Good afternoon. A dairy farmer is dead, homes have been lost and about 174,000 homes and businesses are still without power after bushfires and storms ravaged Victoria.
Worksafe is investigating after the body of a 50-year-old man was found at Darlimurla in the state’s east. The power outages forced a number of schools to close today and disabled parts of the state’s rail network.
Top news
Kelly Wilkinson’s estranged husband pleads guilty | Brian Earl Johnston, 37, appeared before Brisbane’s supreme court via video link for arraignment on one count of murdering the 27-year-old Wilkinson (pictured) on 20 April 2021 in a Gold Coast back yard as a domestic violence offence. Wilkinson, who was doused with petrol and set alight, had sought domestic violence protection from Johnston in the weeks before her death.
Tasmanians will go to the polls on 23 March | The premier, Jeremy Rockliff, has called an early election, claiming he won’t be held to “ransom” by crossbench MPs opposing his government’s legislation. The state was not due to hold an election until 2025.
Network Ten to pay Lisa Wilkinson’s legal fees | Wilkinson took Ten to court over its refusal to pay more than $700,000 in legal costs in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case. Justice Michael Lee ruled in Wilkinson’s favour after a two-day cross-claim in the federal court.
Barnaby Joyce encouraged to take personal leave | The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, said that he had encouraged Joyce to take leave for what he described as “not normal behaviour”, referring to an incident last week where Joyce was filmed lying down on a Canberra footpath and swearing profanities into his phone. “He’s embarrassed himself and he’s embarrassed his family,” Littleproud said.
Commonwealth Bank posts $5bn half-yearly cash profit | Australia’s biggest lender is losing market share in its home loan book through a deliberate strategy of not competing for less lucrative mortgage customers. The bank’s tactics feed into concerns there are few signs of healthy price competition between Australia’s major lenders.
Queensland introduces bill for 75% carbon reduction target by 2035 | The premier, Steven Miles, says the target is “responsible, credible and critical” and “positions Queensland as a world leader on the pathway to net zero”. He is pitching the bill as a boost for jobs and guaranteeing certainty for industry.
Houthis strike ship in first Red Sea attack in six days | Yemen’s Houthi forces fired at an Iran-bound grain cargo ship, the US military has said, in a strike that raises questions about the group’s targeting. Meanwhile, the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, says Israel is in breach of international law if it denies Gaza food and water in his clearest warning yet over Israel’s conduct.
Missing Turkish miners ‘swallowed by cyanide-laced landslide’ | Hundreds of Turkish rescue workers were searching through a cynaide-laced field for nine mine workers who were swallowed by a landslide that rolled over their open pit on Tuesday.
Hundreds of millions go to the polls in Indonesia | The incumbent Indonesian defence minister, who has long denied claims he was involved in human rights abuses while a military commander, and two former governors are vying to succeed the still widely popular president, Joko Widodo, who cannot stand again because of a two-term limit. Here’s everything you need to know about the elections.
What they said …
***
“Our main message today is that export of zero-carbon goods can underpin a long period of high investment, rising productivity, full employment and rising incomes in Australia.” – Ross Garnaut, renowned economist
Garnaut and Rod Sims, former head of the consumer watchdog, argued for the benefits of a zero-carbon economy at the National Press Club today.
In numbers
Documents tabled in Senate estimates also show 7,444,939 calls to Services Australia were placed on hold in the six months to 31 December 2023.
Before bed read
No rose for you this Valentine’s Day? “Solidarity – we are the 99%,” writes Briohny Doyle.
“Perhaps the best antidote to co-option or loneliness this St Valentine’s Day is to honour its namesake: a radical who secretly married young couples to keep men out of the army. Love is anarchic energy. We may not feel chosen but we may choose to love. And to send it in all the directions roses don’t bloom from tears or blood or money.” Read the column.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: ONY. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know. Sign up for our Morning Mail newsletter here.
