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The Guardian - AU
National
Mostafa Rachwani (now) and Royce Kurmelovs (earlier)

Proposed chocolate fountain ‘the greatest thing to happen to tourism since Mona’, Tasmanian premier says – as it happened

Australia Craig Foster
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff has pledged to work with tourism industry leader Simon Currant to deliver his vision for the world’s ultimate chocolate experience. Photograph: Ethan James/AAP

What we learned today, Sunday 10 March

And with that, I am going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:

  • Tasmanian Liberals promise world’s largest chocolate fountain if returned to government

  • Event organisers across south-eastern Australia are continuing to sweat over over safety concerns and cancellations as an autumn heatwave settles in for the long weekend.

  • The minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, described the Coalition’s claim that the government’s fuel efficiency standards will drive up the price of a Toyota HiLux as a “ridiculous scare campaign”.

  • “A Sao in a blender” was how the climate change and energy minister described the opposition’s advocacy for nuclear power.

  • A search continues for missing boy in western Sydney who has Down syndrome and autism.

  • Australia would win its dispute with China over tariffs on wine exports worth $1bn if the matter returned to the World Trade Organization, the trade minister says.

Updated

Labor and Greens politicians respond to opposition nuclear energy push

Coalition energy spokesperson Ted O’Brien claimed earlier today that government MPs would be “be negative and they’ll be on a talking point script from their party” in response to the opposition’s controversial push for more nuclear energy.

We’ve already brought you the energy minister, Chris Bowen’s response – “tell him he’s dreaming” – but let’s have a look at which other Labor MPs have taken time out of their Sundays to fire off responses to O’Brien.

Josh Wilson, the member for Fremantle and a keen environmentalist, pointed out there had been numerous inquiries into nuclear energy in recent years, all commissioned by Liberal governments, and which “all concluded nuclear not viable.”

Jerome Laxale, member for Bennelong, tweeted: “Costly nuclear power that’s decades away OR cheaper, cleaner renewable energy available to build now”.

Chris Bowen, of course, was pleased with his comments on Insiders and clipped up a few juicy quotes for his online audience:

And while she’s obviously not a member of the government, Greens senator for South Australia Barbara Pocock also took a swing at nuclear energy on Sunday, tweeting it was “too slow, too expensive and no waste solution”.

Updated

Hobart endures hottest night in 112 years

Hobart residents sweated through the city’s hottest night in 112 years as a severe heatwave continues to affect large parts of south-east Australia.

Extreme heat is forecast to continue across South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and southern New South Wales for several days, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Sunday after record temperatures caused the cancellation of long weekend events.

You can read more in our piece here:

Updated

Climate breakdown causing mass distribution changes in Australian marine fish species, agricultural conference hears

As the climate crisis impacts marine systems, seafood operators are recasting how and what they’re farming to feed an ever-growing world, AAP reports.

About half of the marine species found in Australian waters have undergone large distribution changes in the past two decades because of the changing climate, a major agricultural conference in Canberra was told this month.

And while stocks of gemfish have declined to as low as 5%, other fish, including snapper in Tasmania, are on the rise, according to Patrick Hone, who heads up Australia’s Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.

“We know that gemfish is not recovering, climate change is suppressing its recovery,” he told AAP.

“Even though we’ve reduced the fishing, it is not recovering because under this new alternate temperature regime, it just won’t recover.”

“The future farm is probably going to look at how they use onshore, their in-shore environment and offshore, to basically build a more resilient model,” he added.

Marine ecologist Greta Pecl, a lead author on the most recent report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said the development means seafood operators are in “unchartered territory”.

“Fisheries populations in Australia will (continue to be) severely challenged by climate change ... The whole composition and the structure and function of ecosystems have been completely turned on their head,” Prof Pecl told AAP.

“(Fish species) are having major changes in distribution, in times of spawning, in areas they spawn, in susceptibility to disease and changes in size.”

