Watch: home destroyed by fire after power pole falls on it during NSW storms
Circling back to some news earlier, a house in Mudgee has burnt down after a power pole fell onto it during last night’s storm.
Here are some videos from the scene, provided by Fire and Rescue:
Key events
Watch: Albanese says Gaza ceasefire ‘must mark beginning of a new chapter’
In case you missed it earlier, here is what the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had to say about the ceasefire deal when he addressed the media this morning:
And for everything that we know about the deal so far, you can have a read below:
Spender welcomes news of ceasefire deal
Independent MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, has welcomed news of a ceasefire deal. In a post to X, she wrote:
Like so many around the country and the globe, I warmly welcome this ceasefire deal. The return of hostages, the end to the fighting and the chance, I hope, to start laying the foundations for a safe and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians.
Ceasefire must include return of all hostages: Attorney general
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, is visiting Israel on a diplomatic trip.
He shared an image from Tel Aviv and commented on the ceasefire deal, saying:
Today I met with Ella and Daniel in Tel Aviv. Both had family members taken as hostages by Hamas terrorists on 7 October 2023. 467 days later they speak for all of us when they demand the return of all hostages to their families. The ceasefire must make that a reality.
Today I met with Ella and Daniel in Tel Aviv. Both had family members taken as hostages by Hamas terrorists on 7 October 2023. 467 days later they speak for all of us when they demand the return of all hostages to their families. The ceasefire must make that a reality. pic.twitter.com/fT5Wcm7mub
— Mark Dreyfus (@MarkDreyfusKCMP) January 15, 2025
Photos from scene of fatal house fire in Melbourne’s west
Earlier, we brought you news of a fatal house fire in Truganina, in Melbourne’s west, overnight. Photos from the scene this morning show the extent of the damage:
Adeshola Ore
Patrick Stephenson fined for driving offences
The man accused of killing missing Victorian woman Samantha Murphy has pleaded guilty to drink and drug driving, months before the alleged murder.
Patrick Stephenson, 24, appeared in the Ballarat magistrates court this morning via video link. He was fined $2,500 for drink and drug driving charges related to a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in October 2023.
Stephenson allegedly returned a blood-alcohol reading of .148 and tested positive for MDMA after he fell off his motorcycle in Ballarat, the court heard.
Two of the five charges had been withdrawn, with Stephenson pleading guilty to the remaining charges for the single-vehicle motorcycle crash, which also included careless driving.
Stephenson’s defence lawyer, Moya O’Brien, said Stephenson had attended an AFL grand final party on the day of the crash.
Magistrate Guillaume Bailin imposed a total fine of $2,500, with conviction, for the three charges.
In November, Stephenson pleaded not guilty to the murder of Murphy, opting to have the case fast-tracked to the Victorian supreme court.
Thousands still without power across NSW
Let’s check in on the power outages across NSW, following on from last night’s storms.
Ausgrid says power has been restored to 50,000 homes and businesses, after 140,000 customers were affected overnight.
Customers have reported more than 560 electrical hazards including fallen wires, trees and branches on powerlines.
Essential Energy said 15,600 of its customers are without power, the most being in Wagga (2,390), Queanbeyan (1,290) and Mudgee (1,245).
Essential Energy crews will be working to restore power as soon as it is safe and possible to do so.
And Endeavour Energy says it has 403 active outages, affecting 25,961 customers.
Jonathan Barrett
Mortgage holders brace for jobs data
The latest Australian jobs data is due out late morning, and the results will help determine whether there is an interest rate cut next month.
Given core inflation has been drifting towards the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% inflation target, a resilient labour market has emerged as one of the major hurdles to a rate cut.
In other words, the Reserve Bank is looking for signs of a weakening jobs market before stimulating the economy through a lower cash rate.
Australia’s jobless rate recorded a surprise drop in November to 3.9%, amid robust employment growth. Economists expect that growth continued in December, with an additional 15,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate could tick slightly higher to 4%.
If the figures come in stronger, a rate cut will be less likely next month while weaker than expected numbers will fuel calls for interest rate relief.
Before the December data, investors are pricing in a 73% chance of a quarter percentage point rate cut to 4.1% when the RBA board next meets in February.
Weaker jobs data would typically weigh on the Australian dollar, which has been under pressure this year.
Adeshola Ore
WorkSafe charges Northern Health over patient suicide
Victoria’s Worksafe regulator has charged a Melbourne health service over the 2023 suicide of an involuntary patient in its psychiatric facility.
In a statement, WorkSafe Victoria says Northern Health faces three charges in breach of the Occupation Health and Safety Act. The regulator alleges the health services failed to ensure that people, other than employees, were not exposed to health and safety risks.
The patient took their life at the Northern hospital in July 2023.
