I have seen first-hand how hard he works, not just in the last few years but throughout his public life. He’s always brought an extraordinary level of energy and discipline to public service.
He applied his relentless effort, his experience, intellect and determination to advance Australia’s interests in Washington, and Kevin Rudd has served the nation well.
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Kevin Rudd to step down as ambassador to US
Kevin Rudd will step down from his role as Australian ambassador to the US at the end of March, Albanese just announced.
On behalf of our nation, we thank Kevin for his service to Australia, and for taking forward Australia’s interests with our closest security ally.
Rudd will become the global president of leading international relations at the Asia Society.
Albanese praised Rudd for his work to advance economic relations between Australia and the US, as well as on the AUKUS submarine deal.
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Albanese pays tribute to farmer who died in Longwood fire
Albanese is up, beginning his comments with a message of condolence to the family of Maxwell Hobson, the man who died in the Longwood fire in Victoria. Hobson was a cattle farmer in the area.
The prime minister said:
That community will be grieving today, and I say to those people in Victoria but also those in the flood-affected areas of Queensland: this is not over.
Please stay safe, listen to the authorities, and once again – I thank the volunteers, the police and emergency services, the Rural Fire Service, and others, who are helping each other get through what is a very difficult time.
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New hate speech laws ‘toughest ever’, attorney general says
Michelle Rowland, the attorney general, said new laws designed to counter hate speech will be crafted to address the “pure evil” of the Bondi terror attack and help keep Australians safe.
Rowland spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying every level of government had a primary responsibility to protect their citizens. She said:
This is a legislative package to combat hate, it’s designed to protect Australians. … Once passed, these will be the toughest hate speech laws the commonwealth has ever had.
She stressed the government had consulted with both Christian and Muslim religious groups on the legislation, adding those conversations were ongoing.
We have taken the time to ensure that we have crafted a comprehensive package that goes towards protecting all Australians. Each element’s been carefully designed to address the most pertinent issues that come out of Bondi.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is due to speak in about 10 minutes. We’ll bring you live updates when he’s up.
Good morning, and happy Tuesday. Nick Visser here to guide you through the day’s news. Let’s get to it.
$1m reward announced 50 years after disappearance of Eloise Worledge
Victoria police have issued a $1m reward for information in relation to the suspicious disappearance of Eloise Worledge, five decades since she was last seen.
The reward is the only one of its kind in the state, as it includes payment for information leading to the location or Worledge’s remains, not just regarding a possible perpetrator.
Worledge, then eight, was reported missing by her parents on 13 January 1976. She had last been seen in her bed at home in Beaumaris about 11.40pm the previous night.
The following day, her parents found the fly screen on her window cut and rolled open, however nothing else appeared to have been taken from the room.
Despite the efforts of police, no credible evidence has ever emerged that conclusively explained the girl’s disappearance or identified those responsible.
Detective Insp Dave Dunstan from the missing persons squad said the past decades had been “incredibly difficult for Eloise’s family and to this day, they live with the trauma of her disappearance and it continues to impact them”.
Eloise’s parents not only passed away without ever knowing what became of their daughter, but they also endured years of unfair speculation that they were involved.
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PM to speak on hate speech laws
Anthony Albanese is expected to have more to say this morning about the hate speech legislation that he wants to push through parliament next week.
The prime minister confirmed yesterday that parliament would be recalled early for two days on Monday and Tuesday next week to rush through the new laws. Parliament had been due to return for the year on 3 February. The sitting will include condolence motions for the 15 people killed at Bondi last month.
But as Krishani Dhanji reports this morning, there may be a loophole in the bill as it stands which would allow someone accused of hate speech to plead innocent if they had been quoting a religious text in whatever it was they were accused of saying.
Read her full story here:
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will be your guide.
Anthony Albanese is expected to address the media very soon to give more details about his government’s plans to crack down on hate speech and antisemitism after the Bondi terror attack. We will have live updates as soon as the prime minister starts speaking.
And Victoria police have issued a $1m reward for information in relation to the suspicious disappearance of Eloise Worledge, five decades since she was last seen.
Stay tuned, as we bring you the latest developments this Tuesday.
