Residents urged to take shelter as bushfire rages in south-east Victoria
Adeshola Ore
Victorian residents in St Helier, The Gurdies, and Woodleigh, in the state’s south-east, are being urged to immediately seek shelter from a bushfire that is threatening homes and lives.
An emergency warning issued at 3.12pm says a bushfire at Woodland Close is not under control:
The bushfire is travelling from [business] Sand Supplies in an easterly direction towards Gurdies Street, Helier Road and Stewart Road.
The fire in the Woodlands area has increased in fire spread on the eastern side
This bushfire could impact The Gurdies St Helier Road between Woodland Close and Stewart Road and Stewart Road from Gurdies St. Helier Road to Dunbabbin Road and Bergmeier Road any time between 3pm and 5pm.
The fire in the Woodlands area has increased in fire spread on the eastern side.
Residents are being warned it is too late to leave the area.
Key events
Benita Kolovos
Major Victorian rezoning announcement delayed
The announcement of the remaining 25 areas due to be rezoned by the Victorian government has been delayed until next year, the planning minister says.
Sonya Kilkenny released a statement today confirming the announcement – which forms part of the Plan Victoria report due to be released late this year – has been delayed.
She said:
We received the draft Plan for Victoria from the department. It’s in good shape but we’ve decided the plan can go even further – to not just find room for more homes, but also more jobs, and more community spaces.
The plan will be finalised over the summer and be released early in the new year.
In October, the Victorian government announced it would seize planning controls around 50 inner-Melbourne areas located near public transport.
It named 25 on the day of the announcement, including Armadale, Hawksburn, Malvern and Toorak stations on the Frankston railway line, Auburn, Hawthorn and Glenferrie on the Belgrave-Lilydale line and North Brighton, Middle Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham on the Sandringham line.
The planning takeover will clear the way for “taller buildings” of between 10 and 20 storeys near the stations and “gentle, scaled height limits and more low-rise apartments and townhouses” of between three and six storeys alongside existing homes in the “walkable catchments” surrounding them.
Josh Butler
Running economy on nuclear power ‘unachievable’, says Canavan
Nationals senator Matt Canavan has doubled down on concerns about the Coalition’s nuclear power plan, saying attempting to run a modern economy through nuclear or renewable power was “equally unachievable” after a video showed him claiming his colleagues are “not serious” about the idea.
Additionally, in contributions to a parliamentary report on Australia’s energy grid, the Queensland senator called for the net zero by 2050 commitment to be scrapped, and for a cost-benefit analysis of the policy – which has been signed up to by both the Labor government and the Dutton Coalition opposition.
Canavan told Guardian Australia:
I’ve been saying for years, a net zero energy approach is not serious. You can’t run a modern economy based on net zero emissions. Our attempt to do so via nuclear, and Labor via renewables, are equally unachievable.
In further comments, published in a report from the Select Committee on Energy Planning and Regulation in Australia, Canavan claimed that:
The fact that a proper cost-benefit study of the net zero emissions was not conducted before its adoption is one of the greatest policy making failures in Australian history.
He called for “a cost-benefit study of its net zero emissions by 2050 target”, including impacts on the economy and how the carbon emissions target would affect manufacturing industries.
His additional comments also called for the removal of Australia’s nuclear power ban, which was instituted by John Howard’s Coalition government. Canavan wrote:
It is unwise for us to rule options out. Australia’s prohibition on nuclear energy is out of step with developments in the rest of the world and should be removed.
Hi, I hope you’ve had a great day so far. I’ll be with you on the blog until this evening.
Emily Wind
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Catie McLeod will take you through the rest of today’s rolling coverage. Take care, and enjoy your weekend.
RTBU suspends support for NSW Labor
Elias Visontay
The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has decided to suspend its support for the Labor party in New South Wales as its battle to secure a better pay deal escalates into a game of brinkmanship that is now threatening Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Earlier today, the NSW police commissioner said she holds “grave concerns” about the safety of holding Sydney’s famous New Year’s Eve fireworks during industrial action across the city’s train network and may recommend cancelling the event in comments the RTBU suggested were orchestrated to support the state government.
RTBU state secretary Toby Warnes said the executive of the union had gathered and “decided to suspend any support to the NSW Labor party in so far as it relates to the NSW parliamentary Labor party”.
We’ve also resolved to ensure that any legal fees that we have to expend fighting this bogus government industrial strategy comes out of any future affiliation payments that my union has with the NSW Labor [Party].
Asked about RTBU members supporting the Labor party in election campaigns by manning voting booths, Warnes said:
I would imagine it will be very difficult to encourage any of my members to come out and support the Labor party after what they’ve done over the past three weeks.
Smoke warning surrounding Grampians national park
A smoke warning has been issued for communities surrounding the Grampians national park in Victoria, amid a large bushfire.
VicEmergency said there was no immediate threat to the community and no action is required, but smoke could be carried long directions.
But residents in Mafeking and Watgania are being urged to immediately leave the areas due to the fire, with a warning issued earlier this afternoon.
Here’s the full story from Josh Butler on earlier news that Nationals MP Keith Pitt is retiring from politics, implying his party had lost its “purpose” and blasting the Coalition’s decision to commit to net zero.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather update for rain and flooding in northern Queensland:
Victims of crime may get more rights in Victorian charter reboot
Victims of crime could be given a more central role in the Victorian justice system as part of a major review of a victims’ charter.
As AAP reports, Victoria’s victims of crime commissioner Elizabeth Langdon announced the review today, one day after fresh statistics revealed a 15% spike in criminal incidents across the state in the past 12 months.
The overhaul marks the first since the charter’s introduction in 2006 and will seek feedback from victims, their families, justice agencies and the community. Langdon, who began in the role in August, said:
We must take opportunities to strengthen victims’ rights wherever we can, to ensure victims are central to justice processes and to make sure that support services uphold the charter.
The charter was developed to set out victims’ entitlements and to provide guidance to agencies about how victims must be treated. My review will assess whether it is still working and where it needs to be adapted to benefit victims today.
The Victims’ Charter is made up of 17 principles intended to guide how victims and survivors of crime should be treated. The commissioner’s findings will be presented to the state government by 7 September 2025, when they are tabled in parliament.
