Standoff looms for final week of parliament as Coalition holds out on nature laws – as it happened

4.18am GMT What we learned - Sunday 23 November That’s where we’ll wrap up for today – but first a quick recap: Cyclone Fina left a trail of damage as heavy rain hit the Top End, with roofing at the Royal Darwin hospital partially collapsed. Over 19,000 homes and businesses have been left without power. The housing minister promised to deliver more than 21,000 new social and affordable homes around the country under the Housing Australia Future Fund. G20 leaders declaration supported “unanimously” despite US pressure and boycott. New NSW opposition leader Kellie Sloane said hecklers were “not going to stop me turning up”. Sarah Hanson-Young criticised the government’s contradictory offers to the Greens and Coalition on its nature laws. Australia will have “unprecedented influence” over the upcoming UN climate discussions at the COP conference, Anthony Albanese says, after an agreement which would see energy minister Chris Bowen become the “president of negotiations” while Turkey hosts the main conference. Experts welcomed Australia signing Cop30 fossil fuel phase-out declaration but say ‘real action’ must follow. The Belém declaration is Australia’s “strongest ever statement on phasing out fossil fuels”, a former climate diplomat said. The Coalition would not support the government’s environmental laws in their current form, James Patterson said. Tropical Cyclone Fina intensified into a category four system as it moved southwest towards the northeast Kimberley coast. We’ll be back with the news blog bright and early tomorrow. 4.13am GMT Tropical Cyclone Fina intensifies into a category 4 system As predicted, Tropical Cyclone Fina has intensified into a category four system as it moves southwest towards the northeast Kimberley coast. In its latest update, the bureau of meteorology described the intensity of the cyclone as category four with “sustained” winds near the centre of 165km/h with wind gusts to 230km/h. The warning zone extends from Wadeye to Dundee Beach in the Northern Territory and NT/Western Australian border to Troughton Island, including Kalumburu in WA. Updated at 4.17am GMT 3.53am GMT Update on Morton Bay house fire death Police have released new details on the house fire north of Brisbane which has claimed the life of a person inside this morning and four other people taken to hospital. Emergency services were called to the property at Moreton Bay about 5.35am after neighbours reported the fire. Police say: A person was located deceased inside the residence. Other occupants, a man, woman, and two teenagers, were treated at the scene and transported to hospital. A crime scene has been declared, and the cause of the fire is yet to be determined. Investigations are ongoing. Updated at 3.58am GMT 3.39am GMT (A)manda Parkinson has captured some of the scenes in Darwin today with giant trees have been ripped from their roots and shops closed to the public. 3.33am GMT Finocchiaro paid tribute to the community spirit: In true Territory spirit, neighbours are coming out with chain saw and gardening snippers, and everyone’s chipping in behind each other. And I think that’s really special and important. Updated at 3.35am GMT 3.25am GMT ‘Business as usual’ at Royal Darwin hospital after ceiling collapse Lia Finocchiaro said it was now “business as usual” again at Royal Darwin hospital despite damage to a ceiling in the building: Royal Darwin hospital last night had a four by four meters square area of its ceiling collapse. There were no injuries to staff or patients and it did not impact patient outcomes or our ability to look after the people in our care in hospital, we’ve had engineers making assessments, and I don’t have any further updates, other than to say it is business as usual at Royal Darwin hospital and that one incident has not had an operational impact. Updated at 3.30am GMT 3.24am GMT Finocchiaro said preparedness meant there has been “minimal impact”, with the greatest brunt felt by the community of Wurrumiyanga, on the southern coast of Bathurst Island: This cyclone saw a territory that was united and prepared for what was to come. And as a result, we’ve seen a largely minimal impact and no injuries. As a result, Wurrumiyanga experienced the greatest brunt of Cyclone Fina and Darwin expect winds of up to 109 kilometers an hour. So it’s understandable that there is damage. Wurrumiyanga is likely to have longer periods of power outages. However, there is some diesel redundancy on the island that we can utilize, and we will communicate more directly with the people affected over there. Updated at 3.44am GMT 3.19am GMT Principals asked to assess whether schools safe to return Lia Finocchiaro said school principals have been asked to visit their schools to see if it will be safe for students to return: Of course, families are really keen to understand whether or not they’ll be sending their children to school tomorrow, and we very much want to make sure that we are returning to a business as usual in a safe and measured way. And so principals have now been asked to go and visit their school. It’s safe for them to do that and make those assessments school by school, on whether or not they’re fit and ready to be welcoming students back in their doors first thing tomorrow morning, that will then be