Key events
Victorian energy company urges customers to prepare for high temperatures and fire conditions
Powercor, which supplies energy to around 1.2m homes and businesses in Victoria, is urging customers to prepare for the extreme heat and fire conditions today.
The company said bushfires can impact powerlines and cause outages that last longer than usual, while high temperature and wind can affect electricity infrastructure and cause localised power outages.
Ben Hallett, the company’s emergency manager, said it is essential Victorians include power outages in their emergency planning, saying in a statement:
If bushfires damage or destroy parts of the power network, this will affect power supply to properties and impact equipment that relies on electricity such as electric water pumps,” Ben said. “It may take days or longer for our crews to be able to safely access these sites and repair damaged electrical infrastructure.
We’re asking everyone to act now – charge devices, prepare backup plans and make sure you’re ready.
More details on the light plane crash near the Gold Coast
There are grave fears for two people critically injured in a light plane crash that sparked a bushfire at a regional airport, AAP reports.
Two people were on board the aircraft, which went down just before 6am in bushland at the Jacobs Well airfield, also known as Heck Field, north of the Gold Coast.
The wreckage caught alight on impact, sparking a fire in bushland about 500 metres from the airstrip.
A large plume of smoke was visible for kilometres from the crash site, firefighters said. At least 11 fire crews remain on scene with paramedics and police.
Queensland Ambulance Service said a pilot and a passenger were involved in the crash.
Jewish influencer barred from Australia responds after visa cancelled
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.
The 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. Yahood has made multiple posts on X calling Islam a “murderous ideology”, a “disgusting ideology” and claiming Islam “cannot be trusted to simply ‘co-exist’”.
The influencer took to social media to say his spirits were not “knocked, even slightly” after the episode. He said:
They blocked me. The Australian government went to so much effort to stop me … that they called up the UAE and made sure that didn’t happen.
This is a story about a government overreaching. This is a story about tyranny, censorship and control. We cannot allow it.
I am not turned away, as it may literally seem. I have been spurred on. The gasoline has been added to the fire, and I’m telling you now, the Australian government, a tyranny that seems very similar to one that I know from the UK, does not know what they have started.
Adelaide passes 40C before 9.30am
It’s just before 9.30am in Adelaide, but temperatures have already hit 40C in the city, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
In Ouyen, Victoria, where our reporter Stephanie Convery is stationed, it is currently 35.5C, but the forecast is still predicting the mercury to rise to 49C by 4pm.
Graham Readfearn
Killing of K’gari dingoes in wake of backpacker’s death could create ‘extinction vortex’, expert says
Dingo experts have said a decision to kill a 10-strong pack of the animals linked with the death of Canadian tourist Piper James on K’gari could push the island’s population towards extinction while doing little to protect humans.
The Queensland government revealed on Sunday it had already killed six of the pack seen around the body of the 19-year-old in a move that has angered the island’s traditional owners who have said they were not consulted.
On Saturday, James’s mother, Angela, told the ABC that killing the dingoes “is the last thing Piper would want”.
“She wouldn’t want anything done to [the dingoes]; they were there first. She knew that,” she said.
Malinauskas says he doesn’t regret position on Adelaide writers’ week
South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas was asked earlier this morning about the drama surrounding Adelaide writers’ week and Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah.
He told RN Breakfast that he doesn’t regret his position on the matter, and said he would stand by it if he had to make it again:
From my perspective, you know, there was a range of complex questions here, but ultimately, you know, as the leader of the state, when I was asked to form a view about this, I was happy to do so and express it. And I don’t regret the position I take.
The premier said he believes events such as writers’ week need to be “about bringing people together rather than driving the sort of antagonism that I think serves no one any good”.
When asked if he would maintain the same position again, Malinauskas said:
Yeah, I would. But that’s not to say I don’t think it’s exceptionally unfortunate that writers’ week is not going ahead.
I just hope that in future everyone might sort of take stock, assess themselves of the facts before jumping to conclusions about all of this. I think that’s what’s important in the world.
Light plane crashes at Gold Coast airfield
A small aircraft crashed at Heck Field, also known as Jacobs Well airfield, near the Gold Coast this morning.
Queensland police said the incident happened just before 6am. Officials said injuries are unknown, but the ABC reports two people have suffered life-threatening wounds.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it had been notified of the accident at Heck airfield, but was currently gathering more information about the incident.
