What we learned: Tuesday 20 January
This is where we will wrap up the live blog for the evening. Here’s what made the news:
The federal parliament continues to debate the gun and hate speech legislation rushed into the parliament this week following the Bondi terror attack.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, says that Virginia Bell has formally commenced her role as commissioner for the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion.
NSW police have extended a protest declaration preventing the authorisation of public assemblies after the Bondi attack, but drastically reduced the area to allow Invasion Day marches through the Sydney CBD on 26 January to go ahead.
The Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal has updated the rules for politicians’ travel, after the expenses saga which dogged parliament before Christmas.
Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant, Eraring in Lake Macquarie, will stay open for an additional two years, the NSW government has confirmed.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he has no “silver bullet” to prevent shark attacks but public warnings after stormy weather may need to be increased following the third attack at Sydney beaches in two days.
The International Monetary Fund says Australia is “projected to see some drawn-out persistence in above-target inflation”, as economists and investors bet the RBA will be forced to hike interest rates this year.
We’ll be back with all the latest tomorrow. Enjoy your evening.
Updated
Midnight Oil founding member Rob Hirst dies
Rob Hirst, the drummer and founding member of Australian rock band Midnight Oil, has died aged 70.
Hirst was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer in 2023. The band confirmed his death on Tuesday afternoon.
“After fighting heroically for almost three years, Rob is now free of pain - ‘a glimmer of tiny light in the wilderness’,” they wrote in a statement on social media. “He died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. The family asks that anyone wanting to honour Rob donate to Pankind, Pancreatic Cancer Australia or Support Act.”
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