Australia news live: Victoria to close public land and campgrounds as state prepares for worst fire risk in six years

‘It is not safe to be in bushland areas’: campers told to leave many popular areas in Victoria

Chris Hardman, the chief fire officer of Fire Forest Management Victoria, said it is unsafe to be in bushland areas anywhere in Victoria over the coming days, saying public lands in many popular areas are now closed and it will be illegal to remain there. He said:

My advice is that it is not safe to be in bushland areas. Irrespective of the fire rating. We never know where a bushfire is going to start.

Campers in the Wimmera, Northern Country and North Central districts on public lands will be required to leave campgrounds by 7am Friday. That includes popular sites on the Goulburn River, the Murray River and in the Grampians National Park.

Private caravan parts and local government lands are under their own emergency management plans.

Hardman said of public land closures:

It is just too dangerous, it is not survivable if you are caught in a fire. … We’re formally closing all public land [in those districts]. It is illegal to be in public land in those areas.

A full list of areas affected by closures will be published on the Parks Victoria website later today.

Updated at 01.44 CET

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Fire danger sign cut down during Victoria heatwave

Victoria police have said investigators are “dumbfounded” after an automated fire danger sign was cut down in the town of Koonoomoo yesterday.

Officials said they believe unknown offenders cut down the sign – valued at around $60,000 – sometime between 8am and 1pm on Wednesday and allegedly stole the solar battery from it before leaving the rest behind. The sign alerts the community to the current fire safety danger ratings.

The rating was set to high in Koonoomoo and the surrounding areas, with total fire bans in other areas. Leah Booth, a detective acting sergeant, said in a statement:

To damage a sign that alerts the community to the fire danger rating is completely reckless and dangerous.

These signs are in place to make sure people who are in the area are aware of the fire danger safety rating to abide by the restrictions and act if needed.

You are not only cutting down and damaging a sign, but you are also potentially putting the wider community at risk.

Updated at 03.09 CET

Donna Lu

Extreme temperatures send thousands to hospital each year, study finds

Extreme hot and cold temperatures are sending thousands of Australians to emergency departments annually, new research finds.

An analysis of more than 1.4m emergency department presentations in the Australian Capital Territory between 2000 and 2021 has found that one in 40 visits – almost 36,000 presentations – were heat-related.

The study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, projects that heat-related visits will rise between 2040 and 2061 due to extreme heat linked to global heating.

The findings “highlight the urgent need for region-specific climate change adaptation strategies to mitigate the growing health impacts of temperature extremes”, the researchers write.

The Australian National University’s Dr Michael Tong, the study’s lead author, said:

Our research showed that young people under 20 are significantly more likely to end up in hospital emergency department on hot days, usually on the day itself. Likewise, adults aged 20 to 60 were at increased risk on both extreme and moderate heat days.

About 4% of ED presentations in the ACT were related to cold weather, the research found.

Updated at 02.52 CET

Residents told ‘too late to leave’ as fire in Victoria’s Longwood continues to burn

Communities near Longwood have been told it is too late to leave and to take shelter now as an out-of-control bushfire continues to burn.

The Country Fire Authority issued the additional warning at 12.20pm for residents at Avenel, Dropmore, Highlands, Ruffy, Tarcombe and Upton Hill.

There is a bushfire at Longwood that is not yet under control. The bushfire is travelling from Longwood in a south-westerly direction towards Highlands Road.

This fire is threatening homes and lives. It is too late to leave the area safely so you must take shelter now. You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive.

A relief centre is open at the Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre, Pollard Street Seymour. A number of roads in the area remain closed, including the Hume Freeway between Violet Town and Avenel.

Three additional emergency warnings to leave immediately remain active near Longwood and Walwa.

Fire in the area of Victoria’s Longwood. Photograph: Sassafras-Ferny Creek CFAShare

Updated at 02.53 CET

Tory Shepherd

Safari park reopens in South Australia after extreme heat

On the ramifications of the south-eastern heatwave – South Australia’s Monarto Safari Park (the “largest safari experience outside of Africa”) is open today after closing yesterday because of extreme weather. The park said:

It’s still warm, so the animals are enjoying warm-weather enrichment, including icy treats for the giraffes.

During hot conditions, keepers adjust daily routines and provide additional cooling options such as ice blocks, cooling mats, fans and misters, while closely monitoring animal behaviour.

Updated at 02.31 CET

Residents west of Walwa in north-east Victoria urged to leave immediately

Communities west of Walwa in north-east Victoria have been urged to leave immediately, with an emergency warning issued for an out-of-control bushfire.

