Good morning, Canberra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It's Friday! I hope you like rain because we're going to get some today most likely this afternoon and tonight. That also means a slightly higher top temperature - we're expecting 19 degrees today and tops of 14 and 16 over the weekend.
Let's have a look at what's making news as we wind down this week:
Parent killed in vehicle explosion at school
We have some tragic news from yesterday evening.
A 50-year-old man believed to be picking up a child from after-school care at Conder on Thursday afternoon died after a vehicle explosion in a car park in front of the school.
ACT police, fire and ambulance services responded to reports of a vehicle explosion at St Clare of Assisi Primary School on Heidelberg Street about 4.55pm.
ACT Ambulance Service officers treated the man at the scene. He was transported to hospital where he later died from his injuries.
The school has confirmed it would be closed today, and resume on Monday.
The details are here.
Search for missing Dickson land swap documents
The ACT government is on the hunt - for its own documents. Weeks after claims a box of documents went missing from the former Land Development Agency's office, Chief Minister Andrew Barr confirmed a search was underway.
The documents relate to the Dickson land swap between the government and the CFMEU-linked Canberra Tradesmen's Union Club, which is also being investigated by the Legislative Assembly's Public Accounts committee.
Daniel Burdon has the story here.
iPhones, drones lead to record entries in the Canberra Short Film Festival
The 23rd Canberra Short Film Festival is just over a month away, and with many Canberrans walking around with a mini film studio in their pocket, it's set to be a cracker.
More than 300 films have been submitted, with a big increase in the number of young filmmakers getting involved.
“This year we will see films with themes entailing romance, satirical looks at millennials and social media, refugees and LGBTIQ, as well as some dark films addressing loneliness and depression,” festival director John Frohlich said.
If they accept boomerangs of clinking cocktails with friends, I reckon I'm in with a chance.
Andrea Martinello has everything you need to know.
Andrew Barr voices ACT demands for deal on National Energy Guarantee
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has set minimum conditions the territory wants included in the national energy guarantee in order to get on board with the plan at COAG next week.
It was the first time any of the state or territory Labor leaders have specifically detailed what they want from the Commonwealth.
The chief minister wants a provision in the deal to ensure the emissions reduction target can be raised in the future beyond the current 26 per cent target.
Daniel Burdon has the details.
Frogwatch in negotiations over core funding
ACT and Region Frogwatch lost $800,000 in funding in the ACT government's latest budget, and now the group is in negotiation to try and claw it back.
The funding cut was core funding to the group's operations, and it was needed to help conduct the annual frog census in the Canberra region.
Frogwatch volunteers have been conducting the census since 2002, providing long term data used by projects including advising the government on local wetlands health or scientific publications on climate change.
Finbar O'Mallon has the story here.
Immortal Meninga backs Ricky Stuart
When an immortal has your back, it means a lot. That's why it's good news for Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart that Mal Meninga is "totally convinced" Stuart can turn around the Green Machine's fortunes.
The Raiders' finals chances are only mathematically possible, requiring the team to win all five games left in the season and hope for some other teams to be less successful.
"He's the man, he's the man to do it, there's no doubt about that. I'm totally convinced that Ricky's the man that should be coaching the Raiders," Meninga said about Stuart.
David Polkinghorne can fill you in here.