Chien Ming Wang and his team from the University of Queensland have been working alongside industry operators to develop a deep-sea fish pen.

“There’s a lot of traction to move near-shore farms offshore because of limited sea space, contested users, and the fact that it’s stressed the ecosystem,” Prof Wang said.

The pen is estimated to cost around $6m and modelling shows it could grow ten times the fish produced in other offshore pens on the market, some of which can blow out in cost to $180m, according to Prof Wang.

Updated

Water skiier dies during race on Vic-NSW border

A competitive water skiier has died during a race on the Murray River near the border between NSW and Victoria.

The 42-year-old man was injured around 11am while racing in the Robinvale Euston 80 race on Saturday and could not be revived by paramedics.

Ski Racing Victoria cancelled the event for Saturday and Sunday.

As a ski racing community, we are here to support the affected family and team members as well as the wider ski racing community at this very sad time.

We wish to thank everyone for the efforts and support, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

The incident comes after the death of a man at the Southern 80 water ski race last month, also on the Murray River.

- AAP

New simple blood test to identify sleep deprivation

A simple blood test that can identify sleep deprivation could reduce road and workplace deaths.

The test, developed by a Monash University-led team, uses a combination of markers found in the blood to distinguish whether a person has been awake for more than 24 hours.

While testing is in its early stages, it’s had a 99.2% success rate in controlled conditions.

When tested like a regular blood test, the success rate dropped to 89.1%, which researchers say is still very high.

Clare Anderson, who led the team and was senior author for the research article published in the journal Science Advances, said it was an exciting discovery for sleep scientists.

While more work is required, this is a promising first step.

There is strong evidence that less than five hours’ sleep is associated with unsafe driving, but driving after 24 hours awake, which is what we detected here, would be at least comparable to more than double the Australian legal limit of alcohol performance-wise.

The test may also be ideal for future forensic use but further studies are required.

- AAP

Updated

Adelaide music festival continues despite evening heat

Festivalgoers at Womadelaide kept right on dancing even as temperatures climbed to almost 40C.

On Saturday it was 39C for much of the day and at midnight it was still 32C, with much the same expected for the festival’s remaining two days.

The ground under every tree in Adelaide’s Botanic Park was covered with picnic rugs and deck chairs as people staked out areas of shade.

The park’s grey-headed flying foxes were trying to keep cool too, hanging upside down in the trees and flapping their wings to keep cool, closely monitored for heat stress by researchers and volunteers.

Festival organisers have previously had “bat bins” on standby for flying foxes who were overcome by heat and died.

People queued for drinking water and ice cream and crowds congregated around clouds of mist being generated by hoses suspended metres in the air.

But everyone was here for the music, even if it meant enduring the heat.

In the crowd on Saturday night was Violent Femmes bassist and the artistic director of Tasmania’s Mona Foma, Brian Ritchie, who acknowledged issues with the heat but said live music was important to the community.

It’s one of the greatest festivals, I’ve been here many times, it’s one of the best in Australia.

- AAP

Updated

Test for consumer sector as outlook improves

Household budgets are still under pressure, but green shoots of optimism are starting to sprout in the consumer sector.

Consumer confidence as measured in weekly and monthly surveys has been stuck deep in the doldrums as interest rates went higher and cost of living pressures intensified.

However modest improvements have been logged in recent months, coinciding with convincing progress on inflation and talk of interest rate cuts.

The March update of the Westpac and Melbourne Institute monthly survey, which is due for release on Tuesday, hit a 20-month high in February but was still below the 100 neutral mark.

Also on Tuesday, National Australia Bank’s business conditions gauge for February is scheduled.

Data on the total value of residential dwellings is also due from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, as well as a speech from Sarah Hunter, Reserve Bank assistant governor (economics), at the AFR Business Summit.

More insights into the consumer will be released on Wednesday, with the Commonwealth Bank’s report on household spending due.

Monthly business turnover is also slated from the ABS on Wednesday, and then overseas arrivals on Thursday.