The health service is due to face the Melbourne magistrates court on 4 February.
Shoebridge: ‘There must be peace with justice’
Greens senator David Shoebridge says “there must be peace with justice” amid news of a ceasefire in Gaza. In a post to X, he wrote:
If the political leaders who [fuelled] the violence had acted sooner, tens of thousands of lives would have been saved.
War criminals must now be actively prosecuted. Australia’s complicity in the delivery of weapons must be investigated, as well as the role of US intelligence bases like Pine Gap.
The world must not move on without justice because that will never bring lasting peace.
Ceasefire deal welcome, but fails to address systemic issues: Apan
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has welcomed the “long-overdue” ceasefire deal in Gaza, but says it is far from sufficient – and “fails to address the systemic issues of Israel’s genocide, illegal occupation, and apartheid”.
In a statement, Apan said the international community, including Australia, “must ensure this ceasefire is not merely a temporary pause” in attacks from Israel:
Without an arms embargo, sanctions, and mechanisms to ensure accountability and liberation for Palestine, a ceasefire will be little more than a bandage over an open wound.
The Apan president, Nasser Mashni, said a ceasefire is a “fleeting reprieve that will never undo the profound pain caused by Israel’s genocide, nor will it, alone, prevent the next wave of bloodshed”.
The ceasefire must not be a smokescreen for complacency. Australia must rise to this moment by cutting all military ties with Israel, imposing sanctions and holding Israeli officials and entities accountable in international courts.
More than 46,000 Palestinians have been reportedly killed in the conflict, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe and laid waste to most of Gaza’s infrastructure. The international court of justice is studying claims that Israel has committed genocide.
About 1,200 Israelis were killed on 7 October 2023, and another 250 taken hostage. One hundred were freed in exchange for 240 women and children held in Israeli jails in a ceasefire deal struck in November 2023 that collapsed after a week.
Watch: home destroyed by fire after power pole falls on it during NSW storms
Circling back to some news earlier, a house in Mudgee has burnt down after a power pole fell onto it during last night’s storm.
Here are some videos from the scene, provided by Fire and Rescue:
Shorten to begin new role next Monday
Caitlin Cassidy
Outgoing minister and former opposition leader, Bill Shorten, will begin his new role as vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra (UC) next Monday after a tumultuous few months for the institution.
The UC has been in the midst of ongoing restructuring and redundancies, with dozens of courses cut and around 50 positions axed to make up for financial shortfalls.
The acting chancellor at UC, Patricia Kelly, said the it was an honour to welcome Shorten to the university:
His values of providing opportunity to all and reducing inequalities were clearly reflected in his most recent role as the minister for the NDIS Scheme and Government Services. His passion for equity for all sits perfectly with UC’s vision to be the most accessible university in Australia.
Shorten said it was a “pivotal time”, not only for the University of Canberra, but for the higher education sector more broadly:
I will work collaboratively with the University Council and community to chart a course for a sustainable and successful future and continuing excellence in education and research. UC is a small university but our impact is big, particularly in the ACT region, which we serve as a priority.
Dutton confident in Aukus under Trump administration
Like Anthony Albanese earlier, Peter Dutton said he believes the Trump administration will support the Aukus deal. Dutton told reporters:
I worked with four administrations. The Obama administration, the Trump administration, obviously the Biden administration, and this administration, I think, will do a lot of good for the relationship.
I think that there is an enormous opportunity for us to expand the work that we’ve done and Aukus is essential for the safety of our country in a very uncertain century.
And there is bipartisan support. There’s mutual understanding across the aisle both here in Australia and in the United States that this is to our mutual benefit, and we will make sure that when we get into government that that relationship will build and that Aukus will be realised for our country.
Dutton calls for uniform knife laws amid alleged supermarket stabbing
Peter Dutton was asked about a decision by Coles this week to stop selling kitchen knives after the stabbing of one its employees in a south-east Queensland supermarket.
Dutton described the incident as “horrific” and said he understood why Coles has taken this decision:
We need to get serious about this, because the police need every tool to make sure that this stops, because innocent people, including women who are turning up to work at supermarkets, are the subject of these horrible, horrible incidents.
These incidents are more and more prevalent and we need to do everything that we can to take the knives out of the hands of these young [people] who have no business whatsoever in carrying knives into a shopping centre or into a playground or into a school. And that’s why I think these uniform knife laws are something that the government should have enforced by now.
Dutton addressing media in Tasmania
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is speaking to reporters in Tasmania. On the ceasefire deal, he said:
Everybody wants peace in the Middle East – of course we do. And we want to make sure that the remainder of the hostages are released, if they’re still alive. Let’s wait to see what happens in relation to those commitments and whether they’re honoured before we start to talk about next steps.
