What we learned today, Friday 20 December
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. I hope you all have a happy new year, and a great Christmas if you’re celebrating.
Here were today’s major developments:
Victorian residents in St Helier, The Gurdies, and Woodleigh, in the state’s south-east, were urged to seek shelter from a bushfire that was threatening homes and lives this afternoon. An emergency warning was issued for the region at 3.12pm.
Australia has announced a new security deal with the Solomon Islands more than two years after the Pacific nation signed a controversial security agreement with China.
Victorian MP Moira Deeming will remain on the crossbench after a bid to return her to the Liberal party room failed. Deeming was expelled from the party room in 2023 after she attended a rally that was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has decided to suspend its support for the Labor party in New South Wales as its battle to secure a better pay deal escalates into a game of brinkmanship that is now threatening Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks. Business NSW said it would be a “disaster” for Sydney, the state of NSW and its “international brand” if the New Year’s Eve celebrations were cancelled.
The Victorian government appointed Dr Yehudi Blacher as lead reviewer and Margaret Crawford as the independent monitor to lead a probe into the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), and conduct independent monitoring, in the wake of this year’s exam errors.
Nationals backbencher Keith Pitt announced he would retire from politics, taking aim at the Liberals’ net zero aspirations on his way out.
Childcare centre manager Yolanda Borucki, who alerted police to one of Australia’s worst child sexual abusers, was found not guilty of computer hacking for using a restricted computer to inform the media.
And the Climate Council said that the government’s approval of four coa lmine expansions “locks in decades of climate pollution and flies in the face of science”.
Residents urged to take shelter as bushfire rages in south-east Victoria
Victorian residents in St Helier, The Gurdies, and Woodleigh, in the state’s south-east, are being urged to immediately seek shelter from a bushfire that is threatening homes and lives.
An emergency warning issued at 3.12pm says a bushfire at Woodland Close is not under control:
The bushfire is travelling from [business] Sand Supplies in an easterly direction towards Gurdies Street, Helier Road and Stewart Road.
The fire in the Woodlands area has increased in fire spread on the eastern side
This bushfire could impact The Gurdies St Helier Road between Woodland Close and Stewart Road and Stewart Road from Gurdies St. Helier Road to Dunbabbin Road and Bergmeier Road any time between 3pm and 5pm.
The fire in the Woodlands area has increased in fire spread on the eastern side.
Residents are being warned it is too late to leave the area.
Updated