Tim Wilson says colleagues not plotting leadership spill against Ley
Tom McIlroy
Liberal frontbencher Tim Wilson says he’s had no phone calls from colleagues counting the numbers to replace 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.
“Sussan’s the leader, and I always support the leader,” he told Sky.
We’ve got to make sure that whatever it is, we’re united behind the team. We need to make sure we’re holding the Albanese government to account.
Wilson, who has been speculated as a possible candidate for the deputy leadership, said it is not something he has entertained. He cited small business insolvencies and rising requests for mental health support as more important issues.
I’m quite sure that some of my colleagues are making phone calls. They do that, whether there’s these moments or not. The question is, what are they making [them] for?
If they’re making them to build out a bold policy vision for the future of the country, which we need in their portfolios and my portfolio and all my shadow colleagues’ portfolios, that’s the basis in which we build the confidence of the Australian people.
Petra Stock
Victoria to open nation’s first offshore wind auction this year
Australia’s first offshore wind auction is set to kick off this year, with the Victorian Government announcing it would invite tenders for 2 gigawatts of capacity in August.
Minister for energy and resources Lily D’Ambrosio said:
We want to give industry the certainty it needs to invest and help us keep building the renewable energy Victoria needs to push down energy bills.
The state government’s announcement followed a recent decision by Australia’s energy ministers to include offshore wind as part of the Electricity Services Entry Mechanism, an initiative designed to support investment in new generation and storage after 2030.
Australia’s first offshore wind farm will almost certainly be built in Victoria, the only state with legislated targets – for at least 2GW by 2032 and 9GW by 2040.
In December, Star of the South, the country’s most advanced offshore wind project located off the Gippsland coast, lodged its environmental impact assessment for assessment under federal environment laws after seven years of technical studies.
Stephanie Convery
Aside from potentially record-breaking heat, what else is Ouyen known for? Vanilla slice
Travellers Marg and Graham have stopped at Ouyen Mallee Bakery on their drive home from Mildura to Geelong this morning.
Besides possibly breaking heat records, this town is famous for this bakery’s vanilla slices, which, in 1998, were proclaimed by Victoria’s then-premier Jeff Kennett to be the best he’d ever tasted. This kicked off the illustrious annual Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph, held here in Ouyen (pronounced “Oh-yen”) until 2012, when it moved north to Merbein, just outside Mildura.
Marg and Graham are hightailing it home after a flying visit to the Murray to get back to Marg’s dogs, as it’s forecast to be 45C in Geelong today.
They made tracks early, but they say it will be the afternoon before they are home – it’s a 448km drive just from here.
Marg says:
We always stop here on our way back.
Graham chimes in:
The vanilla slices – they’re very good.
Adelaide sees hottest night on record
The city of Adelaide had its hottest night on record, with temperatures falling to just 34.1C before 7am local time.
South Australia 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”. He said:
These are extraordinary conditions, but by and large, the state is responding well. We’ve been very fortunate to have our emergency services, particularly in the voluntary CFS out there dealing with fires as they have arisen, so as to prevent a catastrophe occurring.
But there’s still a lot that we’ve got to keep an eye on.
Total fire ban across Victoria today
Just a reminder, there is a total fire ban across Victoria today amid potentially record-breaking temperatures.
Extreme fire danger conditions are forecast for parts of the central, north central, south west, Wimmera and Mallee fire districts.
The ban means no fire can be lit in open air or allowed to remain alight until 11.59pm.
You can check what you can and can’t do here.
Former NSW Liberal party president says Coalition with Nationals doesn’t ‘work for us’ any more
Jason Falinski, the former NSW Liberal party president, said he doesn’t believe it “works” for the Liberals to be in Coalition with the Nationals any longer.
Falinski spoke to RN Breakfast this morning amid the ongoing turmoil following a split between the two parties over the federal hate speech bill, saying the best solution moving forward for the Liberals would be focusing on voters’ problems, not appealing to the Nationals.
He said:
The best option overall is for the Liberal party to come up with solutions that speak to the problems that people are facing at the moment, to come up with policies that address their concerns and to create a community in which everyone can live the best life that they want to or would like to. That’s the best solution.
And if the National party wants to be part of that, we would be very happy to have them back.