communicated to all parents across the afternoon, so that all families have certainty around what tomorrow looks like. Updated at 3.27am GMT 3.18am GMT NT residents now able to leave home for essential purposes Finocchiaro said warnings have now been reduced: We want Territorians to be going back to their business as usual. Now, obviously there remains to be significant debris, trees down and even power lines, but Territorians who need to move about for essential reasons, such as restocking their fridges, having to take items to dump points and other necessary travel are encouraged to do so safely. Updated at 3.29am GMT 3.17am GMT Over 19,000 homes and businesses without power after Cyclone Fina Lia Finocchiaro, the chief minister of the Northern Territory, is giving an update after Cyclone Fina. She says: There are around 19,500 homes and businesses that lost power over the last 24 hours, and our crews have been out on the ground, tirelessly working through what that footprint looks like and how we restore power as soon as possible. Updated at 3.20am GMT 3.12am GMT Cyclone Fina also stirred up a rare swell on Darwin beaches, Parkinson reports: Despite the crocs and stingers, some surfers braved the conditions to catch a wave. Brad Cosway was out with his friend Craig Dawson on Sunday for a kite surf at Windsurfers Corner in Nightcliff. He said: I don’t want to surf with the crocs, but they aren’t feeding in the saltwater. Plenty of these guys have been out surfing here for 30 years and no one has ever been taken. 3.03am GMT Darwin residents inspect damage after Tropical Cyclone Fina (A)manda Parkinson has been reporting from Darwin for Guardian Australia, speaking to locals waking up to inspect the damage from Cyclone Fina. On Nitsa Kotis’s street a 10m palm tree fell – away from homes – on to power lines, blocking the road and cutting power. Kotis said: I haven’t even been out the back of my place yet to see the damage, I’ve been too busy socialising with the neighbours. Neighbours spilled out on to the street on Saturday morning to inspect the damage, some charging phones and devices from their car batteries, others just milling over their nights. You can read the full story here: Related: Homes without power and buildings damaged across Top End after Tropical Cyclone Fina brings gales and torrential rain Updated at 3.28am GMT 2.48am GMT Experts call for animals to be at the core of infrastructure planning An estimated 10 million native animals are killed on Australian roads every year, AAP reports. Though there are measures known to make roads safer for wildlife, new research has warned those optional design standards are often overlooked. Wildlife could be protected through underpasses, canopy bridges and exclusion fencing, but their construction was usually left to the discretion of budget-conscious developers, according to a Griffith University-led analysis. Queensland and Victoria are the only states with wildlife-sensitive guidelines embedded in their road designs, although their standards are voluntary. The study called for biodiversity to be at the core of infrastructure planning, rather than being left open to interpretation. Updated at 2.49am GMT 2.26am GMT Firefighting operations continue in Tasmania’s north-east A large fire continues to burn in Lefroy in Tasmania’s north-east since it was reported yesterday afternoon. Tasmania Fire Service incident controller Paul Beechy said that crews from Tasmania Fire Services, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, and Sustainable Timbers Tasmania were responding to a large vegetation bushfire. The fire has burnt approximately 660 hectares, and there are several firefighting appliances currently being used including fire trucks, five aircraft and machinery. Firefighting crews have worked through the night and are continuing to work to contain the fire today. To date, no structures have been lost but as usual, resources will be positioned to protect assets in the area. Beechy said that conditions were expected to be changeable today, and urged residents in the vicinity of the fire to stay informed and be ready for any changes in the fire threat. A watch and act warning is in place for people in Lefroy to monitor conditions as they are changing, as well as a bushfire smoke alert for George Town and surrounds to avoid smoke. 2.02am GMT Some Telstra services in Darwin and surrounds may not be restored until Tuesday Telstra’s website is showing several locations in the Top End are experiencing outages and the estimated restoration won’t be until Tuesday evening in some locations. Telstra’s map states: A severe weather event is affecting some mobile, nbn, landline services in NT. We’re on the case and working to get you back online ASAP. For some locations in Darwin and surrounds such as Humpty Doo, Weddell, Fly Creek, Daly, Berry Springs and Mcminns Lagoon, Telstra states the estimated restoration won’t be until 7:30 pm on Tuesday. Updated at 2.06am GMT 1.38am GMT Coalition not signing up to EPBC changes yet James Paterson also said the Coalition would not support the government’s environmental laws in their current form, setting up a major standoff in the last week of parliament. As we brought you earlier, the Greens are still hesitating in backing the laws, saying they don’t do enough to protect the environment and would pave the way for new fossil