As it happened: Breakthrough for AUKUS submarine deal; Calls for tougher checks before more detainees released

That’s where we will leave the live blog today.

Here’s a wrap-up of Friday’s big headlines:

• Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he wants to see the world take a big step towards phasing out fossil fuels at the COP28 global climate talks in Dubai.
• European scientists have declared 2023 the hottest year on record as Australia swelters through a major heatwave.
• NSW Police have issued an urgent amber alert after a two-year-old boy was taken from a family member by a man and a woman on the state’s North Coast.
• Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong is planning to visit the Middle East and is seeking to meet counterparts in Israel.
• NDIS Minister Bill Shorten warned NDIS providers who wanted to “make an easy buck” from people with disability to sell their businesses.
• Some of the major Reserve Bank reforms have been delayed until the end of March, after the Coalition and Greens teamed up to send the key legislation to a committee for review.
• The arrest of another former detainee has sparked new calls for the federal government to toughen its checks before releasing more people from indefinite immigration detention.
• An officer assigned to investigate Brittany Higgins’ sexual assault allegation told the Federal Court that the process of obtaining Parliament House CCTV was “incredibly frustrating”.

• Investors are questioning the benefits of an $80 billion mega-merger between Australian oil and gas majors Woodside and Santos after both companies confirmed talks are underway.

Have a good weekend and try to stay cool!

Sarah Keoghan, signing off.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he wants to see the world take a big step towards phasing out fossil fuels at the COP28 global climate talks in Dubai.

Securing an agreement to phase out the use of the most polluting energy sources has long been a contentious issue at the talks.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen speaks to reporters at COP28 in Dubai.Credit: Hans van Leeuwen

Bowen said he had been in discussions with the COP president Dr Sultan Al Jaber, as well as in meetings with the so-called Umbrella Group of nations that Australia sits with in United Nations climate negotiations.

“We want to see a big step forward on the language on phasing out of fossil fuels whether we get there or not, the coming days will tell.”

Bowen was speaking after Australia announced it would contribute $100 million to a Pacific Resilience Fund and a further $50 million to the so-called Green Finance Fund, a UN fund to support developing nations address climate change that Australia ceased contributing to under the previous government.

The Samoan Natural Resources Minister Cedric Schuster welcomed the funding.

“Although we only contribute less than one per cent of emissions we are on the front line, our islands are sinking, we are affected on a daily basis from the ravages of climate change. This funding will help us in trying to address this and adapt.

“We are grateful to the Australian government and we hope other countries in our region will come to show support.”

It also appears likely that Azerbaijan will host the next COP conference after Armenia withdrew a block.

We’re not quite finished with the year, but European scientists have declared 2023 the hottest year on record.

Every month since June was the warmest on record globally, making 2023 the warmest on record, according to the latest monthly climate update from the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

It comes just days after the agency found that November was the hottest on record, 0.32 degrees warmer than the previous warmest record set in 2020.

NSW Police have issued an urgent amber alert after a two-year-old boy was taken from a family member by a man and a woman on the state’s North Coast.

Police were alerted to the incident just after 2pm on Friday.

Two-year-old Jax Wilson.Credit: NSW Police

The boy, Jax Wilson, was taken by the pair on Little Street in Coffs Harbour. Police said the pair know the boy.

They drove off with the boy in a black 1996 Volkswagen Golf sedan with Victorian registration OAH 707, police say.

In a statement, NSW Police said finding the boy was a matter of “extreme urgency”.

“The boy is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 70cm tall with blond hair, a fair complexion and blue eyes,” the statement said.

He was last seen wearing brown shorts and a colourful shirt.

Anyone with information is asked to call triple zero.

Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews denies the public service has been politicised, saying rather that some people who are interested in politics are also interested in public policy.

In an hour-long podcast interview, Andrews was asked about the Victorian Ombudsman’s latest report into the state’s public sector.

The podcast is the first wide-ranging interview Andrews has done since he stepped down as premier in September.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

The report, published on Wednesday, did not find that the public service had been improperly stacked with Labor operatives, but it had been politicised in “other, equally pervasive ways”.

Andrews denied a person’s political persuasion influenced whether or not they were employed in the public service.

“Is it such a bolt from the blue that people who are involved in politics might also be involved in public policy?” he told the Socially Democratic podcast.

“(That they) might know and understand and be committed to serving others?”

The former premier said there were people he appointed to senior public service roles who were previously affiliated with the Liberal Party.

