What we learned today, Tuesday 27 January
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. But before we go, let’s recap the big headlines.
Jason Falinski, the former NSW Liberal party president, said he didn’t believe it “works” for the Liberals to be in Coalition with the Nationals any longer.
The city of Adelaide had its hottest night on record, with temperatures falling to just 34.1C before 7am local time. The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, spoke to RN Breakfast, saying the state was responding relatively well to the record-breaking temperatures, although he said the overnight heat was “truly extraordinary”. Temperatures in Adelaide hit 40C by 9.30am on Tuesday.
Liberal frontbencher Tim Wilson said he’s had no phone calls from colleagues counting the numbers to replace the embattled opposition leader, Sussan Ley. The Victorian MP said his party should be focused on helping small business owners, tradies and everyday Australians trying to get ahead, and not on internal spats.
Sammy Yahood, the Jewish influencer who had his visa cancelled yesterday, just hours before he was due to depart for Australia, said he will not be deterred after getting stuck in the UAE. Home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed Monday that Yahood’s visa had been cancelled, saying “spreading hatred is not a good reason to come” to Australia.
Western Australia police have charged a man, 31, after an alleged homemade improvised explosive device was thrown into a crowd gathered for Perth’s Invasion Day rally.
Chris Hardman, the chief fire officer at Forest Fire Management Victoria, said three homes are believed to have been destroyed by Carlisle River fire in the Otways.
Victoria appears to have recorded its hottest day with preliminary weather observations showing temperatures have hit 48.9C in Walpeup and Hopetoun in the state’s north-west. The temperature observations in the Mallee towns were recorded close to 4pm on Tuesday afternoon, exceeding the previous highest daily maximum temperature for the state of 48.8C in Hopetoun on Black Saturday in 2009.
Thank you for spending part of the day with us. We will be back tomorrow.
Updated
Paramedics responded to nine cases of children locked in vehicles in Victoria
A spokesperson for Ambulance Victoria says since yesterday, paramedics have responded to nine cases of children locked in vehicles as temperatures in some parts of the state pushed above 48 degrees by Tuesday afternoon.
A spike in workload for ambulance staff was recorded during the early morning of Tuesday, with demand increasing by 27% between 5am and 6am, largely driven by activity in metropolitan Melbourne.
Across Victoria, overall ambulance workload was up 4% since midnight, as at 4pm.
In the Hume region, workload was up an average of 27% over the same period.
The Loddon Mallee region experienced an increase in cases relating to breathing difficulty, up 65% compared with usual volumes, which a spokesperson said represents a small number of additional cases in real terms.
Updated
