this is worklife from bbc news, with sally bundock and ben bland. heavy rains bring a temporary relief for many in australia, but officials warn that fires ravaging the country will "take off" again. live from london, that's our top story on monday the 6th of january. we take a look at the financial impact of the tragedy, which has left scores dead and thousands homeless. also in the programme oil prices continue their rollercoaster ride, as tensions between between the us and iran remain high.

we and iran remain high. will talk you through what'si sta ke. and using tech to get into tip—top shape! we'll be looking at how the latest fitness innovations could mean the end of the personal trainer. and we'll be getting the inside track on a savvy way of making some extra cash — how about renting out your driveway? we'll be speaking to the firm behind this new venture. today we want to know what's your main motivator for going to work? new research shows top bosses earn an average salary in just three days, so is pay the most important factor? orjob satisfaction? let us know — just use the hashtag bbcworklife. hello and welcome to worklife. i'm sure many of you are getting back to your desks, perhaps for the first full day of 2020. welcome to politics live. we start in australia, where the prime minister has warned the devastating bushfires raging

in the country might go on for months. at least 2a people have died — an estimated half a billion animals killed — since the fires began in september and air quality in the capital canberra was this weekend rated the worst in the world. the new south wales rural fire service says around 1,400 homes have been destroyed so far across the state with many more lost in victoria, south australia and queensland. almost 4,300 insurance claims totalling over $200 million us dollars have been lodged since the main fires began in november and the bill is set to climb further as the full extent of damage is uncovered. in sydney, the cost of the fire has been estimated to be us $35 million a day while its air quality is currently rated as the worst of any city in the world.

patrick hatch is a business reporter at the age and sydney morning herald. he joins us from melbourne. it's good to have you with this, patrick. i suppose devastation and damage on this scale at this point, it's hard to say what the total cost is going to be at the end of it all? that's right. people have only really just started to that's right. people have only reallyjust started to count that's right. people have only really just started to count the cost and of course, we are nowhere near being out of this fire season, it's just the start. early indicators that we do have art that it will run into many billions of dollars, the number of insurance claims that have been lodged has now risen to over 6000, with over $400 million worth of claims to rebuild homes. 0n million worth of claims to rebuild homes. on top of that, the dairy industry has been very badly affected in the fires in victoria and new south wales. infrastructure

like power poles and schools and everything in between and of course, the tourism industry will take a very heavy hit from this. yes, is there anything being offered from either the federal or state governments to help people in the short term, financially? yes, to date the federal government announced a $2 billion package that will go to these communities to start off with, working with local councils and with farmers to start that process of rebuilding. that will just be that process of rebuilding. that willjust be the start of things, though. a couple of the issues that these people will be facing are primarily these are tourist towns. they are full of small businesses that make their annual profits in just a few weeks. they won't be making that this year. it's unclear if they will be making it in the following years. patrick, many are

arguing that what australia is experiencing in is unprecedented in the scale and the length of these bushfires. can we look back on previous years, tragedies, and weigh the cost from those and what they cost them? the worst bushfire in australian history happened ten yea rs australian history happened ten years ago in victoria, that was the black saturday bushfires. which tragically killed 173 people. it burned a smaller area, close to half 1 million hectares, the clean—up from that, the total cost was estimated to be four and a half billion dollars. 0k, patrick, joining us live from melbourne, thank you very much indeed. just to say, so much more detail on that on the website and of course, we have oui’ correspondence the website and of course, we have our correspondence covering this story all the time for us on the bbc. plenty of coverage throughout the day. let's take a look at some of the other

stories making the news figures out this morning show that new car registrations in the uk declined last year by two percent, falling to their lowest level in six years. the society of motor manufacturers and traders says the industry has been hit by political uncertainty, low consumer confidence, and worries about the future of diesel. france's finance minister has written to the us authorities warning the eu will hit back if america imposes new sanctions in response to the french digital services tax. last year, france's senate gave the final approval to a levy on big technology companies with revenues of more than $830m. the tax will target giants like facebook, amazon and google. largely, american companies. and the us federal aviation administration has confirmed that they are reviewing a wiring issue that could potentially cause a short circuit on the grounded boeing 737 max. the faa says wiring bundles could be potentially "catastrophic and added the issue could lead to further delays.

