Grab your SPF and enjoy a barbecue or game of back yard cricket on Christmas Day. Forecasts for the major capitals show actual summery weather across the country, though Hobart will be the coldest capital city on Christmas Day at 21C.
Darwin is tipped to be the hottest with 33C, while the mercury in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth should peak between 27C and 31C.
And if you’re keen on airing your views on Elon Musk’s tenure at Twitter, the billionaire has a poll running asking users whether he should remain as head of the social platform. As of writing, more than 10m votes have been cast and just over 56% agreed that he should step down.
Top news
Calls for tougher gun laws | The NSW government has echoed calls for improved national gun laws in the wake of last week’s ambush at a remote Queensland property that left six people dead. “We thought that it would never happen again after Port Arthur. But if there’s an opportunity to see something good come out of this, then it’s tightening gun laws and seeing national reforms,” the NSW treasurer, Matt Kean, said.
Penny Wong to visit China | The foreign affairs minister’s busy travel schedule continues with Wong set to fly to Beijing this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ties between Australia and China. It’s the latest sign that tensions with Australia’s main trading partner are easing.
Australia’s first offshore windfarm zone | … will be on Victoria’s Gippsland coast, which environmental advocates have labelled a game-changer. “It is one of the most significant wind resources anywhere in the world,” the premier, Daniel Andrews, said, referring to powerful winds from the Bass Strait. The projects are expected to support more than 3,000 jobs over the next 15 years in the development and construction phases and an extra 3,000 ongoing operation jobs.
Dingo attacks child on Fraser Island | The attack happened Sunday afternoon, leaving the child, aged five, in hospital with multiple wounds. The dingo bit the child on the head, arm and buttocks, before his father intervened and stopped the attack.
Fatal house fire near Geelong | Two bodies have been found after a house fire in Lara, south-west of Melbourne. Emergency services were called about 4.45am this morning, and police have launched an investigation. Further south-west in Victoria, police are concerned for the welfare of a 50-year-old man and 37-year-old woman missing in the Grampians. The couple set off from Melbourne to go four-wheel driving on Friday. They were expected to return last night, in time to pick up their dogs from family, but never showed up.
World Cup reactions | Tears of joy in Buenos Aires, tears of pain in Paris, jubilation among Argentinian supporters at the Sydney Opera House. It was a rollercoaster that toyed with the hearts of Argentinians and French football fans all over the world. “You can’t begrudge him. He is Messi,” said one French fan in Paris.
‘Explosion of billionaire wealth’ in UK | Calls are mounting in the UK for a billionaire wealth tax after a new report showed the number of UK billionaires increasing by a fifth since the onset of the Covid pandemic. “The UK’s record on wealth inequality is appalling, grossly unjust, and presents a real threat to our economy and to our society,” said Jo Wittams, co-executive director of the Equality Trust.
Vatican returning Parthenon marbles to Greece | Pope Francis has ordered three 2,500-year-old pieces of the Parthenon be donated to the Greek Orthodox Church after sitting in the Vatican Museums for two centuries. The decision to not return them directly to the Greek state is widely seen as a way for the Vatican to avoid setting a precedent, as many First Nations groups and colonised countries around the world demand western museums return artefacts looted during colonisation.
Full Story
Australia and the climate crisis: what happened in 2022 and what’s next?
Labor has had a number of environmental priorities, from trying to slow the rapid decline of Australia’s natural environment to seeking greater influence at international climate talks. But what are the challenges ahead in 2023? Listen to this 22-minute episode.
What they said …
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“It is absolutely crazy that at the same time as we’ve got world leaders talking about plans to restore nature …. back home in Australia, we have governments that are allowing the destruction of our native forests, whether that’s Victoria, New South Wales or Tasmania.” – Sarah Hanson-Young
The Greens senator was speaking on the sidelines of Cop15 in Montreal, where she urged Australian states to end native forest logging. Land clearing has seen crucial habitat for local species disappear, resulting in native animals such as the koala being placed on the national endangered list.
In numbers
“There is a deforestation issue in Queensland,” Vanessa Keogh, a project manager at WWF-Australia, said after the release of the latest state government data. Queensland is the worst offender in Australia when it comes to deforestation – it’s no wonder the koala is endangered.
Before bed read
Argentina’s victory caps a scintillating World Cup tournament that weaved threads of excitement and heartache throughout. But the grandest tale of all from Qatar 2022 is Lionel Messi.
“This was a Messi story in so many ways. Messi scored six goals at Qatar 2022 and won the Golden Ball as the best player. He toyed with some of the greatest footballers on earth. He did all this aged 35 and semi-injured. This is not normal. At some stage it will start to stretch the bounds of credibility.”
Barney Ronay writes a fitting finale from Doha.
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