Your noon Briefing: Paris won’t increase prices, says Morrison

Welcome to your noon digest of what’s been making news and what to watch for.

Hello readers. Here is your noon digest of today’s top stories.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (centre) is seen during the Bathurst 1000 V8 Super Cars Championship at Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit in Bathurst, Sunday, October 7, 2018. The Bathurst 1000 is the most famed race in the V8 Super Car calendar, fought out over 1000kms, the event draws fans from all over the country to the New South Wales town of Bathurst. (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito) NO ARCHIVING,EDITORIAL USE ONLY

‘Paris won’t hike prices’

Scott Morrison has defended Australia remaining a signatory to the Paris climate change agreement, arguing it has no impact on electricity prices. Ahead of an Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change report on action required to meet the Paris Agreement target due to be handed down today, the Prime Minister maintained Australia was set to meet its target “at a canter”.

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Brown coal power station at dusk - aerial view

‘Drastic changes needed’

Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels was possible but would require “rapid, far reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”, the world’s main climate change body has said. A special report released today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said meeting the lower target would result in much better environmental and social outcomes. But scientists have said the true extent of the efforts required were detailed in the 6000 papers analysed rather than the summary for policy makers thrashed out in South Korea over the past week.

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Former ALP leader Mark Latham is seen at the Liberal Democratic Party election launch for the seat of Longman at the Club Tavern in Caboolture, Saturday, July 21, 2018. Mr Latham launched the campaign of Liberal Democratic Party's candidate Lloyd Russell ahead of the by-election to be held on Saturday July 28. (AAP Image/Darren England) NO ARCHIVING

Latham beats legal costs bid

Mark Latham has successfully opposed a bid to immediately pay thousands of dollars in legal costs for an “ill considered”, 76-page defence document that was struck out in court in a defamation case brought against him by former Greens candidate Osman Faruqi. Mr Faruqi, a political journalist and commentator and the son of Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, is suing Mr Latham in Federal Court over a video in which he was accused of “white racism” over a ­series of tweets. “The white people are getting f..ked Yas, it’s happening,” Mr Faruqi said in a tweet directed at Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

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Alan Jones and Louise Herron.

‘Bullyboy Alan Jones’

Who knows what really happened behind the scenes over negotiations to beam the logo of Australia’s richest horse race, the Everest Cup, on the sails of the Opera House. But it doesn’t really matter, writes Peter Van Onselen. What should matter is the way broadcaster Alan Jones treated Louise Herron, the CEO of the Opera House, in their on-air interview. Anyone who hasn’t listened to the full audio should do so and make their own judgment.