Cabonne Shire resident Bryce Morley says the community is in for a fight over giant wind turbines. A proposal to build the tallest wind farms in the country is facing pushback in regional New South Wales. Residents in Cabonne Shire in the central west of NSW say there has been inadequate consultation by the UK developer. The proposal has already harmed land values in the area and locals are worried about the visual and noise impacts of the project. “We’re in for a fight, Steve – it’s quite a complex case,” Mr Morley told Sky News host Steve Price.

The buck stops with Defence Minister Richard Marles as he holds responsibility for the state of the ADF’s recruitment and retainment “mess,” says LNP Defence and National Security Policy’s Lincoln Parker. “He has presided over this mess, and he continues to do that,” he told Sky News Australia host Erin Molan. “He is certainly known as probably Australia’s worst defence minister of all time. “Right now, he is at war – he has lost control of the Department of Defence; he is at war with his own department. “You have to lead from the front, and that is not what the Prime Minister is doing; it is not what the Minister for Defence is doing.”

Sky News host Danica De Giorgio warns Labor has “lost control” of Australia’s borders after a boat carrying 30 people arrived in Western Australia. The Australian Border Force confirmed it is investigating the arrival of a boat which landed in Beagle Bay, north of Broome. The 30 men are believed to be from Pakistan and came to a small Indigenous community looking for water. “Look, we may as well be back open for business. A big sign should be erected across the country – asylum seekers welcome, come on down,” Ms De Giorgio said. “How on earth did this boat arrive undetected? Now we have a group of people roaming about WA.”

Shadow Victoria Tourism Minister Sam Groth has called for “proper investment” into the triple-0 system after its latest “failure” during the recent blackouts in Victoria. Leaked internal documents showed some people were forced to wait almost six minutes for their triple-0 calls to be answered, according to the Herald Sun. Triple Zero Victoria’s target response time is five seconds for 90 per cent of emergency calls. “It’s not like the government didn’t know this was coming,” Mr Groth told Sky News host Steve Price. “They had advanced warning. They had at least 24 hours, they knew this was going to be the first day where there was a chance of catastrophic fires and storms. “The government should have acted, they should have called in the maximum number of people to be able to take these calls so when people were faced with an emergency, someone was going to be able to pick up the phone.” Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes conceded Victorians were forced to wait three minutes to contact police during the weather crisis.

Russia's plan to launch an anti-satellite nuclear weapon into space has sparked concern among members of Congress. House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner announced a “national security threat” about a “destabilising foreign military capability” at Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Multiple senior members were briefed on the information and have since highlighted the warning is not an immediate threat to the United States. According to three US officials, the system is still being developed and not in operation. It is currently unclear how far along the system is in its development, according to an official. One source said, “It is very concerning and very sensitive,” with another source labelling it, “A big deal.” House Speaker Mike Johnson came out and addressed the issue without raising an alarm to concerned citizens. “We are going to work together to address this matter, as we do all sensitive matters that are classified, but we just want to assure everyone steady hands are at the wheel,” he said.

With Europe still in the grips of war and tensions escalating in the Middle East, particularly with the Israel War looming larger, the world finds itself on edge. Iran-backed militants have clashed with US forces, sparking fears of a wider conflict. Meanwhile, the threat of China continues to loom, adding to the uncertainty. In this Sky News Digital Originals, we assess these developments, and explore exactly how concerned we should be. Recent events, such as President Joe Biden's retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed groups, underscore the fragility of the situation. With Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reshaping global dynamics and China's ambitions for superpower status, the stakes have never been higher. As we navigate through these turbulent times and explore the challenges facing global security and diplomacy, we can't help but wonder, are we on the brink of WWIII?

Sky News Australia has confirmed that police have arrived at a small Indigenous community in Western Australia, following the arrival of 30 individuals by boat. The boat landed in Beagle Bay, 100 kilometres north of Broome. The 30 men from Pakistan came into the town looking for water. “I’ve been travelling in the car, so I haven’t been advised about that, but our policies are very, very clear, which is that boats that arrive in that fashion,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference on Friday. “We have policies in place to ensure that they are dealt with.”

The world premiere of Dune Part Two is taking place in London. It is the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2021 box office hit movie, which stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, and Florence Pugh. It is the second part of the book written by Frank Herbert in 1965. “When I watched the movie, I said, I think this might be the best movie I’ve ever watched in my life,” Ms Pugh said. “People will study this movie for a long, long time.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been heckled by a climate protester while addressing a press conference in New South Wales. The Prime Minister was speaking in the NSW Central Coast after touring the Lake Haven Urgent Care Clinic. The protester interrupted to ask why the government was going through with new coal and gas projects during a “climate crisis”. “Mr Albanese, climate change is a health emergency,” one protester said. The Prime Minister told the protesters he would speak to them in private. One protester held a sign reading “no new coal or gas”.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has given an update on the support being offered to those who fell victim to power outages as a result of this week’s heavy-duty storms. Almost 300,000 homes were left without power after heavy storms battered the state earlier in the week. “There are still 30,000 customers to be worked through - that number will come down,” Ms Allan said at a press conference on Friday. “As those numbers come down, our focus is being keenly targeted on those households and communities that are going to be left without power for longer periods.” The update comes as 44 homes have also been left destroyed by a bush fire in the state's west.

