Economist Craig Renney had his application to attend the release of HYEFU declined.

It follows another political poll earlier in the day.

Christopher Luxon: ‘In short, we want to disrupt the status quo.’

Millions of Australians know how it feels to be chest-deep in the ocean in the middle of summer and feel that first raindrop smack down onto their head.

Seconds later, the surface of the water is alive with tiny splashes and you have to decide whether to stay in the sea and wait out a summer shower, or call it a day and head to shore.

It's a choice many Aussies will have to face as the nation braces for a hot, wet summer but the answer will surprise some.

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Although it's not unusual to see beachgoers braving the waves during a summer downpour, experts are warning Aussies not to tempt fate by staying in the water when summer storms roll in.

"Swimming during storms on Australian beaches can pose several serious risks," Michael Bonnici, Manager Coastal Safety at Surf Life Saving Australia, told 9news.com.au.

Storms can cause unpredictable currents and powerful rip tides that can sweep even experienced swimmers out to sea, as well as dangerous waves and swell.

Reduced visibility in the water due to storm conditions stirring up sand and debris also makes it harder for swimmers to spot hazards like rocks, debris, and potentially dangerous marine life during a storm.

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And then of course there's the lightning.

"Swimming in open water during a storm, especially in the presence of lightning, is highly dangerous," Bonnici said.

"Water is a good conductor of electricity, so if lightning strikes the water, swimmers can be electrocuted. In addition to the direct risks in the water, being in or near the ocean during a storm increases the chance of being struck by lightning, which can be fatal."

Not only do storms pose direct risks to swimmers in the water, storm conditions like strong winds and rough seas can make it difficult for Lifesavers to rescue swimmers in distress.

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Australians are therefore urged to get out of the water and stay out when storms are on the forecast, even if conditions seem safe at a glance.

"Storms can change rapidly, leading to unexpected shifts in wind, rain, and waves," Bonnici said.

"Swimmers may find themselves caught in worsening conditions without enough time to safely leave the water."

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The 58-second TikTok video was supposed to be a warning for young Australians to take sun safety seriously.

Instead, Melbourne mum Rachel Blease was flooded with comments claiming sunscreen caused her skin cancer.

Watch the video above.

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It's one of many false claims about sunscreen doing the rounds on social media this summer and Australians are being warned not to fall for it.

Anti-sunscreen rhetoric has exploded on social media, according to a 2024 study from the International Society of Digital Health in Dermatology, and claims that sunscreen causes skin cancer or contains hormone-blocking chemicals are on the rise online.

"We have seen a huge spike in misinformation about the causes of skin cancer, in particular the role of sunscreen, which is very disturbing," Liz King, Manager of Skin Cancer Prevention at Cancer Council NSW, told 9news.com.au.

Young people are particularly at risk of encountering this kind of misinformation because almost half of Aussies aged 18–24 cited social media as their main news source in a recent ACMA report.

It has experts worried that young Aussies could be swayed to skip sunscreen by baseless claims pushed online, potentially increasing their risk of developing skin cancer.

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at Google Play.

A conviction might make it more difficult to attend pharmacist conferences, he said.

Experts have once again cast serious doubt on the viability of nuclear energy in Australia, with a new CSIRO report finding it would likely be more than twice as expensive than using renewables.

The latest version of the GenCost report, published this morning, concluded a mix of solar and wind power with firming is the cheapest form of energy production, and will remain so well into the future.

It found nuclear presents "no unique cost advantage over other technologies".

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"Similar cost savings can be achieved with shorter-lived technologies, including renewables, even when accounting for the need to build them twice," CSIRO chief energy economist and report lead author Paul Graham said.

"The lack of an economic advantage is due to the substantial nuclear re-investment costs required to achieve long operational life."

The report found renewables with firming produced power at a cost of $98-$150 per megawatt-hour (MWh) this year, and is set to drop to between $67-$137 in 2030.

Large-scale nuclear generation has a cost, on the other hand, of between $155-$252, which is set to only drop to $150-$245, while the respective figures for nuclear small modular reactors are more expensive again at $400-$663 and $285-$487.

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The findings come as the federal opposition prepares to release the long-awaited costings for its proposal to build seven nuclear power plants.

Asked about the report, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton didn't answer whether his party's plan would push up power prices, instead questioning the methodology used by the CSIRO.

"The assumptions and the methodology have been disputed before… they were disputed before, and do you know what? They haven't even seen our plan yet, and yet they're out bagging it," he said.

The national science agency has changed its methodology used to assess nuclear power costs, to the point it gives the technology "extremely generous" assumptions, emeritus professor Ian Lowe said.

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"The study confirms the view of the electricity industry that solar and wind with storage are much cheaper than any nuclear power station would generate, even with extremely generous assumptions about the costs and operating life of nuclear reactors," he said.

Western Sydney University's Dr Thomas Longden said there are a number of issues facing nuclear power.

"For nuclear to achieve the lowest levelized cost of electricity, it needs to be built big and operate all the time and for a long time," he said.

"Yet, the bigger it gets; the more upfront cost needs to be paid. And if it isn't used as often or as long as expected, then it gets more costly.

"The true cost of nuclear will be revealed over a long time and is subject to construction costs, plus there's also the issue of operational, fuel, and waste costs, which will be higher for nuclear."

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Energy expert Ken Baldwin noted the report showed the cost of solar and battery storage has significantly decreased, while wind, coal and particularly gas have increased.

"Solar and wind remain the cheapest form of electricity generation, even when taking into account the additional cost of firming with storage, and the additional transmission costs," he said.

"This cost advantage over nuclear is projected to widen over the coming decades – especially by the earliest date that nuclear could foreseeably be expected to operate in Australia in the late 2030s, given the projected lead time of around 15 years."

Dutton promised to unveil the Coalition's nuclear costings later this week.

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Thousands turned out to Christmas events in Hawke’s Bay.

The Kaweka Community Catchment Collective is staging a forum on Wednesday.