But at the moment where they’re triangulating because they’re so freaked out by what’s happening with One Nation – which they’ve created themselves, I’ve got to say – then I don’t think it works for us to continue to be in a Coalition with them.
Falinski went on to say he would prefer the Nationals stop chasing One Nation, saying the strategy had not worked out for them, or the Coalition:
My very strong preference is for the National party to work out that what they’ve been doing for nearly two decades now. [It] has not been working for them, much less for the Liberal party.
Today a day ‘not to be complacent’, fire chief says
Heffernan said even though fire resources are focused on two major fires currently burning, any blaze that breaks out today or in the coming week will be difficult to contain amid hot, dry conditions.
He said:
Today is a day not to be complacent. Whilst we are focus on the Walwa and the Carlisle River fire, to be frank, the state is very, very dry. Any fire that takes hold will be a challenge for community.
Heffernan added communities should take care to look after the elderly, young and infirm amid the heatwave:
Today is one of those days where we have concern for the elderly, the sick and the very young. They are extremely susceptible to heatwaves and the sort of heat that we are talking about this morning, so we are anticipating a greater demand for medical services.
We are asking the community to look after yourself, look after each other and keep cool and try to avoid the hot places.
Still not too late to leave areas near dangerous Victoria fire, but conditions will change later today
Jason Heffernan, the chief officer of Victoria’s Country Fire Authority, is speaking about the fire threat to the state today. He told ABC News:
It is going to be a challenging day for not only firefighters, but for Victorians generally. It will be potentially record-breaking heat across the state.
Four zones around the Carlisle River fire have been asked to evacuate immediately, and it is still not too late to do so.
We do expect that fire will run today under the conditions, those hot northerly winds, but it’s the change that’s going to come through about 5pm with some really punchy winds that is likely to do most of the damage and drive that fire further into the Otways in a north-easterly direction, affecting nearly all the communities which we have highlighted today.
Donna Lu
Heat is Australia’s ‘silent killer’. Here are the symptoms to watch out for
What are the symptoms of heat-related illness? How do you stay cool and prevent heat stress? What does prolong heat do to your body?
Extreme heat is the most common cause of weather-related hospitalisations and deaths in Australia – here’s what you need to know.
A dispatch from Ouyen, Victoria, which could hit 49C today
Stephanie Convery
It was 26.1C as the sun rose over the small Victorian town of Ouyen this morning. The barest of night breezes rippled the surface of the lake as the sky turned red – the smallest of reprieves before the heat builds again.
Tuesday has loomed large in the minds of many. Today is when this prolonged heatwave is expected to hit its peak. Melbourne is facing a rare 45C, but this Mallee town of 1,170 people is staring down 49C – a figure that would break the state’s temperature record of 48.8C, set in Hopetoun on Black Saturday in 2009.
From where we sit in Ouyen, it seems extremely likely that it will get there. It got pretty close just two weeks ago, peaking at 47.5C on Thursday 8 January. And Tuesday is not the first but the fifth day in a row that temperatures here will exceed 40C – and there’s more to come.
Ouyen hit a top of 44.3C yesterday at 5.52pm. It got to at least 42.5C on Sunday and 43.3C on Saturday, and hit 45.1 on Friday. It has barely dropped below 20C at night. And another four days over 40C are expected to follow, totalling a possible nine full days of extreme 40C+ temperatures.
The heat is heavy and insistent, pressing sharply through clothes, sunglasses, windows and walls. There’s no hiding from it, except in heavily air-conditioned buildings.
The area hasn’t recorded a drop of rainfall all January, and only 13.6mm in December. The fire danger rating today is extreme.
Good morning
Good morning to you all. There are only a few more days left of January, yeesh. Here’s what’s on deck today.
An out-of-control bushfire near Carlisle River in southern Victoria prompted warnings last night for communities to evacuate immediately ahead of a hot, dry and dangerous day of weather. There is a total fire ban across all of Victoria today.
Temperatures are expected to soar in parts of Victoria and South Australia today, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning an extreme heatwave could smash temperature records. Melbourne is in for its hottest day since 2009’s Black Saturday bushfires, with forecast temperatures of 45C.
Parts of north-east Victoria and south-west NSW face an extreme heatwave warning, with officials warning of impacts to residents’ health. Heat is Australia’s “silent killer”; here’s what to watch out for.
Stick with us.