fuel projects. Paterson, the shadow finance minister, says the opposition is still not signing up either. He told Sky: Where it stands today, we certainly couldn’t support the proposed legislation. It is deficient in a number of areas, and the business community has been very vocal about that. Related: Coalition to help Labor rush through new nature laws if environmental protections dropped Paterson said the Coalition was still sticking to its previous position of seeking seven changes to the legislation, in line with what the business community has requested. So the ball is in the government’s court. If they’re willing to compromise, if they’re willing to deal with the concerns of the business community, then we are up for acting in a bipartisan way in the national interest. But if they’re pursuing ideology over Australia’s national interest, then they are welcome to go and do a deal with the Greens and they will wear the consequences of that. Updated at 2.55am GMT 1.25am GMT Coalition accuses Bowen of “hobnobbing” in COP president role The Coalition is already critical of Chris Bowen’s new job as COP president of negotiations, with senior shadow frontbencher James Paterson claiming the energy minister was focused on “hobnobbing” at global conferences. As detailed earlier, the UN climate conference will be hosted in Turkey, but after negotiations with Australia, Bowen will be the negotiations president and the Pacific will host a meeting in the lead-up. Bowen’s role is likely to include lots of international travel, meetings with world leaders, and negotiations with overseas governments to make more ambitious climate agreements. On Sky News, Paterson, the opposition finance spokesperson, was less than welcoming of the news. He claimed: Chris Bowen should do two things when he heads overseas, particularly when he goes over to Turkey. He should thank President Erdogan for saving Australian taxpayers $2bn by not having to host Cop. And secondly, I think he should probably stay there, because that’s where his priorities are. He wants to be on the international circuit, he wants to be hobnobbing and negotiating at climate conferences. He has no interest in lowering energy prices for Australians. I think actually the energy minister’s job is to get energy prices affordable so we’re not driving jobs and industry offshore. The Coalition, which has long criticised Bowen over the government’s energy transition and concerns over power bills, are likely to continue criticising the energy minister over claims of misplaced priorities. Updated at 1.43am GMT 1.01am GMT One dead after house fire north of Brisbane One person has died in a house fire in Brisbane’s northern suburbs early this morning. Queensland police said that emergency services were called at about 5.30am to the property on Darcy Way in Lawnton. Four other residents were treated at the scene and taken to hospital. “A crime scene has been declared,” police said in a statement. “Investigations into the cause of the fire remain ongoing.” Updated at 1.06am GMT 12.50am GMT Tropical Cyclone Fina dumps heavy rainfall over Darwin and surrounds The area around Darwin airport was hit with 168.6mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am today as Tropical Cyclone Fina swept by the Top End. The category three system has moved further over the Timor Sea, and is now sitting about 80km away from Darwin. Charles Point, around a 90-minute drive from Darwin, saw 265.4mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am, while Middle Point was hit with 430mm. An emergency warning in Darwin, Wurrumiyanga, Wagait Beach and Dundee Beach remains in place, with residents told to remain inside. While the cyclone left a trail of destruction, there have been no injuries or deaths reported. Updated at 12.53am GMT 11.56pm GMT Belém declaration Australia's 'strongest ever statement on phasing out fossil fuels', former climate diplomat says Thom Woodroofe, a senior international fellow at the Smart Energy Council in Australia and a former climate diplomat said signing the Belém Declaration was the “strongest statement Australia has ever made on phasing out fossil fuels.” This is a sliding doors moment and the strongest statement Australia has ever made on phasing out fossil fuels, which requires rapidly scaling up renewable energy. On Australia’s responsibilities with the Cop31 hosting arrangements he said “Australia’s hands are well and truly on the helm of the international climate negotiations.” The important thing now is what Australia actually does with the role it has. An ambitious COP31 still means Australia doing things like championing a new global rooftop solar pledge, setting a roadmap for the Pacific to become the first region in the world to achieve 100% renewables, and ratcheting up global climate ambition, including through new frameworks to ramp up electrification. We have no time to waste. Read more from Woodroofe and former diplomat Dean Bialek in their comment piece for Guardian Australia Related: Australia’s unconventional Cop31 deal puts Chris Bowen at the helm of the world’s most complex negotiations. It’s a huge opportunity | Thom Woodroofe and Dean Bialek Updated at 12.36am GMT 11.41pm GMT Australia should follow Korea’s lead and phase out coal power, expert says Dr Wesley Morgan, research associate at the Institute of Climate Risk and Response at