TRANSCRIPT:
- The Coalition attempts to present a united front on climate policy
- Pope Leo celebrates cinema in a meeting with Hollywood stars
- Alex de Minaur says he will come back stronger after ATP Finals defeat
National Party Leader David Littleproud says he is pretty confident of reaching a deal with the Liberals to formalise the Coalition's position on net zero when they hold a joint partyroom meeting today.
After a party-room meeting earlier this week, the Liberal Party announced it would scrap its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. It follows the same action taken by the Nationals earlier this month.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley says the party agreed its policy platform would be about energy affordability as an issue - and that could be achieved without the 2050 emissions reduction target.
She said the party platform would be for Australia to stay with the Paris Agreement.
Liberal Senator Jonathon Duniam told Sky News, the national interest would govern decisions made on emission reduction plans, called Nationally Determined Contributions, under the Paris Agreement.
"I think when you read Article 4 of the Paris Agreement in totality, there is provision for us to do what is in the national interest. And we would determine those contributions and the emission reductions effort in line with national interest. That means making energy more affordable. We have been doing ourselves a disservice. Climate change is settled - don't worry about that. It's not the debate here. It's about how you deal with the efforts our country puts in when it comes to emissions reduction."
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The Bureau of Meteorology says the risk of severe thunderstorms remains active over the next 24 hours for parts of eastern Australia.
Hailstones, heavy rain and destructive winds have hit parts of New South Wales and Queensland on Saturday.
Southeast Queensland received more than 50 millimetres of rain recorded in 30 minutes - at multiple locations west of Brisbane.
And almost 3,000 properties were without power in southeast Queensland at 9pm on Saturday, according to Energex.
Angus Hines, from the Bureau of Meteorology, says the storm danger continues for eastern Australia before the focus shifts from Monday to parts of the country's north and west.
"Where these storms do develop, they could bring some pretty significant weather impacts with them. Damage to cars and property, particularly from the large and giant hail is absolutely possible. And we've seen that happen many times in the last few weeks. We could also see power outages, travel and transport delays as well as flash flooding."
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Thousands have marched in the Brazilian city of Belem to call for climate justice and land rights at COP30.
The demonstration brought together Indigenous communities, Brazilian youth groups, and activists from around the world.
Indigenous activists have been protesting outside the COP venue, saying many have been excluded access to the proceedings.
Brazil's Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, says 400 places out of 1,200 in Brazil's delegation were granted to Indigenous representatives.
Cristiane Puyanawa says she wants to be heard on the issue of Indigenous land rights.
"We are here today at the global climate march. Women, youths, Indigenous peoples, and river communities are united to demand social justice and the demarcation of Indigenous lands. Our land and our forest are not commodities. Respect nature and the peoples who live in the forest."
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Australian actor Cate Blanchett says the pope's message on the vital role of cinema, actors and filmmakers is affirming and inspiring.
Screen stars Blanchett, Monica Bellucci, Chris Pine and Viggo Mortensen were among those invited to the private Vatican audience with the Pope to mark the 130th anniversary of cinema this year.
Pope Leo told the group that the logic of algorithms tends to repeat what works, but art opens up what is possible.
And he urged those involved in cinema to have the courage to keep tackling difficult subject matter.
"In the present era, there is a need for witnesses of hope, beauty and truth. Good cinema and those who create and star in it have the power to recover the authenticity of imagery in order to safeguard and promote human dignity. Do not be afraid to confront the world’s wounds. Violence, poverty, exile, loneliness, addiction and forgotten wars are issues that need to be acknowledged and narrated. Good cinema does not exploit pain; it recognises and explores it."
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In Tennis, Alex de Minaur says he is already looking to come back even stronger after losing to Jannik Sinner 7-5 6-2 in the semis at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Sinner had to overcome first-set resistance from de Minaur until forging away in breathtaking fashion to set up a final against either world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz or Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.
De Minaur says he sees no other way, but to move forward.
"I feel like I should have finished my Turin campaign having one two matches, instead of one. But you can't really change the past. You just have to do your best to learn from it, get back up and keep on heading forward. That is ultimately the goal now. I am in a much better place and I think today there was a lot of good stuff. And utlimately we just got to keep on improving. There is no other way."
