Cairns Mayor Terry James has encouraged tourists to visit Far North Queensland with the city of Cairns itself “pretty well unscathed” from flooding. The region’s tourism sector is expected to take a $60 million hit after being impacted by severe flooding. “We would like to see them (tourists) back next week,” Mr James told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “The Great Barrier Reef is still there, the airport is back open, the harbour is open, we will be ready for business. “We need to support some of these operators, they have done it very tough.”

Victoria Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell says the Labor state government is shrinking the “economic pie” for businesses impacted by taxes at a time when they should be creating opportunities for everyone. “When business are impacted by state government taxes here in Victoria they’re making their next big investment decision in another state,” Mr Rowswell told Sky News contributor Steve Price. “That’s bad for our economy here in Victoria. “Bad for Victorian jobs, and it means we’re actually shrinking the economic pie. “At a time when we need to be creating opportunity for everyone.”

Sky News contributor Kosha Gada claims President Joe Biden is the “frontman” for the left side of politics. President Biden’s primary fundraising arms have received strong support from the country’s most expensive zip codes, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. “The rich supporting the left side of politics is one of the most fascinating … dynamics that I think we have seen in Western societies in the last 30 to 40 years for many reasons,” she told Sky News host Caleb Bond. “Biden is sort of just a frontman at this point in time. Whoever it is, what they are really supporting is the left side of the isle politically because the policies favour them, the system and the power structures are self-rewarding and reward them the culture approves of doing that. “It’s kind of a win-win-win for people who live in those circles and they don’t have to live often a lot of the policies that affect everybody else because they are in gated communities, rich standard of living, not affected by the economy etc.”

Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie warns there is a “sense of lawlessness” in rural regions across Australia. Ms McKenzie told Sky News contributor Steve Price that there are issues “culturally wider” than just police officers being able to utilise the full force of the law. “A lot of police forces across different states have been wound back under Labor," she said. “And they’ve had their scope of practice … really curtailed. “It’s up to all of us to make sure that young people are raised in a way that they don’t turn to drugs and alcohol.”

The Australian’s Political Reporter Sarah Ison says while Opposition Leader Peter Dutton hasn’t had a gaffe, his “retail likeability” is a point of contention among voters. Sky News host Tom Connell broke down the latest Newpoll figures, which showed that 66 per cent of voters think Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has leadership experience, whereas Mr Dutton has 70 per cent. However, only 41 per cent of voters think Mr Dutton is in touch with voters, whereas Mr Albanese received 46 per cent. “That’s something that Peter Dutton has struggled with for a while,” Ms Ison told Sky News Australia. “I think he definitely had Labor being very reactive, even from as far back as sort of December … last year, like over the summer, he started to have them be quite reactive, and he was leading the narrative, so I think in terms of experience and some things like that, people can recognise someone who seems to have control. “He hasn’t had a gaffe or a number of kind of slipups or anything like that, but just broadly … his sort of like retail likeability has always been a point of contention.”

MIX 104.9 Host Katie Woolf says if Australia gets to a point where it charges people to use cash, it would be “absurd”. RBA Governor Michele Bullock questioned whether Australians should pay a fee to use cash. Ms Woolf told Sky News host Chris Kenny that it would impact senior Australians significantly. “Especially if you’re somebody that’s potentially on the pension or is counting your dollars,” she said. “I just think it’s a ridiculous idea.”

Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan says Hollywood has “lost the plot” in recent years at the altar of trying to “tick endless boxes”. “It needs to be said loudly,” Mr Morgan said. “Hollywood has lost the plot in recent years at the altar of trying to tick endless boxes for diversity, for virtue signalling – whatever it may be. “And it’s made a lot of movies simply unwatchable, and it’s also made award ceremonies unwatchable.” Mr Morgan discussed the issue with modern Hollywood with the author of ‘Everywhere an Oink Oink: An Embittered, Dyspeptic, and Accurate Report of Forty Years in Hollywood’, David Mamet.

Natasha Fyles will resign as the Northern Territory's Chief Minister, convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika set to be released in Australia, Brittany Higgins to begin a new life in France, Westpac customers face an online banking outage, a NSW police officer has been charged over a data breach, over 100 people dead after an earthquake in China, and Apple is set to pause the launch of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Author David Mamet says what’s missing from Hollywood is “individual invention”. “Which can only come from the individual and courage to take a chance and say ‘yeah, you know what? I’m going to do this story because it’s fun’,” Mr Mamet told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan. “Rather than ‘I’m going to do this story because if I don’t, I’m going to get fire’. “Who wants to watch that garbage? “Who cares? Nobody cares.”