UNSW, says Australia should follow South Korea’s example making a commitment to phase out coal-fired power: Australia’s surprise decision to sign the ‘Belém Declaration on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels’ is a positive sign. It suggests Australia may finally be ready to start grappling with its responsibilities as one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and gas. … Australia signed the declaration just days after one of its largest markets for thermal coal, South Korea, made an international commitment to phase out coal-fired power. Australia will be better placed – economically and strategically – if it plays a leadership role in our own region for a climate-safe future. Australia has much to gain by capitalising on green export opportunities. It should modernise its energy ties with key trading partners, including Japan and South Korea, to move collectively away from risky fossil fuels as fast as possible. Australia would go some way to restoring faith with the Pacific if it stops approving new coal and gas projects. Updated at 11.51pm GMT 11.40pm GMT Experts welcome Australia signing Cop30 fossil fuel phase-out declaration but say ‘real action’ must follow Experts have welcomed Australia’s “surprise” decision at the Cop30 climate conference to sign the Belém Declaration on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, but called on the government to back it with real action. Bill Hare, CEO and senior scientist at Climate Analytics, says: Australia’s decision to sign the declaration is welcome, but is out of step with its continued approvals of coal and gas projects, most recently the North West Shelf licence extension to 2070. It is beyond belief that the government’s proposed reforms to environmental assessment laws contain no explicit requirement to take into account the impact of greenhouse gas emissions when deciding on whether to approve them. The government often points to the safeguard mechanism but this has significant flaws, allowing companies to comply using offsets and avoid or minimise real emission reductions. I would urge the Australian government to back up its words with clear action towards phasing out fossil fuels, starting with actually stopping new fossil developments and legislating assessment of climate impacts during environmental assessments. Updated at 11.49pm GMT 11.23pm GMT Hanson-Young says under-16 social media ban risks creating ‘false sense of protection’ Asked about the impending under-16s social media ban, Hanson-Young says she is worried about the government putting in place a “false sense of protection”. I’m worried about the kids who fall through the cracks – either are still on there when they shouldn’t be based on the age, or find themselves in even darker places on the internet. More effective legislation would have been to target social media companies’ business models through banning advertising, Hanson-Young says: I think one of the things that Australia should do is ban digital advertising for anyone under 18. These companies shouldn’t be able to scrape young people’s data and then target them with advertising. If that was in place, these social media companies wouldn’t care about having to have young people. It hits them at their business model. Updated at 11.42pm GMT 11.10pm GMT Hanson-Young criticises ‘pretty half hearted’ Cop31 bid Returning to Hanson-Young’s interview, she said it was “really disappointing” Australia was not able to secure the bid to host the next Cop and that she does not believe the government tried everything. I don’t think the diplomatic effort was put in. I think the government at a federal level was pretty half hearted about this. It seems to be an open secret amongst those close to this, that there were people within Dfat and senior members of the government who didn’t want this because of the pressure that it would bear on Australia in relation to our fossil fuel exports. Updated at 11.18pm GMT 11.06pm GMT Australia will have 'unprecedented influence' in global climate talks after Cop31 Turkey deal, PM says Australia will have “unprecedented influence” over the upcoming UN climate discussions at the COP conference, Anthony Albanese says, welcoming an agreement which would see energy minister Chris Bowen become the “president of negotiations” while Turkey hosts the main conference. As flagged earlier in the week, Australia came up short in its bid to co-host the COP conference with the Pacific, but last-minute agreements saw Australia extract some major concessions. In a statement this morning, Albanese said Bowen would act as the president of negotiations, which will see Australia have “exclusive authority in relation to the negotiations”, related to shaping global decision-making and global investment in clean energy industries. Albanese said in the statement with Bowen and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong: The Pacific will host a special Pre-Cop for leaders and others, bringing attention to the existential threat climate change poses to the region. This will give Australia and the Pacific unprecedented influence over multilateral deliberations and actions of the global community in 2026. Australia will also get to choose “ministerial and other co-facilitators for negotiations” as well as identifying “additional champions” for the agenda. The Cop31 agenda will also include