Australia news live: firefighter dies in NSW; Bragg says ‘every back yard’ could fit a new house or granny flat

Australia news live: firefighter dies in NSW; Bragg says ‘every back yard’ could fit a new house or granny flat

8.54pm GMT Minns said more than a dozen houses were lost on the Central Coast of NSW, but added the situation could have been much worse.

I’m very grateful that people listen to police and firefighters, particularly on the Central Coast, because the situation could have been far, far worse.

We lost more than a dozen houses, but no lives were lost on the Central Coast, and I think that’s because of the hard work and dedication of firefighters, but also the fact that members of the community were prepared, listened to emergency services, and got out when they were told to.

8.43pm GMT Firefighter dies in NSW during bushfires New South Wales premier Chris Minns has said a member of the national parks firefighting team has died on firegrounds in the state.

Minns said a man was likely killed by a tree, “obviously a terrible reminder of how difficult and dangerous this work is and how the people who put their lives on the line to protect lives and property do an incredible job for us in this state”.

“It’s a deeply distressing turn of events, and a sad day for New South Wales this morning,” Minns told ABC News Breakfast.

There are about 700 firefighters across NSW working today to contain the blazes, including nine that remain uncontained.

Minns said it was “quite a foreboding beginning to the beginning of the bushfire season”.

Updated at 8.59pm GMT 8.33pm GMT Report finds many Australians with psychosocial disabilities falling through support gap More than 130,000 Australians with psychosocial disabilities are slipping through a support gap, receiving neither NDIS or health system care, a new report by the Grattan Institute has found.

The report, released institute’s

The report, released Sunday night, said the NDIS provided nearly $6bn to support about 66,000 people with psychosocial disabilities last year but more than 130,000 received nothing from either the disability insurance scheme or mental health system.

The institute’s disability program director, Sam Bennett, said a new national program should be established outside the NDIS but using existing contributions to fix the gap without adding to the scheme’s funding pressures.

Bennett said: Rebalancing the system so there are stronger recovery-oriented supports available inside and outside the NDIS would transform the lives of Australians with psychosocial disability and make better use of existing funds.

8.31pm GMT Liberal party’s future tied to strong housing policy, shadow minister says The shadow housing minister, Andrew Bragg, will tie the Liberal’s future to adopting a strong housing policy, sounding the alarm at a centre-right event this afternoon.

Bragg, one of the party’s leading moderates, will use the address at the Centre of Independent Studies event in Sydney to warn that depopulation in former Liberal inner-city strongholds will cost the party even more votes in future elections.

In a broad speech on housing policy ideas – yet to be officially adopted by the opposition – Bragg will suggest upzoning (rezoning areas for taller buildings) and gentle density (increasing density in single-detached neighbourhoods) could increase housing supply and construction productivity in the short-term.

The shadow housing minister will say: Put simply, we need more buildings.

It doesn’t matter what they are.

We need to build like mad.

We need to 8.30pm

We need to think outside the box – every back yard could potentially host a new house or granny flat if the owner wanted it.

8.30pm GMT Good morning Good morning, and happy Monday.

Nick Visser here to jumpstart the day’s blog.

Here’s what’s on deck: Andrew Bragg, the shadow housing minister, will use a speech later today to tie the future of the Liberal party to a strong housing policy.

He will suggest upzoning and gentle density could increase housing supply and construction productivity in an address at the Centre of Independent Studies.

Dozens of homes have been destroyed across New South Wales and Tasmania amid a spate of bushfires, spurred by hot, dry, windy conditions this weekend.

60 fires are still burning across NSW and 11 in Tasmania.

Stick with us.