Harvard student Rita Kapoor says she wasn’t a ‘Swiftie’ before undertaking the prestigious university’s course dedicated entirely to Taylor Swift, her music and her popularity. The 'Taylor Swift and Her World' course is led by English professor Stephanie Burt and is aimed not only at die-hard Swifties but also those who are “Swift-curious” or sceptical about the hype around the pop sensation. “I personally swore up and down for the longest time that I was not a huge Swiftie, and I fear I was wrong about that.” Ms Kapoor told Sky News Australia. “Regardless of what you think about her music, it’s impossible to not be in awe of her legacy and artistry and what she does lyrically. “The class looks at her both as a storyteller in her own right, as a writer, and the media culture surrounding her.”

Independent MP Allegra Spender doesn’t believe the GST system, in its current form, is “working” because the states with greater need and less capacity to pay are “not getting the outcomes”. There are growing calls for the GST deal for Western Australia to be axed, as the federal budget faces huge cost blowouts. “I don’t think that the way GST currently works is actually that effective, I think there’s two big problems with it,” Ms Spender told Sky News Australia. “Firstly … If the purpose is to make sure that you get the money to the states who can’t otherwise pay for them, why is WA getting all this extra money given that how much it has the capacity to pay with such a high iron ore price. “The second big problem really with this is that … we send money to those states who we say have greater need and less capacity to pay, but the problem is we’re not getting the outcomes either. “I don’t think it’s working in either way, to be honest.”

Seven schools in Sydney have been identified for precautionary asbestos testing, the number of homes razed by fierce bushfires in western Victoria has risen to 44, It's been revealed landlords are spying on renters, a cyclone watch in place for the Northern Territory has officially been upgraded to a cyclone warning, Donald Trump will stand trial next month accused of falsifying bank records, Red Bull racing boss Christian Horner says allegations of inappropriate behaviour against him are 'a distraction', and Taylor Swift's first concert begins in Melbourne tonight.  See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has slammed Labor for always putting “defence last” and “ripping out” $1.5 billion under the Albanese government despite increasing spending across the economy by $209 billion. “It’s clear that Labor always puts defence last,” Mr Dutton said at a press conference in Adelaide on Friday. “They’ve always got an area to spend money, and defence becomes the piggybank for a Labor government that can’t manage the economy. “We know that in 18 months, the Labor government spent an extra $209 billion, but defence has had money taken out of it. “A billion and a half dollars has been ripped out under Labor, and there’s a human cost to that because people in South Australia will lose their jobs under the Albanese government.”

The woman killed during the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade in the US has been identified as a local radio host. 43-year-old Lisa Lopez-Galvan was a host for local Kansas City station KKFI. Thousands of people gathered in downtown Kansas City for the celebratory parade and rally after the Chiefs' Super Bowl win. 22 attendees, including eight children, were injured in the shooting at the end of the parade. Three people have been detained for questioning. No motive has been identified yet.

Independent MP Zali Steggall and Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie have clashed over whether Australia should adopt nuclear power, with Steggall calling McKenzie’s arguments “rubbish”. Opposition Energy Spokesman Ted O’Brien has said if Australia was open to nuclear, Liddell could be used to install four 300-megawatt small modular reactors or one 1.1 gigawatts larger reactor. “Complete unicorn and just absolute make-believe that Bridget and the Coalition are in,” Ms Stegall told Sky News Australia. “We have to transition to modern-day technology, and for Australia, it is simply not nuclear, and the Coalition seem unable to acknowledge that. “They simply are trying to delay the transition to renewable, which must occur between now and 2035.”

Network outages have affected six different banks across Australia. Customers from People’s Choice, Defence Bank and Ubank started to experience issues early yesterday morning. Bank Australia, Beyond Bank and P&N Bank were also affected. Some customers have been told to take care when making payments. The major banks are unaffected by the outage.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has revealed his predecessor spent more than half a million dollars on polling during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is understood former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk surveyed Queenslanders between 2020 and 2022 on her tight border policies. She has previously denied conducting the polling. Ms Palaszczuk claimed her government was only taking advice from health experts despite contracting pollster Ipsos. The state government charged the pollster with uncovering Queenslanders' thoughts on how restrictions should be eased.

Tens of thousands of Victorians remain without power following severe storms in the state’s southeast. AusNet says around 500 crews are working to restore power to most areas by Saturday evening; however, some properties may not be reconnected to the grid for nearly a week. According to the Herald Sun, some urgent triple-zero callers on Tuesday were forced to wait up to six minutes as the service issued a plea for help to off-duty staff. Premier Jacinta Allan says repairs were impacted by safety concerns, and closed roads from fallen trees. “We also do want to acknowledge that there is going to be a smaller number who are going to be impacted for a longer period of time,” she said. “We are looking at how we can get in and provide support for those communities that are going to be affected for longer.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says having S plates on cars driven by seniors would be for everyone’s “safety”. There are calls for S plates to be displayed for senior drivers in addition to the already existing L and P plates. Ms Storer said the senior driver’s plate would be an “opt in” and not a requirement. “We’re talking about everyday seniors who are still on the road. “And would like to let people know, ‘hey be a little bit more patient with me’.”