Randa Abdel-Fattah to appear at Sydney writers’ festival
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah will participate in two sessions at this year’s Sydney writers’ festival, which features a program of approximately 200 events.
Brooke Webb, the festival's chief executive officer, and Ann Mossop, its artistic director, stated in a joint release that Abdel-Fattah is a "significant Sydney writer with a new book that speaks to the here and now".
The festival aims to reflect Sydney’s diverse communities of writers and readers, balancing representation with national and international voices across fiction and non-fiction genres.
They emphasized that the festival upholds freedom of expression as a core value and does not engage in cancelling or censoring writers. It provides an opportunity for readers and writers to engage in nuanced conversations about complex and sometimes difficult topics.
"Readers can make up their own minds about what they would like to attend. Without writers, there is no festival."
Webb and Mossop acknowledged that some may hold differing views and noted the festival is "always" in dialogue with major stakeholders, including government.
The full program for the 2026 event will be released on 10 March.
Earlier this year, Abdel-Fattah was involved in a controversy that led to resignations and upheaval within the festival's board. A replacement board issued an apology to Abdel-Fattah and invited her to participate in the 2027 writers’ week.
Byelection date set for Sam Groth’s seat in Victoria
A date has been scheduled for the byelection following the resignation of former deputy Victorian Liberal leader Sam Groth.
The speaker, Maree Edwards, confirmed that writs have been issued for a 2 May byelection in the Mornington Peninsula seat of Nepean. Writs will be issued on 13 March, the electoral roll will close on 20 March, and the final day for candidate nominations is 10 April, Edwards stated last night.
Groth, a former professional tennis player, had initially planned to retire at the November election amid party infighting but advanced his resignation to last week, triggering the byelection.
Nepean is regarded as a safe Liberal seat with a 6.4% margin; however, challengers are emerging. One Nation has confirmed it will field a candidate, and the Independents for Mornington Peninsula group is seeking a contender.
The Liberal state executive, formerly known as the administrative committee, will bypass a vote of the local branch to select its candidate, citing time constraints.
As reported on Monday, most of the executive is expected to support Mornington Peninsula mayor Anthony Marsh as Groth’s successor in a vote planned for 24 February, which has caused discontent among local branch members.
Members of the branch have expressed a desire for the executive to reconsider holding a local vote given the byelection is scheduled for May.
Pauline Hanson says people ‘warming to our policies’ amid frustrations with two major parties
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was interviewed on the ABC following a surge in the party’s popularity in recent polls.
Hanson attributed the increased support to public dissatisfaction with the major political parties, stating:
"I think people are looking at our policies, what we want to do for the country and for people … People are warming to our policies and I am pleased to see that they want to vote for One Nation now because they don’t trust the two major political parties."
She also commented on Barnaby Joyce’s recent defection from the Nationals to One Nation, saying it has "enhanced" the party.
"You don’t have a former deputy prime minister to come across to a party, with his credentials, and it doesn’t enhance the party.
People are drawn to Barnaby. He is just an average bloke out there fighting for the Australian people and he is so pleased to be on board with One Nation now."
Shadow defence minister questions allowing Australians in Syria to return
James Paterson, the shadow defence minister, stated that the government has a responsibility to protect Australians domestically amid discussions about 34 women and children stranded in Syria. These individuals are wives and children of deceased or incarcerated Islamic State fighters.
The government has indicated it will not facilitate or assist in repatriating the group, who were held for years without charge and were recently returned to a detention camp after being released by Kurdish forces.
Paterson expressed sympathy for children taken against their will but emphasized the seriousness of the situation regarding adults who may have willingly joined Islamic State, even if they now regret their decision.
"The truth is, allowing people to return to Australia who left our country to join a reprehensible, violent terrorist organisation like Isis does pose a risk to Australians."
Humanitarian groups and security analysts have argued against leaving IS-affiliated women and children in Syrian camps, as previously reported by .
Man charged with murder after three stabbed in Sydney’s west, one fatally
A man has been charged with murder following an incident in Sydney’s west on Tuesday, where one person died and two others were critically injured.
NSW police reported that emergency services were called to Merrylands around 10am, where a man allegedly stabbed multiple individuals before fleeing on foot. Paramedics treated a 38-year-old man who died at the scene.