– AAP

Updated

Penny Wong ‘too scared’ to reinstate UNRWA funding, Lidia Thorpe tells Melbourne Palestine solidarity rally

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has been speaking at the pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne, and has criticised the foreign minister, Penny Wong, over the fact Australia has not reinstated funding to UN aid agency UNRWA:

Updated

Sharp drop in auction activity

Auction activity has dropped sharply this weekend with 1,700 auctions held.

This is a sharp fall on the 2,665 held last week but a modest gain on the 1,280 auctions that occurred at the same time last year.

Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 72.8% across the country, which is lower than the 71.8% preliminary rate recorded last weekend but above the 67.5% actual rate on final numbers.

Across the capital cities:

  • Sydney: 891 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 76.2%

  • Melbourne: 457 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 66.2%

  • Brisbane: 123 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 65.9%

  • Adelaide: 119 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 83.1%

  • Canberra: 50 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 69.4%

  • Tasmania: One auction held.

  • Perth: Six of 13 auctions held.

Updated

Proposed chocolate fountain ‘the greatest thing to happen to tourism since Mona’, Tasmanian premier says

In a post on Facebook, the Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said the chocolate experience at Cadbury would have “the world’s largest chocolate fountain, a chocolate studio and a lab where you can make your own chocolate bar.”

Our investment is expected to create around 300 jobs in construction, 200 jobs on completion and a $120 million boost in annual economic activity.

A re-elected majority Liberal Government will unlock the greatest thing to happen to tourism since MONA with the new Chocolate Experience at Cadbury.

Updated

Coalition in ‘advanced stages’ of finalising nuclear energy policy, O’Brien says

The shadow energy minister, Ted O’Brien, says the Coalition is “in advanced stages” of finalising its policy on nuclear energy, as the opposition comes under pressure to finally reveal some of its own ideas and commitments ahead of an election likely within the next 12 months.

O’Brien pointed to the United Arab Emirates building a network of large nuclear reactors within 12 years; he said Australia was more advanced in nuclear science and infrastructure than the UAE had been, claiming our country was not starting from a “standing start”.

O’Brien told Sky News this morning that the Coalition had spoken to what he called “the best experts around the world”, who he claimed “are saying Australia could have nuclear up and running within a 10-year period”.

O’Brien didn’t detail which experts the Coalition had engaged. Guardian Australia has asked his office for more information.

He claimed there was “no credible path” to net zero emissions without nuclear energy. The government’s path to net zero does not include nuclear energy.

O’Brien said the Coalition was in “advanced” stages of finalising its plan. The Coalition has not yet proposed any concrete details on the idea, such as where it could build such plants, how much the plan would cost or how long it would take, how it would address community reticence to host such facilities in their town, or how much power the plants would produce.

Peter Dutton will reportedly fill in some of the blanks in coming months, potentially in his budget reply speech. He is under pressure to announce some level of policy detail, with the opposition having shared almost no new ideas or commitments under Dutton’s leadership.

Coalition MPs have publicly and privately been agitating for the opposition leader to outline some new policies they can advocate for, ahead of a federal election due by May 2025, but which could be held as early as this year.

Updated

Chocolate fountain and associated tourist precinct to cost millions

The Liberals will put up to $12m aside for the project, investing $2m over 18 months, Jeremy Rockliff said.

Another $2m to be invested over 18 months would progress early-stage works on the site, including but not limited to public walkways, public cycle infrastructure and headworks.

Subject to the achievement of agreed milestones, up to $8m in additional investment for the precinct would be made available, Rockliff said.

The proposed project could create 300 construction jobs, 200 jobs on completion and a $120m boost in annual economic activity.

The island state will head to the polls on 23 March after the Liberal minority government failed to resolve a stand-off with two crossbench independents.

- AAP

Updated

Tasmanian Liberals promise world's largest chocolate fountain if returned to government

Tasmania will be home to the world’s largest chocolate fountain, if the Liberals win the upcoming state election.

