Category Archives: Australia news

‘Next level destruction’: NSW residents detail the moments floods devastated their homes

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Residents of townships around Lismore and Mullumbimby recall destructive landslides, rising flood waters and raging torrents

The towns of the New South Wales northern rivers are used to floods – they are part of the region’s history and a product of its geography. But this time was different. The speed at which flood waters rose, the sheer volume of water and the scale of the damage caught many by surprise.

Politicians are calling these floods a once-in-a-100, or even a once-in-a-1,000-year event, but in reality these catastrophic weather events are becoming more intense and more frequent.

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Sydney is no place to build a Māori meeting house – it is disrespectful to Aboriginal people | Morgan Godfery

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Marae embody deep connections to the land and are a statement of indigeneity – but Māori aren’t indigenous in Australia

When most New Zealanders hear the term “marae” they think of the typical Māori meeting house.

The angular facade, decorated in red and white carvings, and the open space for the “encounter” where guests arrive in the warmth of welcome, in the grief of a tangi (funeral), or in the uncertainty of a disagreement.

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Australia news live updates: Qld and NSW flood death toll rises; WA Covid cases expected to surge; Japanese encephalitis cases suspected

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Queensland announces financial support of $558.5m for flood-affected communities as NSW insurance claims estimated to have hit $1bn. Follow live

There are 28 people in intensive care in Victoria at the moment, with eight on ventilators. There have been 5,721 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours.

There are 45 people in intensive care due to Covid in NSW. There were 10,017 new Covid cases recorded yesterday.

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Shane Warne, preternatural genius who played with a carefree spirit | Andy Bull

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His career statistics are extraordinary but he will be best remembered for playing the game with joy and panache

The first thing I did was watch that clip. Shut your eyes and you can probably picture it. Shane Warne’s first ball in the Ashes, his choppy peroxide blond hair ruffling in the wind, the zinc cream smeared across his lips and the tip of his nose, his top button undone, his collar turned up, a flash of the gold chain bouncing around his neck. Seven steps, then he sweeps his arm over, sends the ball flying. It dips, hits the pitch, zips, spins the width of Mike Gatting, clips the off-stump. Bowled him! Warne roars, Gatting baffled, stares back down the pitch trying to figure out what’s just happened, umpire Dickie Bird tries to hide the ghost of a smile that’s crept across his face.

It was some introduction. And it turned into some story, too.

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Shane Warne, Australian cricket legend, dies aged 52

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Shane Warne, the greatest leg-spinner in the history of cricket and an Australian icon who transcended the sport, has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 52.

The news was confirmed by Warne’s management company on Friday and released initially to Fox Sports, the network for whom he commentated after a playing career that returned 708 Test wickets from 145 caps between 1992 and 2007.

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Japanese encephalitis virus declared ‘nationally significant’ as NSW woman in intensive care

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Virus spreads through mosquito bites and people in regional areas who are in contact with pigs may be at particular risk

Australia’s chief medical officer has beefed up the nation’s response to the Japanese encephalitis virus as New South Wales reports its first case.

NSW Health confirmed on Friday night a woman from the NSW-Victoria border region was in intensive care in a stable condition with the virus, marking the state’s first case after outbreaks in Queensland and Victoria.

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‘Heartbreaking’: Australia’s east coast reels from worst floods in living memory

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Queensland and NSW bear the brunt of catastrophic weather conditions that have claimed 16 lives

When Jenni Metcalfe returned to her Brisbane home to survey the damage as the nearby river peaked, water had already risen a metre up the back wall. There was nothing she could do. “I sat in the gutter and watched it and cried,” she said.

The east coast of Australia has been battered by more than a week of torrential rain, as communities begin to survey the wreckage of fatal flash flooding that has left townships looking like war zones.

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Novak Djokovic set for French Open with vaccination restrictions to be eased

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  • French government to suspend vaccination pass from 14 March
  • Path clears for Serb to defend title at Roland Garros in May

Novak Djokovic’s efforts to compete at the next grand slam on the tennis calendar will be far less complicated than his failed Australian Open bid after the French government announced it would suspend its vaccination pass this month.

The decision to end current restrictions on 14 March means the Serb will likely be able to defend his French Open title at Roland Garros, beginning on 22 May.

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Australia news updates live: fresh flood warnings for NSW as more rain due, Qld schools stay shut

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Hundreds of thousands of NSW residents are still under evacuation warnings or orders as Hawkesbury-Nepean region remains a major concern; Victoria records 26 Covid deaths, NSW records two. Follow all the day’s news

Resilience NSW commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has told ABC radio that flooding across the state was worst than predicted:

Unprecedented levels [of flooding] experienced up in northern NSW, flood levels that came in well above what was forecasted … And at the same time we’ve still got serious flooding concerns in Hawkesbury and Nepean ...

We’ve also formed up a significant taskforce, comprising of firefighters … the Australian defence force. So working shoulder to shoulder with business owners, with property owners, homeowners ...

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Fears for Indigenous community of NSW island as anger rises about government’s flood response

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Cabbage Tree Island school principal worried students won’t be able to return for months after

An Indigenous community from Cabbage Tree Island in the New South Wales northern rivers region fears they have lost everything in the floods.

