Australian PM is isolating at Sydney home and says he will continue working while he recovers
Scott Morrison says he has tested positive to Covid-19 but will continue to discharge all his responsibilities as prime minister.
“I am experiencing flu-like symptoms and will be recovering over the next week,” he said in a statement announcing that he had tested positive on Tuesday night.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Flood waters from the Richmond River catchment are expected to reach Ballina on Tuesday night
Residents of the north coast town of Ballina are preparing for a tense night as floodwaters from two saturated catchments converge on the town, following a week of heavy rainfall that has caused devastating flooding and cost nine lives across southeast Queensland and Northern NSW.
The State Emergency Service issued an evacuation order for the town centre on Tuesday afternoon, directing people there to leave by no later than 7pm.
Continue reading...Eight people have died, more are missing and hundreds have been rescued as flooding hits Brisbane, Lismore, Murwillumbah and Grafton
A major flood event has impacted communities from Maryborough in Queensland to Grafton in New South Wales, with Brisbane’s CBD inundated and a record-breaking flood in Lismore.
Here’s a summary of events so far, and what is forecast to come:
Continue reading...NSW premier says ‘unprecedented’ floods expected to get worse; Lismore residents call for help on social media as flood level hits record high; Australia lists Russia as ‘do not travel’ zone; Frydenberg discusses financial support for Ukraine ahead of Scott Morrison’s call with president; at least 12 Covid-related deaths recorded. Follow the latest updates live
Josh Frydenberg was asked if he believed the Russian president Vladimir Putin could turn the invasion into Ukraine nuclear.
He says it’s no secret that Putin may have ambitions beyond simply controlling Ukraine.
No one wants to see an escalation ... but these are the dangers of the times and the insanity of what Putin has done ... I’m worried there could be an escalation beyond the borders ...
I’m worried that there could be an escalation beyond the borders and no doubt. That’s what other European nations or neighbouring countries are concerned about ...
Just to get a sense of when will we find out the amount of money we’re committing to this issue ... we’re working the details through you will find out probably today.
I mean, we’re going to start with an initial payment. It will be in the millions, and it’s not going to be the same sort of quantum that United States or the United Kingdom would provide but you know, where we can ...
Continue reading...Eight people have died and three are still missing after heavy rain battered south-east Queensland
Queensland authorities estimate up to 15,000 properties could be affected by flood waters as the Brisbane River reached its likely peak on Monday morning, inundating low-lying areas in the city’s central business district.
Heavy rain lasting more than three days unabated in Brisbane eased at midnight on Monday, removing some of the strain that had choked suburban floodways and dumped unprecedented volumes into dams.
Continue reading...Brisbane and Queensland’s south-east are set to endure more wild weather as the state grapples with a flood crisis. With the death toll from floods in Queensland and New South Wales rising to seven, severe weather warnings remain in place across 900km of Australia’s eastern seaboard
Continue reading...Groundbreaking findings by Australian Sports Brain Bank reveal prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, including in younger players
Groundbreaking research into the long-term ramifications of concussion in sport has found chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the brains of more than half of a cohort of donors, including three under the age of 35.
The Australian Sports Brain Bank on Monday reported its preliminary findings after examining the 21 brains posthumously donated by sportspeople since the centre’s inception in 2018.
Continue reading...Heavy rainfall expected to continue overnight, with northern New South Wales next in the line of fire
Flood waters continued to rise across Brisbane, south-east Queensland and other parts of the state on Sunday night as a “rain bomb” dumped significant volumes of water into the city and put more than 1,000 homes at risk.
In some parts of Brisbane, flooding and damage has already been more severe than the 2011 floods, which killed 33 people and caused widespread damage.
Continue reading...The annual festival that celebrates a hairstyle that’s all business at the front and party at the back returned to Kurri Kurri over the weekend. Contestants of all ages flocked to the New South Wales town for the chance to show off their quintessential Aussie hairstyles and compete for the best ’do in categories including ‘grubby’, ‘ranga’, ‘vintage’ and ‘extreme’
Continue reading...Making sure adults and older children are vaccinated is the best thing to do if worried about under-fives not being eligible, expert says
Children under the age of five are not yet able to be vaccinated against Covid leaving some parents worried their younger children could catch the virus from older siblings who have returned to school.
Less than 50% of children aged five to 11 have received their first vaccine dose. But it is hoped child vaccination rates will be bolstered by Australia becoming the first country to approve the Moderna vaccine for children aged six and over. Pfizer continues to be available to children aged five and over.
Continue reading...Binge eating disorder affects many thousands of Australians, and for most it got worse over the pandemic. But few seek help – or even know they have it
Since Sam Ikin was a child his urge to devour food was out of his control. He didn’t want to be fat. “I wanted to look good. But the more I deprived myself of something, the more I craved it,” he says.
In one go, he might end up eating a couple of packets of biscuits or a whole big bag of chips. “You’re not conscious of the quantity that you’re eating, you just want to keep eating. And then once you finish what’s in front of you, you start thinking about what else there is,” he says. He would “come out of it” when he had run out of food, get interrupted or because he had got to the point where he simply could not eat any more.
