Australia news live: sewage leak from cracked pipe risks spilling into Sydney Harbour; emergency bushfire warnings in NSW | Australia news

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That’s all from me – Nino Bucci will be here for the arvo. Take care and enjoy the weekend.

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Updated at 23.10 EST

Emergency fire warning for area south of Bulahdelah in NSW mid north coast

The NSW RFS has issued another emergency warning for parts of the Bulahdelah area as a grass and bushfire is burning about 5km south of the town.

The agency says:

If you are in the area of Crawford River along Emu Creek Road, south of Booral Road you are at risk. Seek shelter now or as the fire approaches to protect yourself from the fire. It is too late to leave.

Those in Nerong should monitor conditions and check and follow their bushfire survival plans.

A bushfire north of Myall River Rd near Nerong NSW, Australia. Photograph: Pacific Palms Rural Fire BrigadeShare

Updated at 22.54 EST

Sewage risks spilling into Sydney Harbour from cracked wastewater pipe

A leak from a cracked pipe on a critical wastewater main risks sewage spilling into Sydney Harbour, the New South Wales water utility says.

In a statement today, Sydney Water said it is managing a “significant wastewater infrastructure fault” involving a leak from a sewerage main eight metres below the ground at Pier Street in Darling Harbour.

The utility said it had put in place a temporary solution diverting flow to nearby Wentworth Park in Glebe, but said while the leak is “currently controlled, there is a risk the pipe could fail”. Water quality monitoring is taking place in the harbour, while 24-hour works are being carried out to resolve the issue, with noise and traffic impacts for the surrounding area.

The NSW minister for water, Rose Jackson, told reporters this morning the leak had occurred in an area of the network that was “over 100 years old”:

When we have leaks of that nature and we don’t know exactly what the detail is, it’s very difficult to access them. We don’t want to risk a more significant impact, particularly at this time of year. The reality is that when we’re talking about significant impacts with sewerage, things can get messy, so we need to get in there.

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Updated at 23.06 EST

Chalmers cheers OpenAI’s new $7bn Sydney datacentre

Politicians and investors are celebrating OpenAI’s backing for a $7bn Sydney datacentre as the American tech giant behind ChatGPT sets up shop in Australia.

The company has partnered with local business NEXTDC to build datacentre at its S7 in Eastern Creek, in Sydney’s west. OpenAI this week launched its Sydney office and unveiled new agreements with businesses including the Commonwealth Bank, Coles, Wesfarmers and the NRL.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been celebrating a boom in datacentre investment all week and described OpenAI’s commitment as another “terrific outcome”:

It’s more proof Australia has the talent, clean energy potential, trade partnerships, and policy settings needed to be one of the big winners [from] AI.

Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

NEXTDC investors are happy too, after the tech centre developer’s market value surged $400m to over $9bn today.

New South Wales now has over 20 datacentres under assessment to join the 90 in operation, making it one of the top jurisdictions globally on the latter front, according to the state government.

But those developments are coming at an environmental cost. Guardian Australia’s Petra Stock and Josh Taylor report datacentres will make up 11% of the state’s energy demand by 2030 and beat Canberra’s total daily drinking water consumption by 2035.

The new OpenAI-backed centre will be powered by new renewable energy and will have features that don’t require ongoing cooling with potable water, according to the federal government.

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Updated at 22.45 EST

TikTok details how it will comply with under-16s ban

TikTok released details about how it will comply with Australia’s new ban on users under 16.

The social media giant said from 10 December, Australians between the ages of 13 and 15 will not longer be “able to have, or create, an account on TikTok”, adding:

Teens with an existing account will be notified that they will no longer be able to use their existing account, which will become inactive. If they previously published content, it will no longer be available for others to view on TikTok.

Those teens will be able to: preserve their memories by downloading information from the app; confirm that they are 16 or older; delete their accounts; be reminded when they become eligible to use their accounts again.

Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters

TikTok said it would continue using a “multi-layered approach that combines technology and human moderation to detect accounts used by teens who may not have provided their correct date of birth”.

If we believe a teen under 16 is using a TikTok account, we will remove their access. If they disagree with our decision, they can submit an appeal to confirm their age.

ShareNSW RFS issues emergency warning for bushfire near Dubbo

The NSW Rural fire service just issued an emergency warning for a bushfire in the Dubbo LGA, urging those in the area to take steps to protect themselves as they are at risk.

The agency said:

If you are between Old Mendooran Rd, Dunedoo Rd/the Golden Highway and Leslies Road, or in the vicinity of Beni Road, you are at risk. Seek shelter now or as the fire approaches to protect yourself from the fire. It is too late to leave.

Anyone in the area is urged to seek shelter immediately in a solid structure like a house.

The fire is affecting homes and properties in the area of Beni and burning in an easterly direction. Embers are expected to be blown long distances ahead of the main fire front, starting spot fires.

Firefighters are waterbombing the area in hopes of stopping the fire’s spread.

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Updated at 22.17 EST

Victoria’s new opposition leader says mid-year budget update shows ‘burden’ for next generation

The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has responded to the mid-year budget update by pointing out the high level of interest expenses the government has incurred on it’s debt.

Jess Wilson. Photograph: Ye Myo Khant/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

She says interest expenses have increased by $154m to an estimated $7.72bn for 2025-26 – describing it as a “a blowout of almost $1m a day.”

Wilson says the state’s debt – forecast to rise to $192bn by 2028-29 – is an “unconscionable financial burden for the next generation”. She goes on:

As Victoria’s alternative premier, my first priority is getting our finances under control so we can ease cost of living pressures and sustainably invest in the frontline community safety, health and housing services Victorians deserve. Labor cannot manage money and Victorians are paying the price.

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Jaclyn Symes’ mid-year budget update also reveals the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund – a levy that is deeply unpopular in regional Victoria – will not come into effect for farmers and investment property owners until after the November 2026 state election.

This charge was scheduled to increase from $136 per household on 1 July 2026 to $275 but this change has now been pushed back until July 2027. It was already delayed a year for farmers due to drought.

The pause will cost the government $133m in forgone revenue. She says:

This is good news for farmers. It recognises the dry conditions, it recognises that it takes time to recover, and importantly, it provides that certainty and responds to that misinformation that there is going to be an increase – that is just not factually based.

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Updated at 22.25 EST

Victoria finances in ‘really good position’

The Victorian treasurer, Jacyln Symes, says the state’s finances are in a “really good position” after the release of the mid-year budget update.

As we brought to you earlier, the update showed the 2025-26 operating surplus was $710m, compared with the $600m forecast in May, while the state’s debt also forecast to marginally improve across the forward estimates.

Symes told reporters earlier:

This is good news for Victorians but really good news for the economy as well, because it’s a really strong indicator of how we are going.

Symes also pointed to net debt as a percentage of the economy is projected to be 24.9% at June 2026, an improvement of 0.2%. She says this will peak at 25.2% in June 2027 before reducing to 25% by June 2028 and then further declining to 24.9% by June 2029. She says this is proof the government’s fiscal strategy is “working”:

We have a disciplined approach to that. I have guardrails which guide my approach to the management of the state finances, and that is proving to be the right path.

She also says the state has “a lot to show” for the debt – forecast to rise to $192bn by 2028-29 (a $2bn improvement on May’s budget).

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Updated at 21.53 EST

Tarzia won’t nominate successor, but will aid next leader of the SA Liberals

Tarzia declined to nominate his preferred successor but said he was “committed to helping the next leader of the party”.

He said:

There’s a number of talented party members that could be the next leader of the party. We’ll have those conversations respectfully with the team, and we’ll pick our next leader, and we’ll get on with it and support them.