Two others, a 47-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man, were transported to hospital and remain in critical condition.
Police later apprehended a 25-year-old man and recovered a knife nearby. He was taken to Granville police station and charged with murder and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.
The accused was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in court later today.
Could Tony Abbott be about to return to federal politics?
As the Liberal Party shifts rightward under Angus Taylor’s leadership, speculation has arisen that former Prime Minister Tony Abbott may be positioning himself to become the party’s new federal president. Some speculate he might contest the Farrer byelection and return to parliament.
Abbott is reportedly eager to re-engage in politics, and his influence is expected to grow following the leadership change involving his protégé Taylor.
Political analyst Dan Jervis-Bardy has written about the potential comeback of one of Australia’s most polarising political figures.
Good morning
Nick Visser takes over the blog to cover the news for Wednesday.
Indonesian men convicted of illegally fishing in Australian waters acted out of ‘desperation’, lawyer says
Six Indonesian crew members caught illegally fishing in Australian waters received suspended jail sentences after a trial in which their lawyer argued their actions were driven by desperation to support their families, according to Australian Associated Press.
The men were arrested by border force officers in mangroves on the Australian mainland on 29 January and pleaded guilty to illegal fishing charges at Darwin local court on Tuesday.
The accused—Kasman, Syamsudin, Ramli, Adisianadna, Anton, and Hasba, the oldest aged 60—were charged with using a foreign boat to fish in Australia’s territorial seas.
Kasman, the master of the unseaworthy boat which has since been destroyed, faced an additional charge of being in charge of a boat equipped for fishing within the Australian fishing zone.
Their lawyer, Lyma Nguyen, told Judge David Woodroffe that her clients come from impoverished island villages, with many families deeply in debt to survive, and that their fishing venture was "born out of desperation."
They also face the possibility of reimbursing the boat’s owner approximately $20,000 for the loss of the vessel.
Wage growth expected to remain on hold
Despite some sectors receiving pay increases, wage growth in Australia is expected to remain steady, according to Australian Associated Press.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release data for the December quarter today, with annual wage growth forecasted to hold at 3.4%.
Annual growth has remained at 3.4% since the March quarter, despite quarterly increases.
If forecasts are accurate, wages will continue to lag behind inflation, which rose to 3.8% in the year to December.
The December quarter figures will include a pay rise for aged care workers nationwide, effective from October. This increase was the final stage of wage rises following a case lodged by the Services Union with the Fair Work Commission at the end of 2022.
Last quarter of 2025 saw record-breaking renewable energy added to grid
Australia’s electricity grid saw record-breaking additions of new wind, solar, and storage capacity in the final quarter of 2025—enough renewable energy to power Brisbane 1.5 times over.
After a slow start to the year, the final three months saw nine wind and solar farms, totaling 2.1GW, brought online. This surpassed the previous quarterly record of 1.3GW set in the third quarter of 2021, according to the Clean Energy Council’s latest quarterly investment report.
Four new utility-scale batteries were also deployed in Q4, totaling 1GW/2.3GWh, tripling the record set in the previous quarter. The largest battery was Victoria’s Melbourne renewable energy hub, with a capacity of 600MW/1,600MWh.
Jackie Trad, chief executive of the Clean Energy Council, described the achievement as an "Aussie first," coinciding with renewable energy supplying more than half of grid electricity for the first time.
The final quarter of 2025 saw multiple renewable energy records broken. Sixty-three percent of the total renewable generation capacity commissioned in 2025 was delivered in Q4.
The seasonal rush to complete projects before year-end, combined with increased political stability in the latter half of 2025, contributed to a strong finish. However, further efforts are needed to accelerate investment in large-scale generation.
Overall, 3.3GW of renewable energy was commissioned in 2025, making it the second-largest year for new projects after 2021. More battery storage was added in 2025 than in the previous eight years combined.
Good morning and welcome
Martin Farrer opens the live news blog with top overnight stories before Nick Visser takes over.
Record amounts of wind, solar, and storage were added to Australia’s electricity grid in the final quarter of 2025, sufficient to power Brisbane 1.5 times over.
Wage growth is expected to remain steady at about 3.4% when the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases December quarter figures later today, indicating that wage growth is trailing inflation and real wages are declining.