Continue reading...Man found dead in Stones Corner and SES volunteer dies responding to call for assistance north-west of Ipswich
Leach says people are ignoring warnings to not drive through floodwaters.
Unfortunately, not. We keep saying,” If it’s flooded forget it.” Please don’t drive through. You don’t know how deep it is, how swift it is, you don’t know what’s underneath those waters.
We’ve had over 80 rescues of people. Our message is really clear: Please don’t drive through floodwaters. Back it up, find an alternate route.
For us it is anywhere south of Hervey Bay through to the Gold Coast and west to Toowoomba, south of South East Queensland is completely saturated and there is no signs of this system letting up any time soon.
We’ve just responded in the last hour to Noosa- we put out an emergency alert - a very big thunderstorm (is passing) over the Noosa area and we are now responding to requests for assistance up there. But we are still busy in the Lockyer Valley, Ipswich, northern Brisbane suburbs but it could happen anywhere.
Continue reading...Sussan Ley says number of humpback whales in Australian waters has grown from 1,500 at height of the commercial whaling industry to estimated 40,000
Humpback whales have been removed from the threatened species list after a significant increase in numbers in the 60 years since they were first protected, but green groups warn populations could decline again as oceans warm.
Global heating is predicted to have a significant impact on krill populations in Antarctica, a major feeding ground for humpback whales.
Continue reading...Judge finds Tony Witmann had PTSD and was ‘genuinely remorseful’ but victim fears she will never recover
A former soldier who tied up a woman at gunpoint while trying to get his cat back from Melbourne’s Lost Dogs Home has been jailed for six years.
Tony Wittman was armed with an assault weapon and dressed in full-military style clothing when he went to the Home in January 2021, causing victim Bailey Scarlett to initially believe he was a legitimate police officer due to his appearance.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Former Good Morning Britain host, who quit after a spectacular meltdown over Meghan Markle, strikes gold with News Corp. Plus: Hot Albo returns
Piers Morgan’s global talkshow is weeks away from launching but the British commentator was already handing out voting advice when he jetted in for Sky News Australia’s 25th anniversary party at the Sydney Opera House.
“Australians will want to elect the leader who they believe will move most swiftly to restore all freedom rights lost during the crisis, and who will be strong on national security,” Morgan said after arriving on Lachlan Murdoch’s private jet to celebrate with new colleagues including Peta Credlin, Chris Kenny and Rita Panahi.
Continue reading...Some areas of northern NSW and south-east Queensland could receive 300mm amid more wild weather in coming days
Sydney has experienced its wettest summer in three decades and the most humid season in 10 years, with more torrential rain forecast for the New South Wales north coast and south-east Queensland over the coming days.
The heavy rain and flooding has already led to three deaths – two in Queensland and one in NSW.
Continue reading...Protests against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine broke out in 53 cities across Russia, with police making 1,700 arrests.
Continue reading...Marco Fusinato describes his experimental noise project as ‘discordant intensities’, with his curator hoping that people who hate it will ‘hate it right away’
Marco Fusinato is counting on his forthcoming show at the Venice Biennale being immediately disliked.
Outlining his contribution as Australia’s representative at the world’s oldest art show this week, the 57-year-old Melbourne-based contemporary artist and noise musician said Desastres was the product of a nightmarish two years enduring the world’s longest lockdown.
Continue reading...The former NSW deputy premier advised parliament’s ethics office he may engage with government in his Coronation Property role
Former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro has started working with Sydney property developer Coronation Property, just weeks after leaving parliament.
The company, which said it had $1.4bn worth of projects under way, and a further $5bn in the pipeline, will employ Barilaro as its executive director.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...More heavy rainfall for south-east Queensland; foreign affairs minister says Australia could impose more sanctions on Russia if tensions escalate further. Follow all the day’s news
The Australian government should consider building up to six conventional submarines to bridge the gap before the nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus plans are ready, a new report says.
Under the trumpeted Aukus partnership, the US and the UK have promised to help Australia acquire eight nuclear-propelled submarines, but Scott Morrison has indicated the first of these might not be in the water until about 2040. The government plans to extend the life of Australia’s ageing Collins class submarines in the meantime.
Despite extending the life of the Collins-class submarines by 10 years, they are projected to be withdrawn from service at 24-month intervals from 2038. From a strategic and operational standpoint, the RAN could be left with no submarines capable of being deployed, leaving our armed forces with a significant capability gap. This conflicts with Australia’s increasingly high strategic threat and would undermine national security.
The order of up to six conventional submarines will take one to two years to complete detailed planning and achieve government approval before contracts can be awarded. Within two years of the contract being signed, manufacture of the submarines should start, which would be in 2026.
In the wake of the recognition of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) by the Russian Federation, Ambassador Alexey Pavlovsky was summoned to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to be presented with a strong protest. At the same time, the Australian government announced a new package of unilateral sanctions.
In this respect, the following should be noticed. Contrary to what the Prime Minister of Australia asserted today, Australia does not always stand up to the bullies.
Continue reading...