Asked again if he would support Ashton Hurn if she won the leadership, Tarzia said:

Whether it’s Ashton or someone else, we’ve got great talent in the party room. We’ve got people that can step into the role, so whoever, ultimately, the party room decides, I will get behind that person 100%. I leave here with no bitterness whatsoever.

If Hurn does nominate for, and win, the leadership, she would become the third woman to replace an older male Liberal leader in recent weeks after Jess Wilson and Kellie Sloane secured their party’s top job in Victoria and New South Wales respectively.

The 34-year-old Hurn was the media boss for the former premier Steven Marshall before winning her own seat in parliament at the 2022 election.

She is the sister of Shannon Hurn, who captained the West Coast Eagles to the 2018 AFL premiership.

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Updated at 22.25 EST

Further to our earlier posts on the State Library of Victoria, the statement made on behalf of the organisation’s leadership today claims that there have been “unsubstantiated attacks on board and management” and this “recent public criticism” is “unfounded”.

The statement says:

State Library Victoria is a demonstrably successful and adaptive institution. The Library is a great success story, and that has been achieved by being innovative and adaptive to community needs, whilst being faithful to its founding purposes …

Boards and management should be evaluated on performance, outcomes and public value – not personal attacks, assumptions or mischaracterisations of professional experience.

The State Library of Victoria’s board president, Christine Christian, also provided this comment:

The Library is evolving and changing – just as our community, our technology and our cultural context are evolving. Our responsibility is to prepare the organisation for the future so that it can continue to deliver on its founding purpose: to be a place for learning, discovery, creativity and connection, open to every Victorian.

The Reorganisation Proposal does exactly that. It strengthens our services, modernises our structure and positions the Library to meet the needs of the next generation.

ShareSA’s opposition leader steps down

The South Australian opposition leader, Vincent Tarzia, has stepped down just months out from the state election.

Tarzia announced the decision at a press conference on Friday afternoon, insisting he wasn’t pushed to quit despite polls suggesting the Liberal party is on track for a thumping defeat at the March state election.

He said:

No, no colleague has pushed me. There’s been no letter, petition signed or anything like that. No colleague has told me to step down. This is a decision that I made of my own accord. I’m not going to stand here and complain. We know politics is a tough business.

His resignation will prompt the fourth Liberal leadership change in a matter of weeks after Brad Battin (Victoria), Mark Speakman (New South Wales) and Leanne Castley (ACT) all lost their roles.

His colleague Ashton Hurn is reportedly the frontrunner to fill the top job, which would pit her against the popular Labor premier, Peter Malinauskas, at the 21 March election.

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Updated at 21.08 EST

State Library of Victoria responds to public criticism

More on the State Library of Victoria, which has responded at length this morning to recent coverage of its proposed restructure.

In a media release titled “Correcting the False Narrative”, acting CEO John Wicks says “a false and misleading narrative has emerged that the library is planning widespread cuts to staff and services”.

The statement claims reports that 39 jobs will be lost are incorrect, and that those 39 roles would instead be “no longer required”, while 34 new roles would be created:

Where possible, staff in those roles will be offered pathways for appointment to roles in the new structure.

The La Trobe Reading Room is the gem in the State Library of Victoria’s crown. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

The statement also disputes that the library’s reference librarians would halve under the proposal, saying instead that it “modernises how librarian expertise is organised and delivered”:

Under the proposed structure, the library would maintain at least 71 librarian roles across the organisation. Within Research and Reader Experience specifically, 20 librarians are proposed to support research and reference interactions.

The proposal itself, which Guardian Australia has seen, lists 28 roles as “no longer required”.

It lists the 21 current reference librarian positions in Information Services, Digital Access and Family History, and says only 10 would remain, under the heading: “Positions proposed to be impacted by a reduction in like-for-like positions (spill & fill)”. (Four reference librarian roles are now vacant.)

Of the 34 new positions, 19 will service the “digital experiences” strategy, nine are new executive or management positions, and six are administrative, finance and philanthropy roles.

