TRANSCRIPT:
- Wild weather hits Victoria, leaving half a million households without power.
- The US, Egypt, Israel, and Qatar to meet in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks.
- Slalom kayaker Tim Anderson is set to make his Olympic debut in the Paris Olympics.
Around half a million Victorians were left without power yesterday as thunderstorms and catastrophic fire conditions hit the state.
Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio has called it “one of the largest outage events in the state’s history”.
The Australian Energy Market Operator confirmed 500 kilovolt transmission lines tripped and multiple generators disconnected from the grid.
The Chief Executive of Victoria's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Paul Guerra, told Radio 3-A-W the energy grid in the state is not fit for purpose.
“And the future of Victorians in terms of energy is not good. The energy minister needs to come out, and actually show where the roadmap is to visit every Victorian, whether they're a business or a citizen confidence that we're not going to face this again.”
The Australian Energy Market Operator is investigating the outage.
Three bushfires continue to burn across the state as conditions ease today.
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Tasmania's Premier Jeremy Rockliff has announced that he will call an early state election today [[Feb 14]].
It comes after Mr Rockliff failed to mediate a dispute with crossbench independents John Tucker and Lara Alexander.
Mr Rockliff had wanted the former Liberal members, whose decision to leave the party in May pushed the government into minority, to agree to a more restrictive deal.
But the pair, who have supplied votes of confidence to support the administration, stated that they would like to stick to the original agreement.
The next Tasmanian election was not due until mid-2025.
A stolen generation survivor has called on the Commonwealth parliament to help better support those affected from the stolen generation.
It comes after the 16th anniversary of the Apology to Stolen Generations was marked yesterday...where survivors and descendants came together at events around the country.
In the capital, Ian Hamm says he wants more action on the Stolen Generations redress scheme across different parts of Australia.
“They say when you come to Canberra make sure you have an ask. I have an ask making an appeal. I personally beg you to talk to, engage with, lobby, hassle, hustle, badger, bludgen, I don't really care, the premiers and governments of Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, and Tasmania to establish or re-visit their stolen generations re-dress schemes and get them to the benchmark of the Victorian re-dress in perfect as it may be.”
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US, Egyptian, Israeli, and Qatari officials are expected to meet in Cairo to seek a truce in Gaza as more than a million civilians crammed into a southern corner of the Palestinian enclave, waiting in fear for an Israeli assault.
With growing international concerns, Israeli tanks shelled the eastern sector of Rafah city overnight according to residents.
But the anticipated ground offensive did not appear to have started.
The Israeli military said its forces killed dozens of Palestinian fighters in clashes in the southern and central Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours including at least 30 in Khan Younis...a city close to Rafah.
Gaza health officials said an Israeli strike on a house in Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least 16 Palestinians overnight.
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Millions of people in Indonesia are heading to the polls today [[Wednesday]] as they decide on a new president.
Joko Widodo is serving his second and final term in the position and will need someone to succeed him.
It’s shaping up to be a three-way race between Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and two former governors, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.
Indonesia is the world's third- largest democracy and has about 205 million eligible voters, with 150 million taking part in the last election.
Arya Fernandes is a researcher at the centre for strategic and international studies...and says Mr Widodo has been involved in "influencing emotions and attitudes of voters".
"Our democracy is being tested. And of course, As the public and civilians, we need to exert strong and strict control to make sure that democracy remains the primary choice and that democratic principles are upheld if Prabowo wins."
If none of the candidates secures more than 50 per cent of the votes in the first round, a run-off between the top two is scheduled for the 26th of June.
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Slalom kayaker Tim Anderson is set to make his official debut in the Australian team for the Paris Olympics.
It was announced on Tuesday that he will also play alongside fellow Victorian, Tristan Carter who's 25 years’ old and also making his debut.
29-year-old Anderson considered walking away from Slalom Kayaking, after being unsuccessful in the Tokyo Olympics’ cycle.
But now he has the chance of an Olympic medal this year.
