Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia President Barry Robson has warned of the "very big" risk asbestos poses to children. Mr Robson's comments come as a school in Sydney's southwest has been forced to close temporarily after bonded asbestos was found in mulch in a new playground. “It’s a very big risk with the discovery of bonded asbestos,” Robson told Sky News host Peter Stefanovic. “The problem there, Pete, where there’s bonded asbestos – it’s already broken, and the deadly fibers are exposed. “It’s just as dangerous as friable.” There are now 22 locations across the city where contaminated asbestos has been detected.

A worrying report from the Herald Sun reveals dozens of linesmen have been accused of turning off their phones on Tuesday night during fires in Victoria. The Linesmen are crucial for fixing infrastructure. Shadow Immigration and Citizenship Minister Dan Tehan says he is “incredibly alarmed and deeply concerned. “That is not the Australian way,” he told Sky News Australia. “I’ve fought fires myself and when communities are under threat – everyone pitches in, no one turns their phone off.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves has confirmed at least one person was killed in a shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade in the United States. The incident happened in the capital of the US state of Missouri at Union Station on Wednesday afternoon (local time) as crowds started to leave the rally, according to officials. Police said two armed people were taken into custody for "more investigation." Ms Graves said it's not yet known how many people were wounded, but it “could be upwards from 10 to 15,” Ms Graves said she does not believe any of the victims were children.

Julian Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton says the Prime Minister's support of a motion to free Assange from a UK prison is “very significant.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sent a strong message about the need to release Julian Assange from prison in the UK. Mr Shipton noted the timing of the Prime Minister’s message is particularly significant. “I think it’s very significant, particularly the timing of this message ahead of Julian’s final appeal application before the UK courts,” Mr Shipton told Sky News Australia. “It’s going to send a clear message to the UK and the US that Julian has the support of the Australian people.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond has criticised the United States Senate for providing Ukraine with a “staggering” $US61 billion in a new aid package, which is “apparently enough to build a wall” across the US-Mexico border. According to Breitbart, as the Trump administration spent $15 billion to cover 450 miles of the US-Mexico border with a wall of the nearly 2,000-mile border, it would roughly cost $60 billion to cover the entire border. “After the border bill was voted down, they simply separated the two and put up the foreign aid anyway,” Mr Bond said. “Lo and behold, here is Ukraine being given, by the US, $US60 billion, which is apparently enough to build a wall across the entire US-Mexican border. “It is a staggering amount of money to be giving away to one country in a war that we know has been going on for two years now.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says the Australian Defence Force is “not recruiting” people at the rate that the people are leaving. The ADF is set to lower fitness and health standards in order to boost recruitment. Ms Storer said the targets are 80,000 and we’re currently sitting on just 57,000. “These guys have decided if we just drop the fitness requirements, maybe more kids will get on board. “So great, now we just get less fit people in the armed forces.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond says people aren’t signing up for the ADF because they “don’t have national pride” like they used to. The ADF is set to lower fitness and health standards in order to boost recruitment. Mr Bond said the ADF must “encourage people” to want to defend the country. “That is the major problem. “During World War’s one and two … the boys wanted to go, they wanted to fight for their country.”

Sky News host James Macpherson has slammed the government for the news they will spend $40 million to advertise to the Australian public about how the stage three tax cut changes will save them money. “We’ve got to discuss news today that the government will spend $40 million advertising stage three tax cuts,” “Just to be clear, the government will spend our money, to tell us they are giving us our money. “We’ve been told tax cuts were needed … absolutely the right thing to do … overwhelmingly popular. “So why the need to spend our money just to tell us they’re going to give us our money?”

The Megyn Kelly Show host Megyn Kelly says Meghan Markle wants all the luxuries of the royal life “without having to work for it”. Ms Kelly told Sky News host Paul Murray that she is flying private “on everyone else’s dime”. “At the same time as part of their rebrand, Harry is continuing touting himself as an environmentalist. “If you’re an environmentalist, get on JetBlue, stop with the private flights everywhere. “Because that’s the only way they’ll travel.”

Sky News host Paul Murray slams the government for “changing their politics” over the decision to spend $40 million on a campaign promoting the changed stage three tax cuts. “53 per cent of Australians despite all of the noise in the political media have virtually no, or absolutely no knowledge about the too little, too late tax changes this government has introduced to try to save their bacon,” Mr Murray said. “The numbers are so small it is not going to change anyone’s life but it’s about changing their politics. “So, what is going to happen? Well, enter other people’s money.” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the government decided to agree to a campaign of up to $40 million over two financial years, concerning the tax campaign, "but that hasn’t been finalised".

Sky News host Rita Panahi says hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across Victoria remain without power as the state battles one of its "largest outage events" in history. “It comes after the state was lashed by severe storms,” Ms Panahi said. The storm damaged powerlines, and transmission towers, and knocked out all four generators at Loy Yang Power Station. “The state government is now warning that it could take weeks to fully restore the network.” Ms Panahi is joined by Nationals Senator Matt Canavan to discuss Victoria and the rest of Australia’s ability to cope without these power stations, “which many people are desperate to shut down”.