You can read up on the background to all this here:

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Updated at 20.51 EST

Former student charged over alleged ongoing hacking of Western Sydney University

A former student charged for a series of alleged cyber hacks on Western Sydney University has committed more offences since her arrest, NSW police allege.

In a statement, police said the 27-year-old woman is alleged to have sent more than 100,000 fraudulent emails to students “designed to tarnish the reputation of the university” and cause the students distress.

Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

The woman was arrested on Thursday night in North Kellyville. Police allege she was in possession of a mobile phone which had been modified to use as a computer terminal to commit the offences.

Police also allege she fabricated and posted material designed to exculpate herself in the ongoing court matter.

She was charged with two counts of “unauthorised function with intent serious offence”, two counts of “fabricate false evidence with intent to mislead judicial tribunal”, and breach of bail.

She was refused bail to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Friday.

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Updated at 20.30 EST

Fresh search for body, evidence linked to alleged Victorian cop-killer

Police in Victoria have cleared bushland, flown drones and traversed caves as part of its latest search to uncover Dezi Freeman, who is accused of shooting dead two policemen in Porepunkah in August.

In a statement, police said:

Detectives from Taskforce Summit, supported by specialist resources, have this last week undertaken a targeted search of the Mount Buffalo national park as part of the ongoing search for wanted fugitive Desmond Freeman.

The extensive search involved a number of units from across Victoria police including local members from eastern region, search and rescue, critical incident response team (CIRT), drone unit and the dog squad as well as two New South Wales police force cadaver dogs.

Police have spent five days systematically searching 0.886 km2 in thick bush and heavy terrain, conducting line searches and clearing caves.

No trace of Freeman has been located at this time.

The area was previously searched on 12 September, police said, with the purpose of locating an “active armed offender”, but the search this week “focused on identifying and locating evidence or the body of Freeman”.

The homicide squad continues to lead the investigation into the murders of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart.

A reward of $1m remains for information leading to Freeman’s arrest.

Assistant commissioner Martin O’Brien said:

The devastating loss of Neal and Vadim has struck at the heart of Victoria police and had an enormous impact on the Porepunkah community.

I want to reaffirm to the community that Victoria police remains committed to doing everything we can – using every available resource and the necessary capabilities – to locate Desmond Freeman.

We will continue to conduct targeted searches such as this one based on intelligence.

You can read more on the ongoing search for Freeman here:

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Updated at 20.18 EST

Canavan hopes to woo Joyce back to the Nationals

Nationals senator Matt Canavan hopes Barnaby Joyce will “see the light” and come back to the party to continue their crusade against net zero, AAP reports.

The now-independent maverick MP announced his resignation from the Nationals after 30 years with “a heavy heart” last week.

Matt Canavan. Photograph: Dominic Giannini/AAP

His Nationals’ colleagues had worked for weeks to convince their former leader to stay in the party, and it appears the fight isn’t over for Canavan who said Joyce would be a “prodigal son” if he returned:

He hasn’t signed for another team so I hold out hope he’ll come back, he’ll see the light and come back to his natural home of the Nationals Party. …

I’ll keep doing what I can to convince him to rejoin our team … I’m already fattening the calves.

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Updated at 20.20 EST

Victoria’s midyear budget update

The Victorian government will deliver a $710m operating surplus this financial year, an $110m improvement from when the budget was handed down in May, with the state’s debt also forecast to marginally improve.

The treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, on Friday released the midyear budget update, which showed the 2025-26 operating surplus is $710m, compared with the $600m forecast in May.

Net debt is forecast to rise to $192bn by 2028-29, a $2bn improvement on the $194bn figure in the budget.

The Victorian government will rake in $109.8bn in revenue this financial year, compared with the $108.3bn it forecast in May. Its expenses bill will be $109bn, compared to $107.7bn in May.

Symes will be holding a press conference shortly.

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Updated at 19.49 EST