Australia news LIVE:ASX enters correction with $80b wiped off sharemarket;Blackouts possible in NSW and Queensland;Socceroos off to the World Cup

More than 2.6 million Australians on award and minimum wages will find out how their pay packets could change when the industrial umpire makes its annual decision tomorrow.

The Fair Work Commission will broadcast online the result of its review at 10am AEST.

The Albanese government has argued for a rise which ensures wages do not go backwards when compared to inflation,which sits at 5.1 per cent.

Unions have pushed for a 5.5 per cent increase which they say will prevent a further real wage cut for a quarter of all workers.

Last year the national minimum wage increased by 2.5 per cent to $772.60 a week,or $20.33 an hour.

The Australian Industry Group urged the commission to limit its increase to 2.5 per cent,arguing the union bid would"add substantially to the risks of entrenching inflation and greater increases in interest rates".

AAP

The West Australian government will close the state’s coal-fired power stations by 2029 in a major move towards cleaner power.

Premier Mark McGowan said the uptake of solar and wind-generated power coming on stream meant demand for coal was decreasing.

McGowan said about $3.8 billion would be invested in new renewable generation and storage – mostly wind and batteries – to ensure WA had affordable and reliable power into the future.

Muja power station will close after 63 years of operation and the more modern Collie power station that started generating in 1999 will close in 2027.

Read more here.

Here's a quick recap of how the sharemarket fared today.

The ASX 200 plunged as much as 5.3 per cent,before closing 3.5 per cent lower at 6686 ensuring the sharemarket officially entered correction territory.

Wall Street futures rescued the local sharemarket from a worse outcome with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures indicating a jump of more than 1 per cent.

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All sectors still managed to finish the session lower with the energy sector down more than 5 per cent. Materials and tech dropped more than 4 per cent.

All the big banks and miners took a drubbing with BHP and Fortescue closing down 4.2 per cent and 8.5 per cent,respectively.

Read more here.

Power generators areexploiting the chaotic energy market by withdrawing power supply from the electricity grid and waiting until strict rules to prevent blackouts kick in,forcing the energy market operator to direct them to fire their plants back up and triggering profitable compensation payments.

There’s no law stopping power companies from withdrawing their electricity generation from the market,and in the past two days they have reduced the volume available by 2 gigawatts in Victoria,3 gigawatts in NSW and 1.5 gigawatts in Queensland.

These withdrawals represent more than 10 per cent of the east coast energy grid’s total generation capacity of 55 gigawatts and come on top of an energy crunch created by a series of breakdowns and maintenance outages that have forced about one-quarter of the east coast’s coal-fired power stations out of action.

The withdrawals were prompted by the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) decision to put a cap on spiralling prices that electricity generators are charging for wholesale power,which crimped the profit margin of some generators,which are battling coal prices that are soaring because of sanctions on Russian exports.

Read more here.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk hopes to get energy market issues on the agenda at Friday’s national cabinet meeting.

The comments,made alongside her Energy Minister Mick de Brenni – who remains confident the state would avoid widespread blackouts tonight – come amid a volatile period in the national energy market and a cold start to winter.

Palaszczuk told reporters Queensland had been “doing the heavy lifting” by releasing gas for domestic supply,something “NSW and Victoria have refused to do”.

“We all need to do the heavy lifting,not just one state,so it’ll be something that I’ll be raising … when we meet with the Prime Minister and other premiers later on this week,” she said.

De Brenni said the “key message” was there would be “adequate supply for tonight”.

“The market is working as it should,and I have full confidence that the[Australian Energy] Market Operator will continue to work with Queensland’s publicly owned generators in the electricity system,and also continue to successfully instruct the private sector generators to supply electricity,” he said.

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Volatile energy market creates blackout risks in NSW,Queensland

Breakdowns and maintenance outages have forced about one-quarter of the east coast’s coal-fired power stations out of action,culminating in some generators offering less power into the market after moves by the regulator to enact a price cap and crimp profit margins.

Of the 107 power generating units across the state,five of those which are publicly owned and four which are privately owned were currently out of operation,de Brenni said.

The minister has separately confirmed that none of the state’s many publicly owned generators had withdrawn capacity.

WA Premier Mark McGowan and state Energy Minister Bill Johnston will make a major announcement at 3.15pm AEST. Watch below:

Andrew Constance has called for a recount in the southern NSW electorate of Gilmore,moments before Labor MP Fiona Phillips was due to claim the federal seat.

Phillips is 373 votes ahead of the former NSW Liberal minister.

Constance secured a 2.44 per cent swing towards him,bucking the national trend,but ended up just under 0.2 per cent behind the incumbent Labor MP.

Constance has now called for a recount with the official result due to be called at 2pm on Tuesday.

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The Australian Electoral Commission has confirmed the postponing of the official declaration to consider the recount request but didn’t put a timeframe on the consideration.

A recount occurs if the margin of votes between candidates listed first and second ends with less than 100 votes after the distribution of preferences.

As we reported earlier,former Wallabies captain David Pocock hassecured a place in federal parliament after election officials confirmed the results of the ACT Senate race.

AAP

Australia's qualification for the World Cup is the ultimate vindication for beleaguered coach Graham Arnold,who was emotional after the penalty shootout victory,after he kept the faith in his players despite mounting criticism of him,his methods and the talent at his disposal.

The World Cup qualification is also a tick for the board of Football Australia,which was under pressure from the media and Australia’s more voluble Twitter critics tosack Arnold after the disastrous losses to Japan and Saudi Arabia in the final qualifying games.

Contrary to the views of many outsiders,the team had full faith in their coach and thehero of the shoot-out,Andrew Redmayne,who hammered home that point in a post-match interview.

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“It’s hard to put into words how big a moment this is as a collective,” Redmayne said. “It’s a massive achievement.”

Attention will now turn to who makes the final squad. Iflanky defender Harry Souttar recovers from his knee reconstruction and shows he is back in form,he will come back into the reckoning.

Midfielder Connor Metcalfe,who has moved to Germany,is another who will be pushing for a place in the final squad,while a bolter like the exciting but raw striker Alou Kuol could also be a wildcard.

Read more here.

It’s lunchtime! Here’s what’s been making headlines today.

And that’s a wrap from me. I’m handing over toAmelia McGuire,who will be with you shortly. Have a great afternoon!