The warning covers Bungil, Burrowye, Guys Forest, Koetong, Mount Alfred, Mount Alfred Gap and Thologolong.

Vic Emergency said the bushfire, 25km west of Walwa, was travelling from Mt Lawson national park.

It is spotting ahead of the fire into the private land around the Burrowye area. Properties within the warning area could be impacted.

An emergency warning to leave immediately also remains active for Longwood East, Upton Hill, Avenel, Locksley, Longwood, Ruffy, Tarcombe, Dropmore, Caveat, Highlands and Terip Terip.

Five fires are at a watch and act level around Walwa and Seymour.

Updated at 02.09 CET

Groups launch court challenge to NSW laws restricting protests after terror attacks

Penry Buckley

A constitutional challenge has been launched against controversial laws in New South Wales that restrict protest actions for up to three months after terrorist incidents, introduced following the December Bondi attack.

The groups the Blak Caucus, Palestine Action Group (PAG) and Jews Against the Occupation ‘48 filed the challenge in the NSW supreme court on Wednesday, arguing in the court summons that the laws are invalid because they “impermissibly burden the implied constitutional freedom of communication on government and political matters”.

Protesters during the Palestine Action Group’s March for Humanity last August. Photograph: Flavio Brancaleone/AAP

The co-applicants announced their intention to challenge the laws, which prevent protests being authorised by police after a public assembly restriction declaration (Pard). The laws were rushed through parliament last month after the Bondi massacre.

In December, PAG organiser Josh Lees accused the government of stripping away the right to peaceful protest with “no evidence at all” that it would make anyone safer.

‘It is not safe to be in bushland areas’: campers told to leave many popular areas in Victoria

My advice is that it is not safe to be in bushland areas. Irrespective of the fire rating. We never know where a bushfire is going to start.

Private caravan parts and local government lands are under their own emergency management plans.

Hardman said of public land closures:

It is just too dangerous, it is not survivable if you are caught in a fire. … We’re formally closing all public land [in those districts]. It is illegal to be in public land in those areas.

A full list of areas affected by closures will be published on the Parks Victoria website later today.

Updated at 01.44 CET

Cait Kelly

Victoria braces for extremely dangerous fire conditions

Victoria will experience its worst fire day since November 2019, when fires blazed through the state.

The deputy premier, Ben Carroll, has just been speaking to media – he has told people to get fire-prepared and leave immediately if they are in an evacuation zona.

Conditions in parts of the state are expected to get so bad there will be dry lightning and temperatures could hit upper 40s in the northern parts of the state.

Updated at 03.10 CET

Fire near Longwood not expected to be contained today

The Longwood fire in Victoria will not be contained today.

Heffernan said tough conditions means a fire near Longwood will not be contained today. Multiple towns near the bushfire are under leave immediately warnings, and a long stretch of the Hume Highway is currently closed in both directions from Violet Town to Seymour.

Updated at 01.26 CET

Statewide fire ban for Victoria on Friday amid ‘very, very dire bushfire day’

The entire state of Victoria will be under a fire ban tomorrow, 9 January, amid an ongoing heatwave.

The emergency services minister, Vicki Ward, said during a press conference:

We are one of the most fire-prone areas in the world, this is why the warnings much be adhered to.

You do not want emergency services to work harder than they already have. Please look at the app, watch the notifications, leave when you are asked to. Do not stay behind, it is not safe.

Jason Heffernan, the chief officer of the Country Fire Authority, said conditions will be “dire” tomorrow, including potential wind gusts of 80km/h to 100km/h:

We’re going to see a return of the 40 degree, in fact we’re going to be in the mid to upper end of the 40 degree spectrum particularly in the northern part of the state.

Tomorrow is a very, very dire bushfire day in the state of Victoria.

Updated at 01.26 CET

Tory Shepherd

Heat hits Adelaide’s flying foxes

Adelaide is a touch on the cooler side today – 39C as opposed to the 42.6C it hit on Wednesday afternoon.

Sadly, that high heat hit Adelaide’s population of flying foxes. Bat Rescue South Australia reported that a few hundred juveniles were lost to the heat.

Flying foxes in Adelaide’s Botanic Park in 2024. Photograph: Sia Duff/The Guardian

“But on a brighter note our team spent hours out in the heat spraying babies to keep them hydrated and cool to be reunited with their mums,” the organisation said, adding while they only had a couple in care they expected more over the coming days.

