TRANSCRIPT
Thousands of people have gathered for ceremonies across the country to mark Australia Day.
Large crowds gathered at Bondi Beach in Sydney for a Dawn Reflection and Smoking Ceremony, while in Melbourne people attended the Invasion Day Dawn Service.
In Canberra hundreds of people, including politicans and recent Australian of the Year winners, have gathered for a citizenship ceremony.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in attendance, and has praised Australia Day as an opportunity to reflect.
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Indigenous Australians have held events across Australia to mourn the impact of colonisation and to celebrate the longevity and resilience of First Nations cultures.
In Canberra, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy has hosted the Sovereignty Day Rally to protest what it calls 236 years of "unfinished business".
In Sydney, dignitaries including premier Chris Minns attended the WugulOra Morning Ceremony, which calls on Australians to reflect on the significance of the world's oldest continuous living culture.
Wiradjuri woman and City of Sydney Councillor Yvonne Weldon led a minute's silence, calling January 26 a day of mourning held on the ground zero of colonisation.
She paid homage to the Eora clans who she says were the first to suffer the impact of the arrival of the British.
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The heatwave which has baked swathes of the country over the past week is forecast to ease with a southerly change pushing the system offshore.
Large tracts of central and eastern Australia are enduring another sweltering day, after temperatures reached above 40 degrees and some inland areas reached 50 degrees on Thursday [[26 January]].
As the heat continues east, Newcastle and Taree are expected to reach 41 degrees, and Grafton and Gosford 40 degrees.
Singleton in the Hunter Valley is expecting a top of 43 degrees and Scone 41 degrees.
But a southerly change beginning later this afternoon [[January 26]] will see temperatures drop 10 to 15 degrees.
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The federal government has hit back at criticism from the Opposition regarding its amended stage three tax cuts.
Under the reworked scheme, anyone earning less than $150,000 will receive a larger tax cut, while those earning more are in line for a smaller benefit than earlier promised.
Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton has accused the government of political opportunism, saying the amended scheme is a ploy to win votes.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has defended the government's decision, saying the changes are about improving the lives of those who have been hit hardest by the cost of living crisis.
The changes to the stage three tax cuts will need to pass parliament with the support of the Greens and cross bench before they are due to come into effect in July.
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Gaza's health ministry says at least 20 Palestinians queuing for food aid have been killed and 150 have been wounded by an Israeli strike on Gaza City.
The World Health Organisation has said the food situation in the north is horrific and humanitarian workers say rare aid deliveries are being mobbed by desperate people who are visibly starving.
The head of the W-H-O Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus [[geb-reh-YAY-suss]] broke down while calling for a political solution, saying he was struggling to speak because the situation is beyond words.
Israel's representative, Waleed Gadban, responded saying the international community has decided not to care about Israeli hostages still kept captive in Gaza, and it represents a grave moral failure.
More than 130 hostages are believed to still be in Gaza.
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In football, Socceroos defender Harry Souttar says the team will have to be patient in attack in the knockout stage of the Asian Cup in Qatar.
Kyrgyzstan managing a draw against Oman on the final day of group stage action means Australia will play Indonesia on Sunday night [[2230 aedt kickoff]] in the Round of 16.
Australia topped their group in the group stage, but only scored four goals in their three games.
And the ability of teams to use rather defensive game plans to try and stifle them will only increase in the knockout stage.
Souttar says Australia must avoid getting frustrated.
Australia will play either South Korea or Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals if they manage to get past Indonesia.
Australia hasn't played Indonesia since 2010, when the Socceroos beat them one-nil in Brisbane.