Residents from all 23 households were forced to flee as water inundated the island, which is off Ballina and has been an Indigenous reserve since 1893.

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NSW floods: Sydney and Illawarra dodge east coast low after 500,000 people faced evacuation across state

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Newcastle and Hunter region now in firing line and subject to severe weather warnings as clean-up begins further north

Sydney and the Illawarra region of New South Wales have avoided the worst effects of the devastating east coast low that instead eased and shifted west over Newcastle and the Hunter region.

Newcastle remains under a severe weather warning with falls of 60 to 100mm possible over six hours and the associated risk of flash flooding.

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Beloved Australian soap Neighbours to come to an end after 37 years on air

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The show where household names such as Margot Robbie and Kylie Minogue had their start will wrap for the last time in June

The Australian soap Neighbours will shoot its final scene in June following a record 37-year run, after producers Fremantle failed to secure another UK broadcaster.

The series, which launched the international careers of countless stars including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Margot Robbie and Guy Pearce, is the longest-running drama series on Australian television and was so popular in Britain it has been bankrolled by Channel 5 since 2008.

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‘Lots of happy tears’: joy as New Zealand opens border after two years of isolation

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Some reunions were also tempered by grief, as for many New Zealanders the reopening came too late

Tears, hugs, laughter and the shouts of children echoed through the arrivals halls of New Zealand, as the country opened its borders and lifted isolation requirements.

“I’ve been waiting six months for this moment,” says Steve, 72, who was waiting for his fiancee, Karin, to arrive from Australia. “I’m over the moon,” he said. “I feel a bit shaky.”

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Hugs and tears of joy at Perth airport as WA reopens its border

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‘Australia is now finally back together’ as final jurisdiction welcomes vaccinated travellers

The arrivals hall at Perth airport was filled with joy and hugs when the first planes to take advantage of Western Australia’s border reopening landed on Thursday.

After spending almost 700 days behind a hard border during the coronavirus pandemic, the “hermit” state of WA has finally welcomed vaccinated travellers.

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‘A new culture’: discovery in China reveals ochre processing in east Asia up to 41,000 years ago

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Site in Nihewan Basin shows, ‘a potential signpost of a migration event of our species’, says Australian researcher

A 40,000-year-old archaeological site in northern China has unearthed the earliest evidence of ochre processing in east Asia, researchers say.

The site was discovered at Xiamabei in the Nihewan Basin, in the northern Chinese province of Hebei.

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NSW flood: Sydney residents in west and north-west evacuate as Warragamba Dam spills

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Residents in Camden, Chipping Norton, Georges Hall, Lansvale, Milperra, Moorebank, Warwick Farm and other suburbs told to evacuate with thousands more preparing to leave

New South Wales authorities have warned communities at risk of major flooding in the Sydney region to evacuate or prepare to evacuate as the Hawkesbury, Nepean and Georges rivers continue to rise.

Warragamba Dam, Sydney’s main reservoir, was spilling at a rate in excess of 70 gigalitres a day on Wednesday after torrential rainfall over its catchment exceeded earlier predictions, according to a NSW government official.

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Australia news live update: fourth NSW flood death confirmed; Ballina mayor calls for help; more ‘high impact’ storms forecast for Queensland

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Fourth NSW flood death confirmed; residents in parts of north-west Sydney told to prepare to evacuate their homes; Ballina mayor calls for ‘desperate help’; Queensland premier warns ‘high-impact’ storms could lead to more flash flooding; Warragamba Dam spills; drivers still stranded on M1; at least 59 Covid-related deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s news

My colleagues Josh Butler and Sarah Martin have an interesting story this morning on how the Australian anti-vaxxer groups are pivoting to pro-Putin messaging and Ukraine conspiracy theories.

Here’s a bit more on the second death in Lismore, via AAP.

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East coast low menaces Sydney and vast stretch of NSW coast with ‘life-threatening’ flash flooding forecast

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Severe weather warning issued for damaging winds and rain for region stretching from near Newcastle to almost the Victorian border

The “rain bomb” that soaked Brisbane and triggered record floods in northern New South Wales will develop into an east coast low and dump as much as 150mm of rain on Sydney with “life-threatening” risks on Wednesday.

The Bureau of Meteorology has pared back its earlier forecast for the daily rain total from as much as 150mm to 200mm to 100mm to 150mm, but reissued its severe weather warning for damaging winds and torrential rainfall for a coastal region stretching from near Newcastle down to almost the Victorian border.

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Riveting, terrifying, completely singular: how Chrissy Amphlett changed the game

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Growing up the daughter of a rock’n’roller, Lo Carmen was meeting stars at gigs from the age of 13. One left a life-changing impression

  • This is an edited extract from Lovers Dreamers Fighters by Lo Carmen

I was 13 when I became enamoured with Chrissy Amphlett.

It was 1983 and I had just started working for our old family friend Vince Lovegrove in the school holidays. In the late 60s Vince had been a frilly-shirted bubble-gum pop singer with the Valentines, alongside AC/DC’s Bon Scott; in the 70s, he’d transitioned to hip music scene journalist, to TV producer, to compère; and now he was managing cutting-edge rock group the Divinyls, whose song Boys in Town I was already obsessed with.

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