What we learned: Monday, 18 March
With that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. Never fear, though, the fabulous Amy Remeikis will be with you first thing tomorrow for all the latest in the world of politics.
Here were the major developments of the day:
The Senate has voted to change paid parental leave to six months (with small businesses to get a bit of help from the government after a David Pocock-Jacqui Lambie agreement).
Queensland premier Steven Miles has sensationally rejected the recommendations of an independent review, declaring “Suncorp stadium will become our Olympic stadium”.
The House was disrupted by a protest over the plight of Palestinians in Gaza in the public gallery during question time today. Protesters called “ceasefire now” and “shame” before being taken out by security.
And Uber will cough up almost $272m to compensate taxi and hire car drivers who lost out when the rideshare company “aggressively” moved into the Australian market.
Updated
BoM warns of destructive wind gusts as Tropic Cyclone Megan expected to cross northern coast of Australia
Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Megan is expected to cross the coast later this afternoon or this evening.
It is currently sitting at a category three, with sustained winds near the centre of 140 km/h and wind gusts to 195 km/h.
It is sitting 70km from Borroloola and 45 km from Port McArthur, moving at 8 km/h.
Severe Tropical #CycloneMegan is moving slowly towards the south and is expected to cross the south-western Gulf of Carpentaria coast, south-east of Port McArthur, later this afternoon or evening. Latest forecasts: https://t.co/jlOoTZL1iF pic.twitter.com/8LQpyB81vO
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) March 18, 2024
The Bureau of Meteorology said the warning zone included Port Roper in the NT to Mornington Island in Queensland, extending inland to Borroloola, McArthur River Mine, and Robinson River.
The VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE of Megan, with wind gusts up to 200 km/h, is now impacting the Sir Edward Pellew Group and adjacent coastal areas between Port McArthur and the NT/Qld border.
DESTRUCTIVE WIND GUSTS to 140 km/h are forecast to extend to adjacent inland areas near the forecast track southeast of Borroloola this evening and tonight.
Updated