More than a hundred flying foxes were hospitalised in Queensland last November after they were smashed by giant hail, too.

If you’re around a bat colony and see a distressed bat, do not go near them. In SA call Bat Rescue SA on 0475 132 093.

Read more about Adelaide’s megabat colony here:

Updated at 01.26 CET

11 charged after New Year’s Day brawl in NSW

11 people have been charged after a New Year’s Day brawl at a hotel in the NSW town of Coonabarabran, NSW police said this morning.

Officers arrived to the hotel around 1.50am on the morning of 1 January, where they found 80 people gathered, many of whom were allegedly involved in the brawl.

Multiple police stations were called to assist before a move-on direction was given. Paramedics treated multiple people at the scene.

Those charged with affray and other charges included men and women between the ages of 20 and 42. All have been granted conditional bail and are due to appear in court later this month.

Updated at 00.50 CET

Fire bans across SA, Victoria and NSW today

Just a reminder that total fire bans are in effect across many regions in southern Australia today.

In South Australia, the Mid North region is under a total fire ban.

In Victoria, the entirety of the northern part of the state, including Mailee, the Northern Country district, the North East district and the North Central district are all under total fire bans.

And in NSW the Southern Riverina, which borders Victoria, is under a total fire ban.

The bans broadly prohibit any open flames or hot works, as well as outdoor cooking and barbecuing with solid fuels, among other activities.

Updated at 01.24 CET

Frydenberg concerned with potential head of Bondi royal commission

Josh Frydenberg said he is concerned with the potential name floated to lead a federal royal commission into the Bondi terror attacks: former high court justice Virginia Bell.

The former politician wrote on X last night that the Jewish community had expressed “serious concerns” with Bell, saying it was “unthinkable” that Anthony Albanese “would choose a commissioner that did not have the total confidence of the Jewish community.

He wrote:

This is a time for unity and national healing.

This is a time to turn back the tide of hate and antisemitism that has destroyed so many lives.

Prime Minister, I appeal to you, this is the time to do the right thing and call a Commonwealth Royal Commission with the appointment of the right Commissioner whose leadership will provide the answers and solutions our country so urgently needs.

Tonight the Prime Minister has floated the name of Virginia Bell to lead a Commonwealth Royal Commisson into antisemitism and the events leading up to the Bondi massacre.

The Prime Minister has been told directly by leaders of the Jewish community that they have serious concerns…

— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) January 7, 2026Share

Updated at 00.13 CET

Police appealing for information after number of suspicious fires in southern NSW

NSW police are appealing for dashcam footage after a number of suspicious fires in the state’s south over the past fortnight.

Officials said a spate of grass fires between 28 December and 6 January have occurred about 24km from the town of Mulwala, along the Victorian border.

The incidents include a small grass fire on Monday that burnt a small area around 11.45am, with no property damaged. Another fire was reported at 6.40pm on Wednesday, which burnt about 1 hectare of grassland. No property was damaged.

Police have asked anyone with dashcam footage or information of suspicious behaviour to come forward.

“We are concerned with hot conditions over the next few days, that there may be more incidents, so we are urging anyone who has dashcam footage or videos to come forward and provide them to police or submit them through the QR on our Murray River PD Facebook page,” Paul Smith, the Murray River police district commander superintendent, said in a statement.

Updated at 23.45 CET

Kelly Burke

Highly transmissible flu strain infects more than 2,500 Australians

More than 2,500 Australians rang in the new year with a highly transmissible new strain of influenza, and health authorities are on alert for what could be Australia’s worst year since tracking began 35 years ago.

Last year’s record, when more than half a million Australians contracted a laboratory-certified form of flu and 1,508 people died, was a 44% increase on the 2024 mortality rate.

The unseasonably high rate of infection for just the first week of January has been driven by a mutation of Influenza A H3N2 known as subclade K – now colloquially referred to as Super-K – first identified in September by scientists at Melbourne’s Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

Stretch of Hume Highway in Victoria closed because of bushfire

A 74km stretch of the Hume Highway is closed this morning between the Victorian towns of Seymour and Violet Town due a bushfire in the Longwood area.

An emergency warning urging residents to leave immediately is in effect for Locksley, Longwood, Longwood East, Ruffy, Tarcombe and Upton Hill as the bushfire is not yet under control.

VicEmergency says leaving immediately is the “safest option before conditions become too dangerous”.

The major artery between Sydney and Melbourne will be busy with holiday travellers, but alternate routes around the closure are accessible.

Updated at 23.28 CET

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