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Total fire ban declared for all of Victoria on Saturday
The entire state of Victoria will be under a total fire ban on Saturday, with the state set to experience severe heatwave conditions as temperatures soar between 38C and 44C.
The Country Fire Authority said the high temperatures will be paired with forecast winds of up to 60 or 70km/h, which will make it a challenging day for firefighters.
The CFA chief officer, Jason Heffernan, said in a statement:
We understand it is a long weekend, and many Victorians will be enjoying the great outdoors, but we will be declaring several Total Fire Bans over the course of this heatwave event and with that comes shared responsibility.
Over the next couple of days, have your bushfire plan ready to go, and have a conversation with your family so you all know what you are going to do in the event of a fire.
The CFA maintains a “can I or can’t I” page for what you can do during a total fire ban period.
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Allegra Spender on fear and rushed laws after the Bondi attack – Australian Politics podcast
In an eventful start to parliament for 2026, MPs came together with condolences for the victims of the Bondi terror attack and passed hurried reforms on guns and hate speech. And then, on the national day of mourning on Thursday, the Coalition split for the second time and Sussan Ley’s leadership is now all but over.
Guardian Australia political editor, Tom McIlroy, speaks to the independent MP for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, whose electorate includes Bondi, about why she thinks politics can often stand in the way of community safety. She also discusses her concerns that migrants could become a political target during this time of fear and grief.
Listen in:
Penry Buckley
Police to carry long arms on Australia Day as NSW premier flags ‘standard operating procedure’ from now on
NSW police will once again carry long arms in public on Monday, with the state’s premier, Chris Minns, saying it will be the “standard operating procedure” for major events from now on.
It comes after police announced additional officers carrying long-arm rifles would be visible on New Year’s Eve following the Bondi attack. The same decision was made for the Sydney Ashes test.
Following a variation of a declaration restricting protests following the attack, crowds of thousands are expected in Sydney on Monday, including at Invasion Day protests, and an anti-immigration march.
Speaking at a press conference earlier about the decision, Minns said:
We think it’s important the police have made the tactical decision to deploy long arms on Australia Day. There’s two reasons for it. Unfortunately, it might be needed. And secondly, we’re not going to muck around. We want to send a clear and unambiguous message to the community that they’re safe. And from time to time, that will mean that heavily armed police using weapons that they wouldn’t ordinarily have, will be on Sydney streets, particularly for big events.
And the reason we’re talking about it in advance, is so that your mum and dad, your average family, doesn’t believe that there’s an operation underway. This will be core business, and this will be standard operating procedure for major events in Sydney from now on.
Expansion of Victoria police search powers in Melbourne CBD declared unlawful
A declaration giving police the power to search people without a warrant or any suspicion of wrongdoing was unlawful and invalid, AAP has reported.
The six-month declaration, made by Victoria police on 30 November, was challenged in the federal court by a group of protesters.
The order listed the Melbourne CBD and neighbouring suburbs as a designated area where police could stop and search people for weapons without a warrant or any suspicion of wrongdoing.
Police could also direct a person wearing a face covering to leave the area if they believed the person was trying to conceal their identity or protect themselves from substances like OC spray.
Federal court judge Elizabeth Bennett on Friday determined the declaration was invalid and unlawful.
Patrick Commins
Banks lift fixed mortgage rates as RBA meeting looms
NAB and CBA are among banks which are lifting their fixed-term mortgage rates ahead of a potential Reserve Bank rate hike on 3 February.
NAB lifted its two-year home loan from 5.39% to 5.79% – the second increase in six weeks, according to Canstar.
CBA last Thursday lifted the equivalent fixed rate from 5.44% to 5.79%.
For the record, ANZ now offers the lowest fixed rate out of the majors at 5.44% for a 2-year term. And the cheapest two-year fixed rates are from Community First and Illawarra Credit Union at 4.94%, Canstar says, from a shrinking pool of sub-5% loans.
“While the majority of borrowers are on a variable rate and intend on sticking with this strategy, the mass migration of fixed rates is a pre-emptive move by the banks to counter a higher cash rate in 2026,” Canstar’s director of data insights, Sally Tindall, said.
“This is yet another sign borrowers need to start getting prepared.”
After Thursday’s strong jobs figures, a hot inflation report on Wednesday could seal the deal for an RBA hike the following Tuesday.
As of this morning, financial markets were pricing in a 60% chance of a hike at the next RBA meeting, and fully expect a move by May.