a session on the climate finance needs of small island developing nations, another concession aimed at supporting the Pacific. Updated at 11.16pm GMT 10.57pm GMT Hanson-Young criticises contradictory offers to Greens and Coalition on nature laws: 'What does Labor want?' Hanson-Young pointed out Labor’s contradictory offers to the Coalition and the Greens reveal a confusion in what their own objectives with the bill really are: On one hand, [Labor are] saying they’re willing to work get a deal done with the Coalition that fast-tracks coal and gas, that makes life easier for coal and gas, that doesn’t stop rampant land clearing, that doesn’t stop the destruction of our native forests, right? They’re happy to do that, but then, on the other hand, they’re saying, “well, we’ll work with the Greens to fix all these things.” What does Labor actually want? What is the objective? What is the objectives of this law? Updated at 11.22pm GMT 10.53pm GMT Greens senator says party wants native forest protections as part of nature law negotiations The Greens’ environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young has appeared on ABC’s Insiders amid the government appealing to the minor party with concessions in order to pass their nature laws. Guardian Australia yesterday revealed Labor would rule out controversial ‘national interest’ exemption for coal and gas if the Greens back the laws, noting the concession alone may not be enough to win over the party who have further demands including protection for native forests. Hanson-Young yesterday met with the environment minister, Murray Watt, who offered a native forest logging concession – a three-year transition for regional forestry agreements to comply with the new national environmental standards. Hanson-Young told the ABC she welcomed the progress, but the timeframe does not “in any way deal with the urgency of protecting our native forests now”. Three more years of the destruction of our native forests when we’ve got 2,000-plus species already endangered in this country, where we’ve got billions of dollars of taxpayer money already being spent subsidising an industry that’s about destroying our native forests. I mean, it’s 2025 and it’s time we ended native forest logging, protected these beautiful, ancient forests that aren’t just there for the richness of biodiversity, but they’re so important when it comes to combating climate change, they are carbon sinks. Updated at 11.27pm GMT 10.47pm GMT Decision to challenge for leadership only came in ‘final couple of days’, Sloane says Sloane said while it was only in the “final couple of days” she made the decision to challenge Mark Speakman for the NSW Liberal leadership, now that she is in the job she is “committed”: I was probably finally convinced only in the final couple of days, to be honest, I had colleagues come and have chats. I have a really good relationship with Mark Speakman. It was a friendly chat with Mark. It was a hard chat, but it was a very friendly one. And then when I’m in, I’m in 100%. I think what a lot of people would do in my position is weigh up the pros and cons and think of all the reasons that I shouldn’t do it, but at the end of the day, the reasons I should outweighed those, and I’ll be a committed leader. I’m very clear eyed once I’ve made up my mind. Updated at 10.53pm GMT 10.37pm GMT Elevation to Liberal leader ‘wasn’t on my bingo card’, Sloane says Asked whether she was an “accidental leader”, Sloane replied: I think it’s fair to say that I wasn’t planning to be where I am right now. It wasn’t on my bingo card this year. But another friend said to me, “sometimes you don’t choose your timing. In politics, the timing can choose you.” And so I’ve always been someone who’s been prepared to jump in the deep end and have a crack, and it’s really important that we provide the difference for Labor, who I think has been an incredibly uninspiring government – very friendly, personable premier in Chris Minns, who’s a nice guy, but beneath that, there’s very little depth in that team. And we haven’t seen an ambition for New South Wales. And so I will be painting a clear ambition for New South Wales. Updated at 10.52pm GMT 10.36pm GMT Kellie Sloane says hecklers 'not going to stop me turning up' Kellie Sloane was interviewed on Sky News just a little earlier. Asked about her heckling in western Sydney yesterday, the new NSW opposition leader said such incidents wouldn’t stop her turning up: I don’t think they were representative of the community that I visited yesterday. They were a few political activists that I’ve seen at a few other protests … and that’s OK, because part of the job is going to be fronting up to people who don’t always agree with what I’m saying. And it’s not going to stop me turning up, and I’m happy to have chats. Updated at 10.51pm GMT 10.15pm GMT G20 leaders’ declaration supported ‘unanimously’ despite US pressure and boycott A bit more context on Australia signing the G20 statement backing the Paris agreement, from the Associated Press: World leaders from the Group of 20 rich and developing economies broke with tradition and adopted a declaration at the start of their summit in South Africa on Saturday despite opposition from the United States, which is boycotting the two-day talks in a diplomatic rift with the host country. Vincent Magwenya, the spokesperson for