What we learned, Friday 29 August
Thanks for staying with us this week. We are wrapping up the live blog here. This is what made the news today:
Blizzards and destructive winds will batter Victoria’s north-east, including the town of Porepunkah, home to alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman.
The manhunt for Freeman has continued, with 450 police deployed to Porepunkah.
Federal government minister Murray Watt said parliament will “obviously” consider censuring Bob Katter for threatening to punch a journalist.
Katter’s son, Robbie Katter, has accused the journalist of failing to read social cues when referencing Katter’s Lebanese heritage, which he said had a “deeply personal dimension”.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, have been heckled over their climate change policies at the News Corp bush summit in Ballarat.
Comedian and radio presenter Dave Hughes has been hospitalised with five broken ribs and a punctured lung after participating in the AFL Legends Game, a charity match raising funds for prostate cancer research.
Guardian Australia reporters will keep you updated on the Porepunkah manhunt and the rest of the country’s breaking news over the weekend before parliament resumes next week.
Updated
Australian shares edge lower to finish wild earning season
The Australian share market has edged modestly lower on the last day of a volatile month of company earnings results.
The benchmark ASX200 index on Friday slipped slightly to 8,973 points, after spending a week below the 9,000-point record it broke last Thursday.
It has risen about 3% in the last month after valuations of major companies swung wildly on the release of financial results for the year to June. Medical manufacturer CSL lost nearly a third of its value on the day its results were released, while building materials company James Hardie lost nearly a fifth of its market capitalisation.
Woolworths dropped 15% when it reported its earnings on Wednesday, which AAP reported was its worst single-day selloff since 1994.
Updated
