Australia news live: ACT closes 71 schools over play sand health scare; NSW police charge 752 people in DV blitz

Schools closed after asbestos detected in samples from commercial sand products. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLey defends abandoning net zero by 2050 target, says renewables too expensiveOpposition leader Sussan Ley spoke with RN Breakfast this morning to stress she cares about the climate, but “when energy is unaffordable, everything is unaffordable”. Her comments come after the Liberal party dumped its net zero emissions targets last week.I want to reassure people listening who care about the climate that I do too, which is why we have dedicated emissions reduction goals in our plan. And I want to make this clear: emissions will be reduced on average year on year for every five-year period under our nationally determined contribution. And we’ll do our fair share. …There will always be renewables under our plan. But in rushing the transition, what we’re doing is pushing prices up. Continue reading…