Your afternoon Briefing

Johnathan Thurston calls to change the Australia Day date and Rio Tinto cancels the Pilbara rail contract.

Good afternoon, readers. NRL star Johnathan Thurston has called for date of Australia Day to be changed, Rio Tinto has cancelled the Pilbara rail contract and Sydney’s afternoon trains services will still be affected despite the FWC suspending the train strike.

Queensland Australian of the Year winner NRL player Jonathan Thurston poses with his award at the Queensland Australian of the Year awards night at The Old Museum in Brisbane, Wednesday, November 8, 2017. (AAP Image/Jono Searle) NO ARCHIVING

Thurston calls for change

NRL star and Australian of the Year finalist Johnathan Thurston has called to change the date of Australia Day, declaring that January 26 is not inclusive to indigenous Australians. Meanwhile, Liberal MP Sarah Henderson says the Greens are more interested in their Australia Day date change campaign than indigenous domestic violence issues.

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An undated handout photo as supplied by Rio Tinto on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 of an iron ore train in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP are jointly locked in a legal dispute over third party access to its owned and operated railways which Forstescue Metals and a number of other junior iron ore miners are seeking to gain access to. (AAP Image/Rio Tinto, Christian Sprogoe) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Rio cancels Pilbara rail contract

An estimated 400 jobs are at risk after mining giant Rio Tinto cancelled one of the Pilbara iron ore industry’s longest-running contracts.

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A crowded platform at Town Hall Station, Sydney, on 25th January 2018, as commuters get to work on a reduced train service due to industrial action. (Pictures by Julian Andrews).

Strike suspended

The Fair Work Commission has ruled the train strike planned for Sydney on Monday is to be suspended, but afternoon services are still affected.

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PM Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy with Sydney-based yarn bomber known as ÔTreble MakerÕ Eloise Murphy, with the Love Wheels bicycle she crocheted at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. The iconic bike, gifted to the National Museum last year, was chained to a pole outside Prime Minister Malcolm TurnbullÕs Sydney home during the marriage equality postal vote campaign and featured on his and Lucy TurnbullÕs social media channels as they tracked down the artist.

Turnbulls’ love bike

The story behind the rainbow-crocheted bike left outside of Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull’s home, which is now housed in the National Museum of Australia.

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The chimney stack at the Playford B power station demolished.

Last coal-fired station tumbles

The destruction of South Australia’s last coal-fired power station is almost complete after an 80-metre high chimney stack came crashing down this morning.