Sky News host Rita Panahi reacts to a “brainwashed” young man ranting about the climate crisis and urging President Joe Biden to act while being dragged by police. Ms Panahi said the man has been “failed” by the United States’ education system. “My home is under attack by wildfires, storms, droughts, hurricanes,” he said in a video shared by Sunrise Movement via Storyful. “The climate crisis is here and Biden has the power to do something about it. All we’re asking ius that he use the tools at his disposal. “I’m putting my life on the line, my body on the line and all we’re asking is that he declare a climate emergency.”

Sky News host Rita Panahi reacts to American sports personality Stephen A Smith “waking up” to the Democrats’ “destructive” policies in a wild rant about migration. Ms Panahi regarded Mr Smith as a “renowned” sporting lefty but said he is speaking like a “right-wing reactionary”. “I see homeless folks in the streets of New York all the time that are American citizens, I’m dam sure I see them in California,” he said. “We have got poor, impoverished, starving people who were born and raised in this nation. How the hell do we come up with a $53 million pilot program for illegals but folks who are here legally, who are born here, we don’t have enough for them? “Just like we can come up with billions for Ukraine but somehow someway we can’t fix the homeless problem.” Mr Smith backed the government supporting foreign nations but urged the Biden administration to focus on issues within the country.

Sky News host Peta Credlin warns Victoria doesn’t have enough electricity after thousands of people in the state were left without power on Tuesday night. Parts of regional Victoria and Melbourne on Tuesday copped severe weather which brought down power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of Victorians without power. Premier Jacinta Allan blamed the incident on an “extreme weather event” which no one could have anticipated. “Leaving aside her blame-shifting for a moment, we should be able to expect redundancy is built into any first-world power grid, so that the loss of a couple of towers doesn't cause a crisis. As it did in Victoria yesterday,” Ms Credlin said. “However, it seems that even before some transmission towers went down, the energy market operator was already negotiating emergency supplies to cover the late afternoon peak, and that about 90,000 customers had already been cut off.”

Victorian Energy Policy Centre's Bruce Mountain says the electricity transmission system in Australia is “very exposed” to weather events. Parts of regional Victoria and Melbourne on Tuesday copped severe weather which brought down power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands of Victorians without power. Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent warned it could potentially take up to a week for some houses and businesses to get their power back. Mr Mountain told Sky News host Chris Kenny that the extreme weather had a “major impact” on the power system in Victoria. “A major amount of load on the transmission system was dropped.”

Journalist Tucker Carlson has declared Moscow is "so much nicer" than any city in the United States, days after releasing his exclusive interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, Carlson praised Moscow for its cleanliness, safety, and beauty. "What was radicalising, very shocking, and very disturbing for me was the city of Moscow, where I’d never been — the biggest city in Europe with 13 million people, it is so much nicer than any city in my country," he said. Carlson's remarks follow his recent trip to 'The Third Rome' where he became the first Western journalist to interview President Putin since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Recorded last Tuesday and released on Thursday, the interview mainly focused on the Ukraine conflict, which is nearing the two-year mark.

Tasmania Premier Jeremy Rockliff has called for an early general election so “Tasmanians can have their say”. Mr Rockliff said this election is about who is “best able to restore the stability and certainty” so Tasmania can take action on the issues affecting its residents. “We do have a strong plan which is all about addressing these important issues that the parliament has become unworkable,” he said. “I’m not going to allow myself or my government to be held to ransom for the next 12 months – it’s bad for Tasmania and it’s bad for Tasmanians.” The election is scheduled to take place on March 23.

Transport Minister Catherine King says the government supports “strong animal welfare standards” for the live sheep export industry. In 2023 the government appointed an independent panel to consult on how and when the transition to phase out live sheep exports should take place. “We need to partner with the industry to shape a strong and sustainable future for the Australian sheep wool and sheep meat industry,” she said during Question Time on Wednesday. “People earnt their livelihoods from this sector but we also know that we are implementing our commitment to phase out live sheep export in a considered and orderly way. “That work is important, it’s why the phase-out of live sheep export by sea will not occur during this term of parliament.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the changes to the stage three tax cuts implemented by the Albanese government will make an “enormous difference”. Mr Albanese said the tax cuts “won’t put pressure on inflation”. “We want people to earn more and to keep more of what they earned – what they want is people to work longer and for less,” Mr Albanese said. “That’s the great divide in Australian politics today. “This side of the house that understands that aspiration is what every Australian family has for themselves and for their kids."

Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have paid tribute to the people of Victoria and the firefighters following the severe storms and bushfires. “In the last 24 hours, nature has thrown everything at the people of Victoria. Bushfires, extreme heat, wild winds, damaging storms, and flash flooding," Mr Albanese said during Question Time on Wednesday. Mr Albanese later went on to say “To everyone in the area please stay safe, do everything you can to stay up to date with warnings and forecasts, do not take risks". “And please follow the advice of the local authorities,” he said. “I know I speak for every member in this place when I say the commonwealth is ready to do whatever we can to help Victorians through these hard days and to assist communities with the work of recovery.”