Fixed mortgage rates are on the riseFixed mortgage rates are on the rise
Nick Visser
That’s all for me. Cait Kelly will take things from here. Enjoy your weekend.
Officials brace for hot, dangerous conditions across South Australia this weekend
Officials in Adelaide are also holding a press conference about potentially dangerous fire conditions this weekend across South Australia.
Brett Loughlin, the chief officer of the SA Country Fire Service, said Saturday is shaping up to be “some of the most significant fire weather forecasts we have seen South Australia in recent years”.
Two areas will be under catastrophic fire danger warnings: the Yorke Peninsula and the eastern Eyre Peninsula. Eight other areas will be in the extreme warning.
Loughlin said:
I urge people to take tomorrow seriously. If you are in an area with catastrophic fire danger conditions are forecast, this is as serious as it gets. Tomorrow will be hot and it will be very windy. Conditions are dry and there is no rain, nor cooler conditions on the immediate horizon. If you are in an area with an extreme rating, do not discount the risk.
Total fire ban declared for all of Victoria on Saturday
The entire state of Victoria will be under a total fire ban on Saturday, with the state set to experience severe heatwave conditions as temperatures soar between 38C and 44C.
The Country Fire Authority said the high temperatures will be paired with forecast winds of up to 60 or 70km/h, which will make it a challenging day for firefighters.
The CFA chief officer, Jason Heffernan, said in a statement:
We understand it is a long weekend, and many Victorians will be enjoying the great outdoors, but we will be declaring several Total Fire Bans over the course of this heatwave event and with that comes shared responsibility.
Over the next couple of days, have your bushfire plan ready to go, and have a conversation with your family so you all know what you are going to do in the event of a fire.
The CFA maintains a “can I or can’t I” page for what you can do during a total fire ban period.
Suspect last seen driving ute with council signage
Julian Ingram was last seen driving a Ford Ranger ute with Lachlan Shire council signage, which also included a metal tray back, high-visibility markings on the side and an emergency light bar on the roof.
Anyone who sees Ingram is urged not to approach and to contact triple zero immediately.
Holland said the suspect worked for the local council and would have a “good idea of the local area” as they searched for him.
It would be feasible he could obviously maintain an extended period in the local area without being detected.
The council vehicle was not equipped with GPS.
Police say suspect in fatal shooting of three people in Lake Cargelligo on bail for domestic violence offences
Police are giving an update in Lake Cargelligo after three people were shot and killed in New South Wales yesterday. Authorities are hunting for Julian Ingram, 37, after the incident, describing him as “armed and dangerous”.
Assistant commissioner Andrew Holland, of NSW police’s western regional command, said the suspect was on bail for domestic violence offences at the time of the shooting. Police said during the time he was on bail, he had complied with all conditions and police had “checked on him multiple times”.
The man had a “long history” with criminal matters, Holland said.
Police are unclear where the suspect obtained a gun, saying he had never held a gun licence before.
He said there are police on “almost every corner of Lake Cargelligo” at the moment as the manhunt continues.
Amanda Meade
Talkback radio host Fordham praises Sharri Markson’s Albanese ‘spray’ at Bondi memorial
Nine Radio broadcaster Ben Fordham has praised Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson for delivering “a blunt reminder” to the prime minister at the Opera House memorial last night that the Bondi massacre happened “on his watch”.
The local Chabad of Bondi organised the official national service Light Will Win and the event was hosted by Markson and broadcast on Sky News, as well as the ABC.
In her opening address Markson said Jewish Australians wanted an assurance that “a blind eye won’t be turned to radical Islamic extremism, that visas won’t be given to those who despise our Australian values”.
Fordham said today that Markson had given Anthony Albanese “a spray”.
“She looked straight at the prime minister in the front row, and she reminded him of what happened on his watch; and after the booing he’s copped in public previously, it would have been tense,” Fordham said on his top rating 2GB program today.
Sharri has been one of the PM’s loudest critics, but in the spirit of the night, she offered the prime minister respect and the chance to redeem himself.
Fordham said when Albanese returned to his seat after his address, in which he said he was sorry, he was hugged by a rabbi “despite the anger over the past two months and the mistakes of the past two years”.
In his speech Albanese said: “I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones from this evil”.
Markson told the gathering: “Prime minister, your acknowledgment just now that the community was let down is a crucial step; and your apology tonight was important to hear, and it goes a long way.
We thank you for that, and you are right to say that our hearts were shattered that terrible evening and over the past two years.