At least 111 people have died and over 200 have been injured after an earthquake hit northwest China, according to China's state media. The 5.9 magnitude quake hit the Gansu province on Monday evening. It is reported to have caused severe shaking. Emergency workers are currently on the scene. The province's capital of Lanzhou is about 60 miles away from earthquake's epicentre. The quake has caused extensive economic damage, according to The United States Geological Survey.

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin was involved in a heated confrontation during a demonstration in Manhattan on Monday, December 18. Footage shows activists shouting at the actor while he was being escorted away by NYPD officers. Hundreds of protesters gathered at Grand Central Station where they held up banners and signs in support of Palestine. Many commuters experienced travel delays due to the demonstration. The protesters also marched to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and rallied inside Penn Station’s Moynihan Train Hall.

The Roe Highway in Perth has reopened after a nearby bushfire threat. The blaze burned through four hectares of land and threatened local properties. Wattle Grove was impacted by the blaze, and the Roe Highway was closed for several hours. Authorities are not treating the fire as suspicious. Arson squad detectives, however, are continuing investigations into the ignition point.

As living costs continue to rise, multi-store shopping could be the solution to help Australians reduce their grocery bills this Christmas. Consumer and political scrutiny over grocery price pressures is increasing, with Parliament preparing to probe the supermarket bosses at an inquiry in the New Year. Coles and Woolworths make up two thirds of Australia’s grocery sales and have received growing criticism as households feel the pinch. The two supermarket giants will face a Senate inquiry in early 2024 into whether their pricing strategies are fair to customers. Research conducted by CHOICE has found multi-store shopping could save consumers up to 40 per cent.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles is expected to resign this afternoon. The Labor leader has been under pressure to resign over undisclosed shares she holds in South32, which owns a manganese mine in the Groote Eylandt. It has also been reported by the NT Independent that Ms Fyles ruled out an investigation into the adverse health effects of the mine while she was the health minister. According to Sky News Darwin Bureau Chief Matt Cunningham, she has been unable to give a “clear or reasonable explanation” as to why she had failed to disclose the shares. She is expected to hold a press conference at 1:30pm Darwin time, 3:00pm Sydney time where she will confirm her resignation.

The Motley Fool Chief Investment Officer Scott Phillips discusses the latest development in the aviation industry as Turkish Airlines is given approval to increase flights into Australia. Transport Minister Catherine King quietly signed off on the deal which will see the carrier increase flights to the country by 2025. “The government will probably want us to believe this is a case of letting Turkish Airlines in for the reasons of competition but leaving Qatar out for reasons of other maybe geo-political issues,” Mr Phillips told Sky News Australia. “Whether that’s true or whether this is a bit of a face-saving exercise given the really massive community pushback about the original decision – maybe we can speculate on that one. “It should hopefully mean more competition on international airfares going from Australia to the rest of the world.”

Santa Claus has delivered a special message from his hometown in the Arctic Circle as Christmas approaches. At his home in Rovaniemi, Finland he told Reuters the focus should be on keeping children safe and happy into the New Year. People from around the world visit Santa's village in Lapland where his elves sort through hundreds of thousands of children's letters. This year, Santa says his biggest wish is for everyone to live in peace. “We can all do things to make my wish come true,” Father Christmas said.

Floodwaters haven’t deterred Queensland locals from heading down to the pub with many taking their dinghies to the Euramo Hotel. The pub has become known as a ‘yacht club’ in recent days as Far North Queensland faces record flooding. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology is facing criticism for not accurately predicting the record deluge. Water is continuing to subside at Cairns Airport with operations set to resume later Tuesday. Authorities spent Monday clearing debris which was blocking infrastructure linked to the city's water supply as well as restoring power in towns such as Port Douglas and Mossman.

The Biden administration is calling on Israel to scale down its bombing campaign against targets in Gaza, calling its strikes 'indiscriminate'. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has visited Israel, reaffirming the US' support. The Defence Secretary did however stress that Israel must change its strategy to retain global support. US sources say they are hopeful of a two-state solution in Gaza, headed by the Palestinian authority. Israeli leadership have rejected the idea of a two-state solution.

The recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea has resulted in oil prices spiking, according to CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski. “You have seen some terrorist activity in the Red Sea when it comes to the attacks on shipping in that area,” Mr Piotrowski told Sky News Australia. He said oil prices spiked up to three per cent overnight as a result. “They’re up by about a per cent now so they’ve come off the boil a little bit.” Presented by CommSec.

A bushfire emergency is unfolding in Narrabri, NSW with locals being urged to seek shelter. The blaze at Duck Creek south of Narrabri was upgraded to emergency level on Monday. It has so far burnt through more than 80,000 hectares. Properties are now under threat as the blaze continues to spread. Locals in Bohena Creek, Baan Baa, Willala and Goolhi are being told to seek shelter.