the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said a leaders’ declaration was adopted unanimously by the other members at the start of the talks in Johannesburg. Declarations are usually adopted at the end of G20 summits. The 122-point declaration urged more global action on issues that specifically affect developing countries, like climate-related disasters and sovereign debt levels, and was promoted by the host country as a victory for the first G20 summit to be held in Africa. The summit has been overshadowed by the US boycott ordered by president Donald Trump, and the US had put pressure on South Africa not to adopt a leaders’ declaration in the absence of an American delegation, South African officials said. Updated at 10.24pm GMT 10.06pm GMT Labor says latest round of housing fund will deliver 21,000 more homes The Albanese government says it will deliver 21,000 new social or affordable homes by June 2029 under the next round of the Housing Australia Future Fund (Haff). Under the third round of the fund, which provides loans to housing providers to build homes rather than purchasing them outright, $2.6bn will be offered from late January 2026. A new component will focus on the delivery of homes in regional Australia, while $600m of the funding will be a dedicated to First Nations housing providers to support a 10% First Nations tenancy target across social housing delivered under round three. The federal housing minister, Clare O’Neil, says the project will facilitate “More homes. More speed. More scale”. Australia’s housing crisis comes from a housing shortage so all governments have to build. The government has built 5,000 social or affordable homes since 2022, including 889 under the Haff, which was established in November 2023. It has committed to delivering 55,000 by mid-2029. As of June 2024, there were 169,000 households on the social housing waitlist. Updated at 10.20pm GMT 9.58pm GMT Residents in Darwin and surrounds told to continue sheltering in place Even though the worst of the storm has passed, authorities say residents should stay in their shelters until given the all clear. The Bureau of Meteorology in its latest advice states: [The Northern Territory Emergency Service] NTES advises people about southern Bathurst Island and very exposed coastal locations around the Cox Peninsula, should stay calm and remain in a secure shelter while the destructive winds continue. Do not venture outside. Heed the advice and follow the instructions of Emergency Services personnel and local authorities. NTES advises people about the central and western Tiwi Islands, and elsewhere between Daly River Mouth to Cape Hotham, including Darwin, should shelter in a safe place. Updated at 10.04pm GMT 9.55pm GMT No reports so far of injuries amid trail of destruction from Tropical Cyclone Fina Cyclone Fina has left a trail of destruction across the top end after sweeping through the Van Diemen Gulf between Darwin and the Tiwi Islands overnight. The category three storm swept through the stretch of water bringing gale force winds just shy of those seen in Cyclone Tracy. However, only minor damage has been found in Darwin with trees toppling along the pavement and catching the occasional fence, power lines or footpath in their wake. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths. Amid ongoing staffing shortages, Royal Darwin hospital was put on Code Brown – essentially emergencies only – on Friday. Updated at 10.39pm GMT 9.51pm GMT Roof collapse at Royal Darwin hospital amid heavy rain Roofing at the Royal Darwin hospital partially collapsed on Saturday but no one was hurt. Steve Edgington, a member of the Northern Territory legislative assembly, shared an image of the collapsed roofing and bricks strewn on the first floor of the hospital. He said he was reassured all staff and patients are safe, with NT police incident controller Emma Carter confirming on ABC Radio Darwin that no one was hurt. Roofing at the #RoyalDarwinHospital has partially collapsed in an area on the first floor with reports there is water in the building. My first priority is to ensure all staff and patients are safe and I have been reassured that this is the case.Once I have further… pic.twitter.com/WwliVn2yJj— Steve Edgington MLA (@SteveEdgoMLA) November 22, 2025 - with AAP Updated at 10.03pm GMT 9.48pm GMT Good morning! Tropical Cyclone Fina has swept by the Top End, after a night of damaging winds and heavy rain for residents. The category three system has moved further over the Timor Sea, and is now sitting about 80 kilometres away from Darwin. COP30 has wrapped up, with Australia becoming one of 24 countries signing the Colombia-led Belém Declaration on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels. Meanwhile, G20 leaders including Australia have signed a joint statement at the summit in South Africa strengthening their commitment to the Paris agreement, despite US President Donald Trump boycotting the event. The new NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloan, says taking the party’s top state job “wasn’t on my bingo card”, and that she was only convinced to take it “in the final couple of days”. And the housing minister, Clare O’Neil, has announced the largest round yet under the Housing Australia Future Fund, including more than 21,000 new social and affordable homes around the country. Let’s get into it.