Independent review recommends home buybacks for NSW flood victims. This blog is now closed
NSW residents warned to avoid fire in Croydon and Ashfield
Fire and Rescue NSW is advising residents living near a structural fire in Croydon and Ashfield to stay inside and avoid the area.
Continue reading...The parliament will sit at 9am – once the morning proceedings are done, it will be into the climate bill – people are getting ready to head to the galleries to watch it pass the house.
It has been a very, very long decade. There are a lot of people who need to see this, even if there is still a very, very long way for us to go to actually start acting.
The inclusion of an Objects clause that addresses targets, accountability, expert advice and the need for climate action in line with the science makes it clear that this is the beginning of a new era in Australia,” Chaney said in a statement.
Continue reading...Defence review to be announced
The government is announcing a defence force review today, which it wants completed in about six months. Is this in response to China?
It’s because we need an ADF that is well-positioned to meet our security challenges over the next decade and beyond.
And we have inherited, as you all know, some real capability issues, some of which have been well publicised in the media. It is important that we look at how we ensure the Australian defence force can meet our security challenges, not just now, but in the years ahead. So, you know, I welcomed this and the prime minister and the defence minister will be having – we’ll have more details about this later today.
Continue reading...Seaside town left covered in ‘snow’ after warm trough collides with frigid air mass
A severe hail storm in northern New South Wales has left the seaside town of Byron Bay looking like a winter wonderland.
Locals from around the northern rivers region took to social media to share images of the usually sun-kissed town covered in a snow-like layer of ice after the extreme weather event late on Tuesday.
Continue reading...A lifeguard tower was left teetering on a cliff edge and had to be relocated, after constant huge swells battered the shoreline
Part of Cronulla beach has been closed to the public for safety reasons after a lifeguard tower was left teetering on a cliff edge and had to be relocated, after constant huge swells eroded the beach.
Weeks of rain and wild weather have severely eroded beaches in some coastal regions of New South Wales.
Continue reading...Moderate flooding on parts of Bogan and Darling and minor warnings for Wollombi Brook, Lachlan, Macquarie and Lower Hunter rivers
Flood warnings across several New South Wales rivers are still in place, but Sydney is beginning to experience some relief from weeks of extreme weather.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued minor flood warnings for the Wollombi Brook, Lachlan, Macquarie and Lower Hunter rivers on Monday.
Continue reading...Infrastructure NSW says buybacks on Sydney’s fringe could cost $5.2bn but expert argues price would be ‘nowhere near’ that
A large-scale property buyback scheme in flood-affected parts of the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley would cost more than $5bn, according to the New South Wales government’s own estimates.
But experts have questioned the price tag, saying more targeted buybacks would be cheaper than the Coalition government’s plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall.
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Continue reading...Police questioning three people after man’s body found near Brisbane train station
Three people are being questioned about the suspicious death of a man whose body was found near a train station in inner Brisbane, AAP reports.
Continue reading...On pandemic leave payments – which are coming to an end – Speers asks Butler about the decision by the government not to extend them. Butler responds that ending these payments was necessary because of the budget.
This emergency payment was designed by the former government and the state governments. It’s a co-owned scheme that came to end an on 30 June. We are one trillion in debt and at some point emergency payments of this type have to be wound up as we move to a new phase. That’s the decision that former governments took and it’s a decision we have decided to follow as well.
There’s state rules to isolate. These emergency payments have to be wound up at some point.
I accept whenever you end an emergency payment of this type it’s going to impact people. I deeply regret that. But at some point these emergency payments simply have to be wound up. We don’t have the financial capacity to keep making them forever. They were intended to wind up on 30 June, that was the decision taken by the former government, and all state governments who are co-signatories to that scheme and it’s a decision we had to continue.
Butler: In this phase of the pandemic mask mandates and things like that are best done in a targeted way. There’s mask mandates in aged care, in health facilities, on public transport, in airplanes. And if you’re in a crowded indoor space with no ability to socially distance you should give strong consideration to wearing a mask.
Speers: Again... You only need to go to the movies or a shopping centre or the footy to see how ineffectual a recommendation is. So many people not wearing masks. Wasn’t one of the lessons of this pandemic, mask mandates for a fixed period, work?
Continue reading...Sunshine broke over flood clean-up efforts in areas west and north of Sydney and Sunday rainfall is unlikely to cause further flooding
Flood waters and river levels dropped in areas west and north of Sydney on Saturday as sunshine broke over clean-up efforts at thousands of homes and businesses.
The New South Wales government named two coordinators to oversee recovery efforts and said inspections of 2,285 premises so far had found 239 were not liveable.
Continue reading...Warmer conditions around the western Pacific have led to torrential rain and burst rivers
Dangerous and widespread flooding has been widely reported over the past week in eastern parts of Australia, particularly New South Wales. Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes after incessant torrential rain led to significant flooding from burst rivers.
