This is where we will leave our live coverage for today. Thanks for following along.
Before I go, here’s some of what was making headlines today:
Five homes have been destroyed and more than 50 people are sheltering in evacuation centres as bushfires spread rapidly across southern Queensland. Fire crews continue to battle around 43 blazes across the state, with conditions expected to get even tougher in the coming days.
- In NSW, police say multiple fires threatening properties on the state’s Mid North Coast were deliberately lit. Much of the state’s north will be subject to total fire bans tomorrow, with conditions expected to ease on Thursday as cooler southerly winds make their way across the state.
- Senior executives at the ABC were grilled by a parliamentary committee in Canberra today, with managing director David Anderson revealing the public broadcaster will launch a review into its Voice referendum coverage. Financial officer Melanie Kleyn confirmed the broadcaster had experienced $500 million in “real terms” funding cuts since the 1980s, and that 74 employees had so far left the ABC under its $22.2 million redundancy scheme.
- In Washington, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is embarking on a four-day blitz to convince members of a divided Congress to push through legislation enabling the AUKUS submarine pact. Oh, and President Joe Biden has arranged for the B52s to perform for the Australian PM, an avowed fan of 1980s music.
- And back at the National Press Club in Canberra, outgoing National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson issued a stern warning to Albanese’s government as it seeks to solve issues with water buybacks in the Murray Darling and proposes a ban on live sheep exports.
Thanks again for following our coverage of national events today. If you want to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in the Israel-Hamas conflict, you can follow our live coverage here.