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Federal government announces $7.2bn funding for Bruce Highway upgrades
The federal government has today announced a $7.2bn funding injection for the Bruce Highway in Queensland – which will fund about 80% of the upgrades needed to make the 1,600km stretch safer.
The transport minister, Catherine King, spoke with ABC News Breakfast just earlier about the announcement, which is aiming to get the road up to a three-star rating:
At the moment there are sections of this road that remain at one and two-star rating … When you have grade separation, when you have barriers, when you take out some of the dangerous curves, that really does reduce the road safety risk of a road and there are sections of this road – particularly up around the Mackay end – that are still at one star.
And we have seen over 40 people last year [lose] their lives … on the Bruce Highway, and this investment will go to lifting the road safety improvement and productivity of what is the single biggest artery right the way through Queensland.
Key events
Australians nominated for major awards at Golden Globes
The Golden Globes are kicking off in Hollywood today, with a number of Australians up for major awards:
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Nicole Kidman is nominated for best female actor in a film (drama) for Babygirl.
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Guy Pearce is nominated for best male actor in a support role in a film for The Brutalist.
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Cate Blanchett is nominated for best female actor in a television limited series, for Disclaimer.
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In the same category, Naomi Watts is nominated for Feud: Capote vs the Swans.
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Memoir of a Snail, by Australian stop-motion film-maker Adam Elliott, is up for best animated film.
You can read the full list of nominations below, before the awards ceremony begins at 11am Aest.
National weather outlook from the Bureau of Meteorology
Here’s a look at the forecast across Australia’s capital cities today – with the hot conditions continuing across much of the country.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Perth is expected to reach a top of 38C, while Darwin has a forecast top of 34C. Canberra could reach 33C, Sydney 32C, and Brisbane 29C.
Melbourne has a milder forecast of 21C, as well as Adelaide (24C) and Hobart (20C).
Lambie says Tasmanian voters ‘50-50’ on Albanese and Dutton
Jacqui Lambie was asked about a poll conducted by the Nine papers, which found she was the nation’s most likeable federal politician.
Asked about the results, Lambie told ABC News Breakfast “I just go out there and do the job”, giving the following advice to others:
I think everybody goes in with good intentions and unfortunately when you belong to the major parties, you’ve got to toe the line and they start to lose their authenticity a little bit. I think from me, be yourself, learn from the job and deliver more and more.
Lambie was also asked how both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton were resonating with voters in Tasmania. She said there was a lot happening on a state level with the Liberals, which is “probably not helpful” for the party at a federal level.
I don’t think the state Libs are performing as well as what they should be, and I’m not talking about the premier, I’m talking about his ministers down here. So I think that’s starting to hurt them a little bit … On the ground down here it is about 50/50, I would say.
Lambie says Albanese decision to campaign over holidays ‘bizarre’
Senator Jacqui Lambie has questioned whether Anthony Albanese would call an early election, amid his pre-election campaign blitz across multiple states this week.
Speaking on the Today Show earlier this morning, she said it was “extremely early” in the year for him to be out and about.
Most people don’t want to see a politician over this … three weeks, you know, from about the 20th probably to about the 10th or 15th of January. So to be out there and campaigning now, I just I don’t know whether that will just annoy the people more or what …
Going out this early straight after Christmas, this would have to be a first, I reckon. This is phenomenal. So anybody would have to say that he’s going to call an election in late February or early March, surely.
Lambie also spoke with ABC News Breakfast, where she called the move “bizarre”.
You never see anybody running around campaigns during the Christmas period. This is really bizarre, so I’m not sure how that is going to go down with Australians. But quite frankly, the worst time to do it is the three weeks over the Christmas period. They just don’t like it very much.
Runway reopens at Melbourne airport
A Melbourne airport spokesperson has just confirmed runway inspections are complete, and the runway has reopened for operations this morning.
The Etihad aircraft has been safely towed from the runway at Melbourne Airport. Runway inspections have been completed and the runway has been reopened for operations this morning.
Melbourne Airport operating with just one runway amid aborted take-off
Continuing from our last post: AAP reports that Melbourne airport is operating with just one runway as work continues to repair the plane damaged during the aborted take-off.
Etihad flight EY461 bound for Abu Dhabi with just under 300 people on board had to abort its departure on Sunday “for technical reasons”. It reportedly slammed on the emergency brakes just moments before taking to the air at 6.15pm.
The Aviation Rescue and Firefighting Service was called and deployed firefighting foam as a precaution, a Melbourne airport statement said. Due to the damage to the aircraft’s tyres, the plane remained on the runway this morning, with repairs currently under way.
It means Melbourne airport is only operating with one runway which will be used for all arrivals and departures – on the day many Australians return to work after the festive period. A spokesperson said:
While there have been no cancellations at this stage, there have been disruptions to some flights. Some flights have departed with less fuel and will need to refuel on the way to their final destination.
Plane travelling from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi aborts take-off
An Etihad plane travelling from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi had to abort its take-off amid “technical reasons”, with emergency crews attending as a precaution.
In a post to X overnight, Etihad Airways said:
Our flight EY461 from Melbourne has been delayed, following a rejected take-off. The flight crew decided to reject the take-off for technical reasons and emergency services attended as a precaution. The safety and comfort of our guests and crew remains our highest priority.