oil prices have risen by more than 2%, with brent hitting $70 a barrel after iran rolled back its nuclear deal commitments and president trump issued a threat to impose sanctions on iraq. joining me now from dubai is our middle east business correspondent sameer hashmi. of course, when there is this kind of u nrest of course, when there is this kind of unrest in the region, we see oil pricesjump, of unrest in the region, we see oil prices jump, is this of unrest in the region, we see oil pricesjump, is this roughly in line with what people would have expected? yes, it's entirely in line but this time the concerns are compared to what we have seen in previous years. i've been speaking to analysts, in september when the saudi arabian oil facilities were attacked, we saw prices going up in following days but then they stabilised but this time, however, the situation is much more serious oi'i the situation is much more serious on the ground and iran says it will

retaliate and that's why analysts say it is more uncertain or unclear how long it will take four oil prices to stabilise. they are talking about two scenarios, if iran chooses to attack oil facilities either in saudi arabia or iraq, largest nations of 0pec, then that would send oil prices up north for a longer period. the second concern is the strait of hormuz, the crucial water body that links the persian gulf to the rest of the world and it's crucial for global oil supply. if iran decides to disrupt oil flow thatis if iran decides to disrupt oil flow that is passing through this, that could also send oil prices up for a longer period of time. these are the main concerns. thank you. that story has been moving markets more broadly. the share market stand, as you can see, in asia. that was the close on friday the united states, the dowjones, close on friday the united states, the dow jones, the close on friday the united states, the dowjones, the main market there. this all kicked off early

friday in european time. in terms of the assassination of the iranian general. it's really been moving markets since they are and trade is on edge right now to see how iran may retaliate. let's look at european trading. we mentioned the price of oil, about $70 a barrel, the winners will be the energy stocks but as you can see, markets across the board starting this week in negative territory. as i said, investors watching very closely what might happen next and the middle east. sally, thank you. now to the us, where brewers are embracing dryjanuary — an alcohol abstinence campaign — as beer consumption declines. michelle fleury has the details. some of the largest beer companies in america are promoting dry january, the annual challenge of giving up alcohol for an entire month to detox after overindulging during those holiday months. heinekin rolled out what it calls its january dry packs, featuring booze free beer. the packs have been handed out

for free in cities like new york, la, philadelphia and boston while supplies last. and it's not the only beer maker jumping on the wagon. brookland brewery rolled out its first non—alcoholic beer in october, motivated by drinkers who are cutting back on alcohol to lead healthier lifestyles. that trend has led to a drop in beer sales and we should learn more about that softness in the market, with constellation brands, which makes corona beer, reports its quarterly results on wednesday. that's michelle, part of our team in new york, looking at those cashing in on dryjanuary. time now for our daily look at some of the newspaper and website stories which have caught our eye. joining me is nina van volkinburg — fashion commentator and lecturer at the london college of fashion. good to see you, after all the purchases are christmas, people having second thoughts or not liking

what they were given and sending them back? yes, returns are a huge issue in online retail especially in the us. they actually have on january the 2nd, a day dedicated now to retail. there are 1.3 million returns on that day from all of the purchases and the gift—giving from the holiday season. that is a huge cost to those retailers and also for the environment. what can they do about that? it is a cost and something, serial returning is something, serial returning is something that's been an issue for a while, hasn't it? one aspect is looking at transparency and information, making sizing or easy to understand for the consumer. and also, there is a development at looking at virtual reality, using avatars in terms of fitting and so, you can really try on online and see how... you can really try on online and see how you wonder if an avatar has got your shape. it's not quite the same. exactly. 0n

