Welcome to SBS News In Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says an independent review - rather than a royal commission - is the best way to implement any urgent reforms that may be needed after the Bondi attack.
Mr Albanese has released the terms of a review into federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, which is expected to report back by April.
On Monday, 17 families of those injured and killed in the Bondi attack released a letter calling for a royal commission.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley says the prime minister should heed the call issued by the families.
"The prime minister is not listening. Today, the Prime Minister was shouting at Australians not listening to the victims' families and to others who are asking for this Commonwealth Royal Commission. The only way we can honour those we have lost is to confront uncomfortable truths. And to confront uncomfortable truths, we must have a Commonwealth Royal Commission."
The independent review will be led by former intelligence chief Dennis Richardson.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has warned that a royal commission could risk amplifying extremist views.
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Australians are gathering at sites across the country for the New Year's Eve fireworks.
In Sydney, the Harbour Bridge will be lit white at 11pm in memory of the victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
A menorah will also be projected onto the bridge as a mark of remembrance.
Fireworks will then light up the harbour at midnight, with Premier Chris Minns urging people to respond to the attack by coming out to spend New Year’s Eve with family and friends.
"I want to make it clear that if families and the community are thinking about coming to Sydney Harbour to spend some time in the community with their friends, we're hoping that they do it. Terrorism thrives on fear. What the terrorists hope is that people crawl up in a ball and don't go about living their normal lives, but we need to show defiance in the face of this evil, and the best way of doing that is to spend some time with your friends and your family on New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbour."
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Tropical Cyclone Hayley has crossed Western Australia's Kimberley coast as a category-three system, bringing destructive winds and heavy rainfall to the state's north.
The eye of the cyclone crossed the Dampier Peninsula coastline, north of Broome, around 5pm on Tuesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the storm is producing wind gusts of up to 170 kilometres per hour.
Sarah Scully - from the Bureau of Meteorology - warns that heavy rainfall is expected with possible flash flooding continuing over the next 24 hours.
"Potential impacts with this system include the potential for trees to be down, large trees, property damage with those destructive winds, as well power lines down, causing power outages, heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding, but as well, waves and unusually high tides being whipped up by the system, and there's also hazardous driving conditions, with the potential for roads to be closed as roads become impassable."
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An Australian man has died while scuba diving in Bali.
Local authorities say the 40-year-old from New South Wales was with two instructors at the time of the incident.
Investigators believe the man made made a quick, uncontrolled ascent to the surface - a highly dangerous move that causes lung expansion injuries and is often fatal.
A nearby fisherman pulled the diver from the water, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Authorities say the investigation continues.
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In sport, Australian basketball superstar Josh Giddey has injured his hamstring in Chicago's N-B-A loss to Minnesota.
After registering 11 points, four rebounds and three assists, the Australian guard was forced off court in the first minute of the third quarter.
The extent and severity of the injury has yet to be confirmed.
That was SBS News In Easy English. I'm Biwa Kwan.