In a positively Wonka-esque move, the premier, Jeremy Rockliff, says if re-elected, his government will work with tourism industry leader Simon Currant to deliver his vision for the world’s ultimate chocolate experience.

The fountain will sit alongside the Cadbury factory, just north of Hobart overlooking the River Derwent, offering chocoholics a sweet taste of the Apple Isle.

As well as the world’s largest chocolate fountain there will be a premium chocolate studio, a chocolate lab with a make-your-own chocolate bar, a chocolate emporium, cafe and playground.

Touted by the Liberals as the “greatest thing to happen to tourism since Mona”, Rockliff said tourism had been one of Tasmania’s greatest transformative sectors in the past decade.

We talk a lot about the cultural and economic lift of the Mona effect, but it’s important that we keep investing, growing, changing and giving visitors even more reasons to visit Tasmania and spend their money in our cities and regions.

This will rewrite the ‘must-see’ list for every visitor that comes to Tasmania; hug a Tassie devil, sip wine on Wineglass, stroll Salamanca, climb Cradle, and cap that all off with the sweetest experience of them all at the Chocolate Experience at Cadbury.

- AAP

Updated

Negative wholesale power prices due to sunny and windy conditions

With all this talk about nuclear power, Guardian Australia’s Peter Hannam has his eye on power prices as sunny and windy conditions across the country on Sunday have resulted in negative power prices.

South Australia in particular is doing well, as it is currently being supplied by almost 100% renewable energy – including more than a third from rooftop solar.

Victoria, meanwhile, is drawing three quarters of its power from renewables, with a third coming from rooftop solar.

However, it’s not all smooth sailing, with both Victoria and South Australia expected to see a spike in the wholesale spot power price as people turn on their air conditioners to make it through the night. South Australia could hit its maximum spot power price of $16,600Mw/h from 7.30pm local time, while Victoria could spike to $16,500 Mw/h from 7pm.

Updated

Influential figures must stop downplaying racism in Australian sport, integrity chief says

Australian sport leaders must stop downplaying racism amid a fresh wave of vilification claims, the nation’s sport integrity chief says.

Sport Integrity Australia’s chief executive, David Sharpe, says athletes guilty of racism should face the same lengthy penalties given to fans in similar situations.

Sharpe is particularly critical of the downplaying of racism by influential people in Australian sport.

Attitudes won’t change until the narrative changes.

Sport and sponsors’ brands are being aligned with poor behaviours, yet these brands have the power to drive a cultural shift to eradicate these poor behaviours.

Sharpe’s comments come after a week when the AFL joined the NRL and Football Australia in being linked to racism claims.

The AFL is facing a new class action alleging historic racism of North Melbourne’s Indigenous Krakouer brothers, Jim and Phil, in the 1980s.

The class action lodged in the Victorian supreme court last Tuesday alleges the Krakouers were vilified by identities including former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy, who has denied the allegations.

The AFL has vowed to fight the class action, saying it disagrees with claims the VFL/AFL has been conducted negligently.

- AAP

Updated

Australian trade minister wants more trade, less conflict in south-east Asia

The trade minister, Don Farrell, was asked during an appearance on Sky News on Sunday about comments from the Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, that attempts to contain China will only sow discord in south-east Asia.

Senator Farrell said Australia wanted peace and prosperity.

Australia was “underdone” with its Asean neighbours, he added, and should be doing more trade in the region, following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations–Australia special summit held in Melbourne last week.

We tend to fly over Asean countries into east Asia.

We want to do more business … with our Asean colleagues, and the general sentiment of the week was they want to do that trade with us.

- AAP

Updated

‘Everything heading in the right direction’ on wine tariff dispute with China, minister says

Australia would win its dispute with China over tariffs on wine exports worth $1bn if the matter returned to the World Trade Organization, the trade minister says.

Beijing slapped sanctions worth $20bn on Australian products during the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020.