got your shape. it's not quite the same. exactly. on that point there is moving towards digital clothes and there is this movement on instagram, millennial is especially are buying something from let's say are buying something from let's say a source , wearing are buying something from let's say a source, wearing it once and then returning it, whereas with a digital outfit they can put it on to their picture and there is no actual purchase of the clothes themselves. what you are saying is you get a digital outfit, you prance around on instagram or places like that, you haven't got to wear it.|j instagram or places like that, you haven't got to wear it. i cannot believe that. in real life, you are naked, aren't you ? believe that. in real life, you are naked, aren't you? exactly, imagine having a photo of yourself and you putting a digital piece of clothing you, you are transformed, into what you, you are transformed, into what you look like and that's really, you know, the future of fashion is taking us. that's mind-boggling to me, is it to you? we could change between each item with digital clothes, we could change adverts in between each segment. gosh, it's ha rd between each segment. gosh, it's hard enough to pick one for the day. but the returns have got to appoint

as this name for it, take back thursday, you have all businesses whose model is handling returns for the big retailers. so much stuff is sent the retailers don't want to deal with it. exactly. also sent the retailers don't want to dealwith it. exactly. also there is this of rental models, the problem is that there is a discrepancy of where coi'isuttiei's is that there is a discrepancy of where consumers are wanting to just wear something once and then returning it and actually, you know, there are retailers that are going into rental, for example, h&m, they are trying this out. let's talk about the consumer electronics show underway in la, we will have a report from one of our team out there in a little bit. but what is catching your eye? there are two particular stories one at looking at a restaurant cat robot that is actually taking food from the kitchen to consumers. the cat normally gets the cream, doesn't it?

it's replacing the the waiter in this instance. it looks so angry. there are different expressions. when you stroke at once, it can perk it can be very happy. if you stroke it can be very happy. if you stroke it for too long you are taking it away from the job and it gets angry at you. and you don't have to tip, presumably? noted, there development towards automation, at the ces they are looking at exciting robotics, its catching attention because there is so much out there and these stories are what drive discussion. they certainly do, i don't know if they can get a tip from me, looking at that. maybe a stroke? maybe not even that. nina, great to have you on worklife again. happy new year. we will see you soon. we will treat that story later, if you haven't seen, its something else. still to come

making some extra cash from other people's cars! we'll be speaking to the firm that's specialising in renting out your driveways. you're with worklife from bbc news. top bosses will have earned the average annual wage by 5pm tonight, according to new research. 0n average, chief executives of ftse 100 companies were paid £3.46million in 2018 while full—time workers took home £29,559. that's the precise figure. just under 30,000, if you want to sum it up. let's speak now to charles cotton, pay and reward adviser for the chartered institute of personnel and development. thanks for being on the programme. is this getting worse or better, this story comes around every year. good morning. a executive

remuneration fell by 13% over the la st remuneration fell by 13% over the last 12 months. however, it has falle n last 12 months. however, it has fallen down, the figures are quite high, 117 times difference between the typical worker in the uk and a bossin the typical worker in the uk and a boss in one of the ukpos macro largest organisations. so we are questioning whether that difference is appropriate. i mean, the problem is, people would say there's a huge amount of responsibility, you shoulder a lot of the risk for success 01’ shoulder a lot of the risk for success or failure of the company and if you want to attract the very best people to do those roles, the top levels of pay are needed. what we found from research is that a lot of money that executives receive is linked to incentives and bonuses which are supposed to reflect company performance and the question and challenge would be is that individual responsible for the whole of the success of the organisation or actually, other people within that company also contributed and is it fair only one person should get

that money but actually it should be better distributed throughout the re st of better distributed throughout the rest of the workforce? in recent yea rs, rest of the workforce? in recent years, we've seen rest of the workforce? in recent years, we've seen a rest of the workforce? in recent years, we've seen a lot of shareholder action in this area, prevented bosses from getting the pay awards perhaps they wished for. has that not made a difference? it's made a little bit of difference but what i think is going to have a big impact this year is that organisations are going to have to start publishing the pay ratio between the chief executive and the re st of between the chief executive and the rest of the workforce. and also, produce a narrative, and what we would like to see is organisations explain what principles they are using to support executive numeral narration and evidence that works. charles, thank you. you're watching worklife. a reminder of our top story: heavy rains bring a temporary relief