“The notion that someone has got political beliefs, or used to work for a politician at some point in time, means that they’re forever prohibited from working for all of us - it doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

It was not fair to blindly attribute “bad motives” to legitimate roles and appointments, Andrews said.

He also criticised the heads of the Victorian Ombudsman and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission.

“There’s not an accountability officer that doesn’t want more money, more power - that’s fine, that’s their job,” Andrews said.

Andrews said he was proud he “got shit done” during his tenure.

“We didn’t do the popular stuff - we lived our values, our politics,” he said.

AAP

As we head into this hot Friday afternoon, take a moment for yourself and have a read of Sherryn Groch’s rare interview with Brett Sutton, who was Victoria’s chief health officer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He’s worked in war zones, nearly died climbing mountains and caught conjunctivitis from a goat.

“I was caught up in the hamster wheel of response,” says Brett Sutton of those early months of the pandemic when he neglected his own health.Credit: Simon Schluter

In the interview, he speaks about his wild-haired youth and life on the front line of medicine.

You can take a read here.

Domestic violence victims will be able to access specialist counselling and support by text message under an initiative designed to make seeking help more accessible.

The domestic violence helpline 1800RESPECT has expanded its services to texts to allow people in unsafe situations, who can’t access a telephone or web chat, to get help.

The hotline provided more than 268,629 responses in the 2022/23 financial year.

Expansion to text services is expected to particularly help people living in rural and remote communities and those with limited access to technology or the internet.

The number that victims can text to seek help is 0458 737 732.

The program was soft-launched two weeks ago and has already helped multiple victim-survivors.

In one case, a user had lost her voice due to strangulation the night before and was unable to speak the next day. She was able to seek and secure emergency accommodation through the SMS service.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said it was vital to provide easy access for people experiencing or at risk of family, domestic and sexual violence.

“This is a very important new channel to ensure that people experiencing gender-based violence get the support that they need,” she said.

AAP

Tens of thousands of Australians are sweltering through extreme temperatures, as scorching conditions raise the danger of bushfires and heat stress.

Heatwave warnings are current for parts of all mainland states, prompting extreme to catastrophic danger alerts to be issued for parts of South Australia, northern Victoria and outback NSW.

The heatwave ripping across eastern Australia.Credit: BOM

Mildura, Hay, Ivanhoe and Bourke were among the towns expecting 45C, while South Australia’s Renmark was due to hit a peak of 46C.

Temperatures in outer suburban Sydney and Melbourne were expected to top 35C, while Canberra was poised for a high of 34C.

The South Australian Country Fire Service warned Friday would be “one of the most significant fire weather days in several years”.

Adelaide hit 29.6C before 7am on Friday, as temperatures across the state head towards the mid-40s.

Thousands of customers were without power in the early afternoon, the majority of them in areas east of Port Augusta, as the extreme weather conditions wreaked havoc on electricity networks.

Thank you for tuning into the live blog for the first half of the day.

I’m handing over to Sarah Keoghan, and heading off into the weekend.

Here’s what you need to know if you’re just joining us:

• Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong is planning to visit the Middle East and is seeking to meet counterparts in Israel.
• NDIS Minister Bill Shorten warned NDIS providers who wanted to “make an easy buck” from people with disability to sell their businesses.
• Some of the major Reserve Bank reforms have been delayed until the end of March, after the Coalition and Greens teamed up to send the key legislation to a committee for review.
• The arrest of another former detainee has sparked new calls for the federal government to toughen its checks before releasing more people from indefinite immigration detention.
• An officer assigned to investigate Brittany Higgins’ sexual assault allegation told the Federal Court that the process of obtaining Parliament House CCTV was “incredibly frustrating”.

• Investors are questioning the benefits of an $80 billion mega-merger between Australian oil and gas majors Woodside and Santos after both companies confirmed talks are under way.

Australians heading overseas are urged to think about terrorism and stay safe at Christmas markets and public celebrations during the festive season.

Australian government website Smart Traveller has urged people to consider the risk of terrorism, extreme weather and crime during their trips this year.

“As everyone gathers in the Christmas markets and at public celebrations, it’s important to be security aware,” the website read.

A Christmas market in Vienna.Credit: Alamy

“Although it’s not festive to think about, some risks are greater during the holiday season, including terrorism, extreme weather and crime.”

The body said Australians overseas might see increased security in places such as Christmas markets, shopping malls, airports and other tourist hotspots.

“Terrorists use different methods of attack. They target both locals and foreign tourists. Many recent attacks have been by lone actors or small groups,” it said.

It urged visitors to be prepared for the possibility, and take “extra caution in higher-risk destinations.”