China is now reviewing sanctions on wine under a five-month process after the Albanese government agreed to suspend a dispute lodged with the WTO until 31 March.

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Don Farrell said there was “no hold-up” with that process, and the government was waiting for Beijing to complete it.

I’m hopeful that at the end of that process, China will lift all of its tariffs on Australian wine.

But if they don’t, then we will continue with our World Trade Organization dispute and we will win that dispute.

Everything’s heading in the right direction.

In a similar process, China lifted tariffs on Australian barley in August last year after Labor paused a WTO dispute in exchange for a review.

In total, sanctions worth $2bn remain on wine, rock lobster and some abattoirs.

Senator Farrell recently met his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on the sidelines of the WTO’s ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi and received confirmation that the tariff issue was “on track” to be resolved by the end of March.

Senator Farrell has met his Chinese counterpart six times since May last year.

- AAP

Updated

10-year nuclear industry timeline comes from ‘best experts around the world’, Coalition energy spokesman says

Going back to Chris Bowen on Insiders, he was asked about Coalition energy spokesperson Ted O’Brien’s claims that Australia could have a nuclear industry within a decade (to which Bowen replied “tell him he’s dreaming”, after a three-second pause where he seemed to consider other more pithy responses).

O’Brien’s claims came from a Sky News interview this morning. Sky reported the existence of a 2020 report from the NSW chief scientist, which said that it would require tens of thousands of trained nuclear staff and that it would take at least two decades to get up and running.

Considering the Coalition is pitching nuclear as an alternative to renewables (which, you’ll remember, are working as we speak to power homes and with plans to build more wind, solar and hydro facilities), a 20-year-plus lead time is not exactly going to be a winning argument.

O’Brien, responding to the report on Sky, claimed the Coalition was getting different advice.

The best experts around the world, with whom we’ve been engaging, are saying Australia could have nuclear up and running within a 10-year period.

What we’re finding now is because we are at an advanced stage, in the Coalition, of our nuclear part of our policy, Labor, suddenly all their MPs are experts and you can be sure they’ll come out, they’ll be negative and they’ll be on a talking-point script from their party.

We’ll bring you more from O’Brien’s interview shortly.

Updated

Shark sighting at Snug Beach, Tasmania

Tasmanian police have issued a new alert about a shark sighting.

A 3 metre sharked has been sighted about 50 metres offshore at Snug Beach, south of Hobart, and have urged the public to show caution.

Updated

Missing boy is non-verbal and likely scared, police say

Wakeham says the boy is non-verbal and easily scared. A resident saw him last night but the boy walked away and could not be found.

Police believe the boy did not catch a train, and that he remains in the area. Anyone who might see him is urged to immediately contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or triple zero.

We believe he is scared. He may walk away from members of the community if approached.

Updated

Missing boy last seen in area around Norval Street, Auburn

The Auburn Police Area Command duty officer, Insp Mark Wakeham, has asked the public for help in a search for a 12-year-old boy who went missing on Saturday.

Wakeham says police believe the boy remains in the area around Norval Street in Auburn and have asked nearby residents to check sheds, garages and other spaces where the boy may be hiding.

He is still missing. Despite numerous resources that have been deployed to search for the boy, the family is very distraught and he was last sighted about 9pm last night in the vicinity of Norval Street in Auburn. Hopeful he is still in the vicinity and as a result we are asking members of the community if they can please keep a lookout for him.

Updated

Search continues for missing boy in western Sydney

Police and NSW State Emergency Services will address the media as the search concerns for a boy missing from Auburn.

Hussein Al Mansoory, aged 12, was last seen running from Auburn Memorial Park towards the intersection of Station Road and Rawson Street, Auburn, about 10.30am on Saturday.

Police were alerted when he was unable to be located and officers from Auburn Police Area Command have been conducting extensive searches and inquiries to locate him.

Serious concerns are held for Hussein’s welfare as he lives with down syndrome and autism, and is non-verbal.

