The top stories on ABC News.
The country's south east is being battered by strong winds and blizzards in a system which is wreaking havoc across three states. In New South Wales a large section of roof has been ripped off a nursing home in Newcastle. In Victoria, three people have been injured after a tree fell on a car north east of Melbourne, where in the city's south-east, stormy seas have wrenched off part of the Frankston Pier.
The prime minister says the issue of recycling will be a key focus at today's council of Australian governments meeting in Cairns. Scott Morrison will urge state and territory leaders to do more to cut the amount of plastics that end up in landfill, or is shipped overseas. Mr Morrison says there's strong co-operation on the issue.
In Queensland, former Ipswich mayor Andrew Antoniolli has been spared jail time over his conviction on 13 fraud-related offences. The 48-year-old has been sentenced to six months jail — wholly suspended. Antoniolli was convicted of misusing more than $10,000 of council funds to buy auction items over 12 years while working as a councillor and as a mayor.
Farmers have responded to a UN report that found global warming won't be slowed without drastic changes to land use and food production. The world's leading climate scientists stopped short of suggesting people eat less red meat, but pushed for a raft of changes. Fiona Simpson from the National Farmers' Federation says Australia's primary producers are ahead of the pack when it comes to limiting the impact of climate change.