for many in australia, but officials warn that fires now, they say sharing is caring and recent years have spawned a number of companies that can prove it. from renting out our homes to offering others rides in our cars, we are sharing our resources more than ever before — and everybody is reaping the benefits. yet whilst airbnb and uber are now in everyone s vocabulary, new disruptors are still entering the sharing economy market. well, one of them isjustpark. founded in 2006, the uk—based firm is shaking up the way we park our cars. its founder and chief executive, anthony eskinazi, joins us now. good to have you with us. it's been going for a few years, does it look like people are happy to share out their driveways as much as they are there cars and their spare rooms? absolutely, in fact renting out a driveway is obviously a lot safer

than renting out a room, you just let someone have access to your external property. 0ver let someone have access to your external property. over 50,000 people have rented out on utilised parking spaces over the years and continue to do so. in fact, over 3000 people every single month are listing their driveway for rent. go on. as you say, it's interesting, because the trends among how people travel, fewer people want to own their own car, more people want to either rideshare or used car hire schemes so if that bit of the sharing economy takes off, doesn't that mean inevitably your id has a limited future? what's interesting, we've been running over ten years 110w. we've been running over ten years now. when we first started it was all about helping drivers find the most convenient and affordable parking space close to where they we re parking space close to where they were going and we do that for about 4 million drivers now but actually, what we see now over the coming years, is actually a change in the way the network of spaces is used. we have 20, 30,000 different

locations up and down the country, and there'sjust locations up and down the country, and there's just park locations up and down the country, and there'sjust park space within 200 metres of 70% of londoners, for example. at the moment though spaces are created to serve the party needs today but as we move on, we are going through the next decade the biggest change in transport that we have seen maybe since the invention of the motor car. how does the network of space help facilitate new mobility spurs such as scooter parking, bike parking, you see bikes and scooters clustered on pavements and scooters clustered on pavements and causing hazards, they will need parking spaces. shared cars, we work with shared car providers and they are using us to place their vehicles and convenient places to be used. you started this in 2006, you were 23. it was your idea. how did that work? i was fortunate enough i did a placement while i was at university in san francisco, at berkeley in california and i was visiting friends over there and i was going toa friends over there and i was going

to a baseball game and i couldn't find somewhere to park of the same problems most of us have on a day—to—day basis and made a flippant comment to my friend, wouldn't it be great if i could park and that empty driveway next to the stadium. i didn't do so but i came home, quit myjob after six weeks and built the very first version ofjust park. how do you turn that idea and comment to a friend into a business? successful business? the way i talk to anyone, an aspiring entrepreneur, how do you come up with that first idea? for me, ideas are firstly the easy bit but think about all the different problems you face on a day—to—day basis, walking down the street, have a notepad and make a note of everything that annoys you, everything that annoys you, everything you think could be made better. these are all problems that require solutions, some are obviously commercially viable but having, coming up with that idea, i taught myself how to code, i learnt how to do digital marketing and everything else and ultimately i had enough passion and ambition to build it. back in 2006, peer-to-peer

lending or borrowing or sharing was a very, very new idea. so you probably had many barriers from that perspective? the sharing economy didn't exist, really but what did exist were marketplaces so i didn't maybe learn from air b8b but i did learn from ebay which had a demand supply marketplace, looked at the way that business ran with reviews and ratings and i learned from what worked for ebay and applied to my business, demand and supply, drivers and space owners. really interesting to get your thoughts, i have to say the idea of taking a notebook and jotting down things that irritate you or make life difficult, you would need reams and reams of a4. are you saying there is a lot that annoys you, is that what you are revealing stop some days. anthony, thank you. in a moment we'll run through some viewer responses to our twitter question. it was what is the most important thing to you when it comes to work, is it pay or other issues?

but first, let's talk about fitness. it's a start of a new year and many of us may have made a resolution to get in better shape. but getting a personal trainer could be pricey. well our technology reporter chris fox may have the answer. he s been putting some of the latest ai fitness apps through their paces so you don t have to. these three new apps are designed to help with your fitness goals using image recognition, machine learning and motion sensors. but are any of these apps advanced enough to replace a personal trainer? i've come to the gym to find out. first up is this, which uses image recognition and a selfie camera to make sure you're doing the exercises properly. great, i can see you, here we go with push—ups, get into the starting position. based on what the camera sees, the app gives you feedback to correct your form. you call that a rep? at the moment the app only works with body weight exercises so to move on to weight training, i'm trying this, a virtual personal trainer you can talk to.