A large multi-agency search will continue on Sunday, with officers from Auburn PAC assisted by NSW SES, officers from the Public Order & Riot Squad, PolAir and the Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit.

We will bring you the latest as it happens.

Updated

Pro-Palestine rallies continue in Australian cities

With weekly pro-Palestine rallies being held across Australian capitals, here are the details of the planned protests for Sunday:

  • Sydney: 1.30pm at Hyde Park

  • Melbourne: 12pm at State Library Victoria

  • Perth: 11am at Forrest Place

  • Brisbane: 10am at Brisbane Square

  • Adelaide: 2pm at Parliament House

  • Hobart: n/a

  • Darwin: n/a

Updated

Coalition case for nuclear ‘crumbles like a Sao in a blender’ when scrutinised, Bowen says

“A Sao in a blender” is how the climate change and energy minister has described the opposition’s advocacy for nuclear power.

Bowen was equally scathing about claims regarding the construction cost of transmission lines.

If you’re an electrician, go around and quote for some work in Mr Dutton’s house, he will pay whatever. He appears to be quoting $100 a kilometre for transmission. You can build transmission towers in gold and do the wires in pearls and it wouldn’t cost that much. I really don’t know what Kool-Aid he’s drinking where he’s come up with those figures.

The best guide to the cost is Aemo’s integrated systems plan which, if you like, looked at this in 2024 dollars, looked at the total cost out to 2050, of the entire generation storage and transmission and came up at $121bn.

Updated

Bowen:

The poster child of large nuclear reactors is Hinkley C in the United Kingdom which is very, very late, and has come in at $86bn for a 3 gigawatt, just over 3 gigawatt nuclear power plant. Coal in Australia is about 22GW. Do the maths – this is eye-watering, eye-watering amounts of government, taxpayer subsidy that would be required to make this stack up. Maybe Peter Dutton is prepared to do that. We’re not.

Updated

Bowen on coalition MP’s plan for nuclear power within ten years: ‘Tell him he’s dreaming’

Bowen is asked about claims by the opposition’s Ted O’Brien that Australia can have a nuclear power plant up and running in ten years.

After a momentary pause, he respond:

Tell him he’s dreaming.

Bowen said he did not know which experts O’Brien is talking to before saying the claim is not borne out by the experience overseas.

I could point to the United States experience – the United States with a very developed regulatory regime, with a very developed nuclear industry, the nuclear leader of the world, the average build time of a nuclear power plant in the United States has been 19 years.

Bowen also says that even lifting a ban on nuclear power in Australia would not guarantee a power plant would be built, saying that these operations require “eye watering” amounts of public funding.

Every country in the world with nuclear has required massive transfers of taxpayer wealth to the nuclear constructors. Now, if we were to go down that road in Australia, we would really be sending the signal that we are prepared to do that, that we are prepared to use taxpayers’ money to subsidise the development of the nuclear industry, and we’re not.

Updated

Bowen is asked whether the government will lower its ambition to reduce road transport emissions in 60% by 2030.

The future efficiency standards don’t play much of a role, because Australian cars stay on the road for so long, and because we’re not starting until 2025, it’s only about 6m tonnes between now and 2030. That makes 100m tonnes contribution by 2035, but we are doing this for better choices, lower running costs and better health because a better atmosphere, fewer particulates in the air is better for Australians’ health. This is win, win, win.

Updated

Government ‘not going to be bullied’ on fuel efficiency standards, Bowen says

Bowen says the government did not to have consult on proposed fuel efficiency standards, but did so “in good faith” to allow various interest groups to have input into their design and ensure “careful calibration with industry.”

We are not going to be sort of bullied out of proceeding with a policy which is in the best interests of the Australian people and nor would the Australian people want us to.

Updated

Bowen has accused the Coalition of going “so far backwards” and “so negative” under Peter Dutton that any big reform is “subject to a scare campaign”, saying the opposition has previously supported Labor’s approach when in government.