The central Pacific Ocean is currently in a weakening “La Niña” state, whereby sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific are lower than normal, while in the western Pacific, particularly around Indonesia and eastern Australia, they are warmer than normal. This increased warmth in the latter raises moisture content and tends to lead to wetter conditions. This has been the driver for the huge volumes of rain witnessed over the past few days, generated by a series of Pacific storms.
Continue reading...In his speech, Jason Clare also lamented the fact that although the target of 40% of people aged 25 to 34 having bachelor degrees had been achieved, a separate target for 20% of enrolments to be from people from low socioeconomic backgrounds had not.
Instead, it had “barely moved” from 15%, from when the target was set in 2008. Indigenous enrolment was less than 10%.
I don’t want us to be a country where your chances in life depend on your postcode, your parents, or the colour of your skin. None of us want that. But that’s where we are today. I am not naive, I know this is hard to shift.
And that, at its core, is what the Australian Universities accord will be about: a reset. And an opportunity to build a long-term plan for our universities, together. Drawing on the advice of the leadership in this room, your staff, unions, business, students, parents and all political parties.
Looking at everything from funding and access to affordability, transparency, regulation, employment conditions and also how universities and TAFEs and other higher education and vocational education providers and training institutions work together.
Continue reading...Thursday: Covid-19 led Australia to record 3,105 more deaths than expected in January and February. Plus: UK prime minister told to step down by his own ministers
Good morning. A fourth Covid vaccine is to be made available to more Australians as it was revealed hospital admissions have reached their highest levels since early February. In the UK, Boris Johnson has been told by his own ministers to quit. And Nick Kyrgios is through to the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
Johnson’s woes have continued amid a string of resignations from his collapsing government and a series of senior Conservatives called for him to step down. But the PM is refusing to budge, even after a delegation of cabinet ministers met him at Downing Street to demand his resignation on a day of rapidly unfolding political drama. Follow all the latest developments as they happen here.
Continue reading...Deluge moves to Hunter and mid-north coast as Anthony Albanese announces one-off payment to people in 23 areas
The federal government will provide one-off $1,000 payments for people in 23 flood-affected areas across New South Wales, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced on Wednesday, as the flood threat moved north.
Rain eased in areas of Sydney hit by flooding but concern remained for the state’s Hunter and mid-north coast regions, with flooding expected to continue into Wednesday evening.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Sussan Ley criticises Labor over flood response
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley is upping the Coalition’s attacks on the Labor government over the floods, asking why they haven’t activated disaster recovery payments for affected residents.
We have already announced a wide range of support for people but I think it’s fair to assume that there will be more coming.
I can’t commit to anything specific like that but what I can tell you is that from the weekend, I began talking with our authorities about what we could do to make sure that any disaster support we approved got out the door quickly.
Continue reading...Growers in Sydney basin and Hunter region say flooding is ‘soul destroying’ and it will take some time to get back on their feet
The catastrophic weather in New South Wales is likely to come back to bite at the supermarket checkout, with peak farming bodies warning the floods will put further strain on supply chains.
The NSW Farmers president, James Jackson, said he would be “most surprised” if inflationary pressures did not result from the ongoing floods.
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Continue reading...Conditions set to ease from Thursday as scientists predict ‘increasingly common’ intense weather events as a result of global heating
Sydneysiders can expect some much-needed relief from the deluge that has swamped the city, as conditions begin to settle from Thursday, but the north of the state may be next in line for a drenching.
Record rainfalls have been hammering the NSW coastline all week, resulting in more than 100 evacuation orders being issued and 23 local government areas being declared natural disaster zones.
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Continue reading...Jacinda Ardern meets with Daniel Andrews; Dominic Perrottet warns heavy rain forecast in NSW; federal disaster payments available to 23 flood-affected areas; RBA interest rate decision due; Victoria records 16 Covid deaths, NSW records 14, Queensland records 11. Follow the day’s news live
The federal government is making disaster relief payments available to 23 flood-affected areas in NSW, with emergency management minister Murray Watt saying the assistance would be “uncapped”.
Watt announced early on Tuesday that the federal and NSW governments were making assistance available through the commonwealth-state disaster recovery funding arrangements.
These are uncapped payments, they are demand-driven and they will be available for anyone who qualifies.
Continue reading...MV Portland Bay anchored in a sheltered position after wind and torrential rain prevented towing the ship to safety
Efforts to tow the stricken cargo ship MV Portland Bay to deeper waters were suspended overnight after lines being used to pull the vessel broke in extreme weather.
As wild winds and torrential rains continued to lash Sydney’s coast, it could be Wednesday before it was safe to tow the 170-metre ship into port.
Continue reading...SES perform 252 flood rescues overnight and thousands urged to evacuate as threat of inundation remains in Hawkesbury and Nepean
The New South Wales State Emergency Service reported more than 5,300 requests for assistance on Monday night, including 252 flood rescues, mainly of drivers stuck in cars and residents needing to be relocated.
The wild weather continued in NSW through the night, with heavy rain and strong winds lashing the state.
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