An electricity outage warning, and some superstitious burials

This is a squeeze podcast, where you're shortcut to being informed. Good morning. I'm Alice Stempster. And I'm Claire Kimball. It's Tuesday the 2nd of December. In your squeeze today, an electricity outage warning, defence is set for a restructure, pastry looks to the final race of the season and some superstitious burials. This is your squeeze today. Claire, the Australian energy market is tricky to understand, but there was an update from the official market operator yesterday that's worth clocking. AEMO says that we soon won't have enough electricity to supply people living in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT, Victoria, Tassie and South Australia. Yeah, and it's flagging the threat of widespread blackouts as the clock ticks down to the closure of a very big coal-fired power generator. That's the araring plant in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. It was set to be closed in August this year, but its lifespan was extended until 2027, after there were concerns of power shortfalls in the national electricity market. That's that market, Alice, that you described as Queensland, New South Wales, ACT, Victoria, Tassie and South Australia. It's not quite national, but it's where most people in Australia live. The AEMO boss is Daniel Westerman, and yesterday he said that we actually have enough renewable energy to cover any shortfall from that plant's closure, but we just don't have the infrastructure to keep the grid operational. And that's because, as Australia moves from these very big traditional coal generators that are in one spot, we now have these spread out renewable energy sources and ensuring the security of the system and keeping it stable isn't an easy thing. There's infrastructure that's needed, but it won't be in place by the time that araring closes. Yeah, regulators have been flagging for years now that the closure of 10 coal-fired power plants across Australia since 2012 could create power shortfalls, and now it's about a shortfall in the infrastructure to keep the electricity grid operational. The former nationals leader and now independent MP Barnaby Joyce yesterday said that the coalition should have kept our aging coal plants going when they were in government, and he reckons it's a mistake not to build more now. Yeah, so he and others on his side of politics are pointing the finger at the Albanese government's energy policy, which favours renewable energies. They say that it's wrecking the grid, but the Environment Minister Murray-Watt says that there's no private company willing to build a new coal-fired power station, and that's because the economics just don't work. It would be seen as a bad investment, as coal is decommissioned because we're trying to manage our emissions. He says that he's now working with the states to stabilise the grid for full and reliable power supply going forward. So, Claire, my main question is whether I'll be able to turn the air con on this summer, it's a relevant question because the Bureau of Meteorology's long-range forecast that's just been released is tipping that it's going to be a particularly hot summer. Many regions across the country are set to experience warmer days and nights, uneven rainfall and a heightened risk of bushfires. So, it sounds like some relief in the air con will be very welcomed, electricity supply permitting. There's been speculation about an incoming defence restructure for months now, but yesterday Defence Minister Richard Miles confirmed it. He says three groups within defence will be merged to become the new Defence Delivery Agency. Yeah, people who know stuff about this say that it's the biggest defence overhaul in 50 years, that DDA, as they're calling it, of course, is all things bureaucratic, it has to come with a new accurate name. The functions that are being consolidated look after the acquisition and sustainment of military equipment, so buying it and keeping it working, as well as shipbuilding. And what Richard Miles says is the goal is to streamline defence, get better bang for the buck when it comes to our taxpayer dollars. But the Coalition's Defence spokesperson, Angus Taylor, reckons that it's just moving bureaucrats around. He says that we need to do more for our chronically underfunded forces, particularly as China muscles up in our region. Speaking of something you're likely to see in the headlines today, Miles also confirmed that the Navy is monitoring a Chinese naval fleet, which may or may not be headed towards Australia. Larissa and I spoke yesterday about the talks between the US and Ukrainian officials in Florida. They've made some progress, but they're still working through the peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. US President Donald Trump reckons those talks went really well, but Marco Rubio, who is the Secretary of State, said that there's more to be worked through. There's some sticking points that Russia will need to say yes or no to, and that, of course, is a really tricky thing. Trump's special envoy, Steve Wieckoff, though, is headed to the Kremlin for some talks later this week. That will see him run the latest draft plan past Russian officials. So, yeah, it is a TBC on that one for later this week. And while we have you, tensions between the US and Venezuela have escalated again. To remind you, this is to do with the US claiming the Venezuelan government is involved in the illegal drugs trade. Reports now say that the White House has given Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro an ultimatum, resign and leave the country now and save yourself. But so far, he's refused to do that. Formula One fans will be all over this, but for everyone else, there's only one race to go before this season's F1 Drivers Champion is crowned. But a huge mistake by team McLaren in yesterday's Qatar Grand Prix has cost Aussie driver Oscar Piastri some really valuable points. Some very valuable points for him and his British teammate, Landau Norris. So what happened was that Piastri was actually leading that race, but instead of making a pit stop when a safety car was deployed on lap seven, which is what every other car on the track did, Piastri and Norris were told to stay out there. It meant that the others got essentially a free pit stop. But when the McLaren drivers then a bit later in the race had to make a pit stop, it cost them time. And that saw Red Bulls Max Verstappen just completely zoom away and win the race. Afterwards, Piastri said that it was gut wrenching, but he's now focused on clawing back the 16-point difference between him and his teammate and rival Norris in the final race in Abu Dhabi. If you want to watch that, you might want to chug some coffee on Sunday night. The start time differs across the country for us here at home, but it's late Sunday, early Monday. So we'll include a guide to that in the episode notes today. I so want to watch it, but gee, that's a hard time. Midnight for you. Oh, it's a school night. It's just way too hard. We've got a bit of a wedding theme happening so far this week, Claire, but we couldn't go past this story about wedding superstitions. No word whether Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his bride Jodie Hayden took part in this wedding superstition. But this one is really something to behold. So, you know, of course, there's lots of wedding superstitions, like the bride not seeing the groom before the ceremony, certainly not in her dress, that is for sure. But what I hadn't really heard of until yesterday was that apparently burying a sausage in the garden to ward off bad weather is a whole thing. I've heard of games of hide the sausage on a wedding night, but I don't think that that's what they're talking about. This is one of a host, apparently, of new rituals that Aussie couples are resorting to ahead of their big days. It's originally a European practice. It's taken off on social media as some of these crackers things do. You'll be shocked to learn that the science behind it isn't particularly exact. Yeah, it might sound unusual, but celebrant Pam Nelson reckons it's not all that uncommon. She's seen it all in weddings, from Star Wars weddings to nude ceremonies, so no wonder she says nothing surprises her anymore. Poor Pam. Squiz the day now. For Matilda's fans, they're taking on the Kiwis in a friendly in Adelaide tonight. That's on at 8pm local time. They're getting ready for next year's Asian Cup. Yep, they most certainly are. From my end, we've got a new shortcut out today, so Larissa Moore and I get you across the escalating tensions between China and Japan. Some really big stuff happened in the last week or so, and of course it's in our region, so it's good to stay across those things. Good one. That will be published around midday in this feed. And that's us done for today. We'll be back with you again tomorrow. you