A video was posted to Reddit, appearing to show firefighters spraying the engines of the plane at the end of the runway. One Reddit user who said they were on board the flight wrote:
The first thing the captain said to us after we stopped was that we experienced “engine [exceedance]” on the right side, and that the fire trucks were coming because the brakes were very hot … He later said two tyres were flat. We got towed for a short bit before we had to stop as the flat tyres were damaging the runway.
We have contacted Etihad and Melbourne airport for more information, and will update once we hear back.
Thieves take Barbie doll collection worth $15,000
More than 150 Barbie dolls worth more than $15,000 have been stolen from their dream home, AAP reports, alongside Elvis collectibles and a Jack Daniel’s esky.
That dream home, in the Victorian country town of Tatura, near Shepparton, was broken into in early December while the owners were away on holidays.
The iconic dolls, still in their original packaging, took their owner 12 years to collect and are estimated to be worth in excess of $15,000. Many of the stolen dolls, released between 1970 and 2017, are extremely rare.
It’s believed the thieves could attempt to sell the vintage dolls online, and police have asked the public to keep an eye out for them, saying in a statement:
Just the slightest bit of information might be Kenough to track down the missing dolls.
Albanese to travel country this week, gearing up for election year
The ABC News Breakfast host noted that prime minister Anthony Albanese will head off on a multi-state blitz today, gearing up for the election later this year. Is this pork-barrelling in a state where Labor needs to win votes?
Catherine King said the government had “significantly” reformed infrastructure investment, engaging with Infrastructure Australia in the decision-making process for commonwealth investments.
We’ve actually worked really hard to make sure that we aren’t actually making decisions about where infrastructure is needed based on, frankly, what the previous government did on the colour of the seats that it would go through.
She said the focus was on “where do we need to lift productivity in the nation, [and] where do we need to look at things such as road safety, liveability and sustainability.”
If you look up and down that [Bruce Highway] corridor, there are not a lot of seats that Labor holds or is expecting to hold along that corridor. We are investing in Queensland, we’re investing in the productivity of the entire state, and this project, this investment really will improve road safety for all of those communities alongs highway.
Why is the federal government funding 80% of Bruce Highway upgrades?
Asked by the ABC News Breakfast host why the federal government is funding 80% of the upgrades for the Bruce Highway – rather than asking the state government to take on more of this – Catherine King said both the current and previous state government argued the road is the “only major freight route through Queensland”.
It has seen increasing traffic volumes, and in order to get this done, it needs the commonwealth to step in as part of the National Land Transport Act, the National Highway, to really partner significantly to get this road up to three stars.
It will require contribution from the Queensland government and they, of course, will be responsible for contracting, tendering and managing the budget for this, and making sure that it stays on track and stays within the funding envelope that has been offered by the commonwealth.
Federal government announces $7.2bn funding for Bruce Highway upgrades
The federal government has today announced a $7.2bn funding injection for the Bruce Highway in Queensland – which will fund about 80% of the upgrades needed to make the 1,600km stretch safer.
The transport minister, Catherine King, spoke with ABC News Breakfast just earlier about the announcement, which is aiming to get the road up to a three-star rating:
At the moment there are sections of this road that remain at one and two-star rating … When you have grade separation, when you have barriers, when you take out some of the dangerous curves, that really does reduce the road safety risk of a road and there are sections of this road – particularly up around the Mackay end – that are still at one star.
And we have seen over 40 people last year [lose] their lives … on the Bruce Highway, and this investment will go to lifting the road safety improvement and productivity of what is the single biggest artery right the way through Queensland.
Search for missing Kosciuszko hiker to enter 12th day
A search will resume for a missing bushwalker last seen on Boxing Day, AAP reports, after the deployment of specialist search-and-rescue crews, as temperatures climb and a bushfire burns in the area.
Hadi Nazari, 23, has not been seen since about 2.30pm on 26 December when he began descending the Hannels Spur trail in the Kosciuszko national park near Geehi, between Khancoban and Thredbo.
Two friends reported him missing when he did not arrive at the campground where they planned to meet. Rubbish and hiking poles believed to have belonged to Nazari were found on Tuesday but there has been no sighting of him despite the ongoing search efforts.
Specially trained volunteers camped overnight as other experts were winched in by aircraft to search at the weekend, with hot and humid conditions adding to the difficulty of searching the rugged terrain. More than 300 people have been involved in the search operation, NSW police said.
Temperatures reached 37C at Geehi on Sunday afternoon with a milder top of 28C forecast today. A fire in the national park near Hannels Spur was brought under control by Sunday afternoon with an alert area of about 40 hectares.
Welcome
Emily Wind
Good morning, and welcome back to the Australia news live blog – our first for 2025. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage.
A search will today resume for missing bushwalker Hadi Nazari, 23, who was last seen on Boxing Day in the Kosciuszko national park. The search is entering its 12th day, AAP reports, after the deployment of specialist search-and-rescue crews, as temperatures climb and a bushfire burns in the area. We’ll have more on this in a moment.
Meanwhile, winds from the Southern Ocean will bring relief to parts of south-eastern Australia who have sweltered through a three-day heatwave. As Royce Kurmelovs reports, the wind change is expected to draw cold air up through Victoria and bring much-needed relief, including to fire crews working on the fire front in the Grampians.
As always, you can reach out with any questions, feedback or tips via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s get started.