Key events
WA firefighters brace for another day of intense blazes
Firefighters battling multiple blazes that have destroyed homes in Western Australia face another day of tough conditions.
Five emergency-level blazes have torn through bushland, rural properties and the suburb of Parkerville in Perth’s hilly east in the past two days.
Crews have faced “intense fire behaviour” driven by strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidity.
No emergency warnings were in place in WA early on Friday following threat downgrades but Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said the situation was unlikely to improve for days.
Klemm spoke to reporters from the Parkerville fire ground late on Thursday:
We haven’t got a great forecast, particularly the next three or four days.
Certainly from here through to Boxing Day we’re going to have some really challenging conditions across … the southern half of the state.
The Parkerville blaze, which started accidentally on Thursday when a tree fell onto powerlines, has destroyed two homes, but authorities warn there could be more.
The alert warning for the area was at watch and act level early this morning, but residents were warned there was still a possible threat to lives and homes as conditions may change.
– Australia Associated Press
NSW wind farm approved
A wind farm will be developed in south-west NSW – the first wind farmed approved in the state in 2.5 years.
The 1,500-megawatt Yanco Delta wind farm will operate in the state’s South West Renewable Energy Zone. It will be developed by Virya Energy on a 33,000-hectare site in the Murrumbidgee and Edward River local government areas.
It will power up to 700,000 homes a year, the NSW government said on Friday, and will involve the construction of 208 wind turbines with a maxiumum tip height of 270 metres; an 800 megawatt battery energy storage facility and grid connection infrastructure.
The state minister for climate change and energy, Penny Sharpe, said:
It means more clean energy, more jobs and local investment and we’re another step closer to achieving our Net Zero targets.
Over the next decade, three of the four remaining coal fired generators in NSW are scheduled to retire, removing around 7,400 megawatts of dispatchable electricity generation from the system.
Renewable energy developments like this one in the South West Renewable Energy Zone are critical to our energy future, so we can ensure there is enough renewable energy to replace ageing coal-fired power stations.
Lehrmann’s lawyers to give closing arguments
Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers are expected to give their closing arguments in the defamation trial today. Guardian Australia will have a separate live blog to cover all the developments from 10am.
Defence lawyers used their closing arguments on Thursday to describe the former Liberal staffer as a “fundamentally dishonest man”.
Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyer also told the court there “can’t be any doubt in anyone’s mind that there was sex” on the night Brittany Higgins was allegedly raped.
“The only issue that would trouble your honour, having regard to the unsatisfactory state of the evidence by both persons, is the consent issue,” Wilkinson’s barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, said on Thursday.
Lehrmann is suing both Channel Ten and Wilkinson over a 2021 interview with Higgins broadcast on The Project which he says defamed him by accusing him of raping Higgins in the office of their then boss, defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.
Lehrmann has repeatedly denied the allegation and says no sex whatsoever took place.
Welcome
Welcome to Friday – the last working day before Christmas. I’m Rafqa Touma taking you through the morning’s news.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the Queensland premier, Steven Miles, will visit flood-ravaged areas of Queensland today.
Meanwhile, firefighters battling multiple blazes that have destroyed homes in Western Australia face another day of tough conditions.
Five emergency-level blazes have torn through bushland, rural properties and the suburb of Parkerville in Perth’s hilly east over the past two days.
Crews have faced “intense fire behaviour” driven by strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidity.
The Fire and Emergency Services commissioner, Darren Klemm, said the situation was unlikely to improve today.
“We haven’t got a great forecast, particularly the next three or four days,” he told reporters from the Parkerville fire ground late on Thursday.
“Certainly from here through to Boxing Day we’re going to have some really challenging conditions across … the southern half of the state.”
I’m Rafqa Touma and I will be rolling our live blog coverage through the day. If you see anything you don’t want us to miss, shoot it my way on X (Twitter) here: @At_Raf_