It was on your program here, two years ago almost to the day, that Josh Frydenberg, the then treasurer of Australia … said the Liberal party has always been committed to fuel efficiency standards because they reduce running costs for motorists and they reduce emissions.

Updated

Bowen says Dutton's opposition to fuel efficiency standards a 'ridiculous scare campaign'

The minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, has described the Coalition’s claim that the government’s fuel efficiency standards will drive up the price of a Toyota HiLux – an echo of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s claim that electric vehicles would “end the weekend” as they can’t tow a caravan – as a “ridiculous scare campaign”.

Peter Dutton is arguing that Australians deserve less choice and should be paying more for more petrol. He can make that argument if he wishes.

Bowen says the government will not phase out “any particular type of car”.

Some other countries and car manufacturers are going down that road – we’re not. We’re saying Australians have paid $4bn more for petrol since 2016 when the previous government squibbed it.

Updated

Heatwave scorches Melbourne parade

Melbourne’s famous Moomba parade was cancelled on Saturday due to concerns for performers and spectators as temperatures soar in Victoria.

Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp said in a statement:

This is a very difficult decision, particularly in Moomba’s 70th year, but we must prioritise people’s health in these extreme conditions.

Parade participants are required to spend several hours outdoors in hot, heavy costumes - putting them at greater risk.

South-western Victoria was forecast to record its sixth-highest maximum temperatures on record in some areas, with the conditions prompting the Pitch Music and Arts Festival to advise patrons to leave by Saturday morning, and those yet to arrive to stay away.

If you are arriving on Saturday we recommend delaying your arrival until further notice.

The forecast tells us to expect hot weather each day of the festival. In addition, overnights will also be warm.

Golden Plains Festival, held 90km out of Melbourne, has also gone ahead.

A total fire ban was enacted in five Victorian districts on Saturday, with extreme fire conditions forecast to ease on Sunday.

The bureau warned the severe heat was likely to be felt across a large area including Melbourne, Ballarat, Horsham, Warrnambool and Bairnsdale.

Melbourne was tipped to reach a top of 39C on Saturday, while temperatures were set to hit 41C at Warrnambool, Torquay and Avalon.

A top temperature of 38C is forecast for Melbourne on Sunday and Monday.

The state’s central district was slated to reach 41C on Saturday with temperatures of 40C forecast for holiday towns along the Murray River.

– AAP

Updated

South-eastern Australia bakes in long-weekend heatwave

Event organisers across south-eastern Australia are continuing to sweat over safety concerns and cancellations as an autumn heatwave settles in for the long weekend.

Heatwave conditions were forecast for South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania from Saturday to Monday.

Adelaide reached 39C on Saturday and is forecast to hit 39C on Sunday and 38C on Monday. The state government activated a code red response late on Friday, with additional services available to people sleeping rough.

Extreme and severe heatwave conditions have also hit Tasmania, with warnings for areas including Burnie, Devonport, Launceston, Richmond, Swansea and Whitemark.

Southern NSW is also experiencing severe heat, with forecast temperatures in the high 30s.

– AAP

Updated

The climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning.

We will bring you all the latest as it happens.

Updated

Good morning

And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.

South-east Australia is roasting under a severe heatwave. In Victoria, the situation has caused Monday’s Moomba parade to be cancelled over concerns about the safety of performers, attenders, workers and volunteers. Meanwhile in Adelaide, emergency services have called for festivalgoers to take precautions over the long weekend. Hot conditions are also forecast in NSW and Tasmania until Monday.

Former Socceroo and prominent anti-racism advocate Craig Foster has apologised to Sam Kerr for jumping to conclusions about what took place when news broke the star had been charged with racially aggravated harassment of a UK police officer. Foster said he was mistaken in criticising the Matildas star, whose legal team will argue she used the phrase “stupid white cop”.

I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.

With that, let’s get started ...

Updated

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