i'm done. rest for two minutes. how many reps did you do? ten. well done, let's do another set. it creates a bespoke work—out tailored to your goals and remembers how well you did last time. i want you to add another five kilograms on each side. hit me when you are done. to relax and finishing off with some yoga. this uses motion tracking sensors to detect my position and correct my form which fairwarning, is going position and correct my form which fair warning, is going to be terrible. not quite. iam fair warning, is going to be terrible. not quite. i am doing it. i'm not sure whether setting up the sensors every time would take some of the senate out of yoga although the company says it's more accurate than using image recognition. while these apps can replace the kind of encouragement you get from a human personal trainer they do add a layer of interactivity which can make a work—out more interesting. not

quite. all come on! i thought he did great. i thought he was spot on. i think that app as being really mean. if it was a real personal trainer at the real one would be, get over it, go somewhere else. at the top of the show, we asked you about pay and if it was the most important thing when chosing a joblet's take a look at how some viewers have responded: thank you for all your comments, we a lwa ys thank you for all your comments, we always enjoy going through those.

hgppy always enjoy going through those. happy new year. we will see you again tomorrow, same time, same place. have a good day. good morning. the weather has been fairly quiet over the festive period but as we get back to work for many of us, the weather turning more u nsettled. of us, the weather turning more unsettled. this going to be some strong winds in the forecast, gail at times, generally quite mild, especially through tomorrow. but it's especially through tomorrow. but its low pressure is moving its way in close to iceland and that's what will bring in some weather systems through today. this band of rain spreading from west to east, quite a narrow band of rain so it may give a speu narrow band of rain so it may give a spell of wet weather for only an hour or two before it clears to the east. you can see it makes fairly gradual progress eastwards across many parts of the country, quite strong, gusty winds towards coastal areas, especially the north west,

gusts of 50—60 miles an hour. about 4pm you can see the band of rain stretching its way through hampshire, up towards lincolnshire, either side of that it's dry, brighter skies, sunshine developing, behind that area of rain which i was moving into northern ireland and scotla nd moving into northern ireland and scotland during this afternoon. with that, there will be sunshine at times, temperatures getting up to about 8—12dc. as we go through tonight, the band of rain continues tonight, the band of rain continues to care, a quiet night, lots of clear skies to take us into tuesday morning but you notice this next area of rain moving its way into scotla nd area of rain moving its way into scotland and northern ireland. those are the overnight temperatures, let's focus in on this rain because it's linkedin to the area of low pressure moving towards iceland, look at the white lines, really close together, those are the isobars giving us strong winds and also some heavy rain but also come up also some heavy rain but also come up with a south—westerly wind, much milder conditions. look at the

oranges across the uk, temperatures will be way above the average the time of year. rain expected for northern ireland and through much of scotland, it will be particularly heavyin scotland, it will be particularly heavy in the west, look at the greens cropping up from time to time. strong winds, as i mentioned, particularly the north west, potentially damaging and destructive winds, gusts of 70, maybe 80 miles an hourand winds, gusts of 70, maybe 80 miles an hour and it's going to be mild. temperatures 12—15d but around north—east wales, northern ireland, north—east wales, northern ireland, north—east scotland, the temperatures could be as high as 16 degrees. as we go through the rest of the week, it will start to cool down a bit more, and produced by friday into single figures, 6—9dc. again, some rain at times throughout this week. that's all from me. goodbye.

you're watching bbc news at nine with me joanna gosling — the headlines. president trump threatens sanctions against iraq, if it tries to expel us forces over the killing of a senior iranian general near baghdad airport. huge crowds pack tehran for commander qasem soleimani's funeral — the general was assassinated in a us drone strike, on the orders of president donald trump. this is the scene live in tehran, where iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei has led prayers and at one point was seen weeping. in australia — officials warn that fires there will "take off" again, despite rain and a drop in temperatures — the australian prime minister says the repsonse to