Category Archives: Australia weather

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

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

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading...

Ballina flood: residents of NSW coastal town face tense night as flood peak expected to coincide with high tide

Posted on by

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...

Floods in Queensland and NSW: what we know about areas affected, and what’s likely to happen next

Posted on by

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...

Australia news live update: Lismore flood level breaks 1954 record as Perrottet warns worse to come in NSW; Queensland death toll rises to eight

Posted on by

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...

Brisbane flood: warning up to 15,000 properties could be inundated as river reaches peak

Posted on by

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...

Devastating floods wreak havoc in Queensland and NSW – in pictures

Posted on by

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...

Flood waters surge across Brisbane and south-east Queensland as ‘rain bomb’ threatens lives

Posted on by

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...

Life-threatening floods forecast for Queensland as Sydney records wettest summer in 30 years

Posted on by

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...

Australia news live updates: Marise Payne says calling Russian troops peacekeepers is ‘obscene perversion’

Posted on by

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...

Australia news updates live: Morrison announces sanctions and travel bans for Russian individuals; 23 Covid deaths recorded

Posted on by

Scott Morrison announces targeted sanctions and travel bans for Russian individuals after Cabinet committee discusses Australia’s response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine; Victoria records 17 Covid deaths, NSW records six. Follow all the day’s news live

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has called for a health-first approach to alcohol and other drug use.

This comes after reports of the Reason party’s Fiona Patten introducing a private member’s bill to institute a decriminalisation model in Victoria.

Instead of a punitive approach via the criminal justice system, Victorian police would instead issue a mandatory notice and referral to drug education or treatment to people possessing a drug of dependence or who are believed to have used a drug of dependence. Compliance with this process would result in no finding of guilt or criminal record.

It is similar to the Portuguese model introduced in 2001. Of the more than 32,000 drug arrests in Victoria in the year leading up to September 2021, 80% were for drug use or possession only rather than trafficking large drug quantities.

RACGP president Dr Karen Price said saving lives and reducing harm must always come first:

Alcohol and other drug use is, primarily, a health issue that should be managed by health professionals, including GPs.

Almost everyone knows someone who has been negatively affected by alcohol or other drug use in some form, it cuts across all demographics and all segments of society. So, if you declare a “war on drugs” you are declaring war on someone’s partner, family member, colleague, or friend – it just makes no sense.

Continue reading...

Australia news live updates: Queensland and Victoria to lift mask rules as nation records 33 Covid deaths

Posted on by

Clive Palmer cancels press club appearance; foreign minister condemns Russia’s declaration of Ukranian separatist independence as PM says Russia should ‘step back’; defence responds to China’s claim about laser incident; NSW and Victoria both record 14 Covid deaths, Queensland records five; mask rules lifted in Victoria from midnight Saturday and in Queensland next week. Follow the latest updates live

Jumping back to the Sydney train situation for a moment and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary, Alex Claassens, is discussing the return of limited train services with ABC News Breakfast:

Apparently, where we ended up late last night was we negotiated an outcome where trains will run today. We finally managed to get the management team to see some common sense and today they will be operating a service roughly around the half-hour to 15-minute mark.

They will then try and improve on that during the day. We will work together as much as we can to try to get as many trains on the tracks as we can, and you can imagine our disappointment yesterday morning when we got up like everybody else in Sydney to realise some genius had made a decision to cancel all of our train services.

Continue reading...

Australia news live updates: Perrottet urged to work with union over NSW train dispute; international border reopens; 17 Covid deaths

Posted on by

Perrottet urged to work with union over NSW train dispute; Peter Dutton says all signs on Ukraine ‘pointing in one direction’; at least 17 Covid-related deaths; Australia’s international border reopen for the first time in nearly two years. Follow the latest updates live

AGL Energy has rejected a takeover bid by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and Canadian asset management giant Brookfield, saying the preliminary offer “materially undervalues the company”.

Brookfield and Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures made the extraordinary offer to take over Australia’s most polluting company on Saturday, with a goal to shut its coal power plants earlier than planned.

Continue reading...

Australia news live updates: WA hard border to come down on 3 March; nation records 39 Covid deaths

Posted on by

Premier Mark McGowan announces border reopening date; Bob Katter raises concerns over gun trafficking bill; at least 39 Covid deaths recorded; PM says federal government had no power ‘to prevent’ Port of Darwin sale; ACT to ease restrictions from tonight. Follow all the day’s news

Deputy opposition leader Richard Marles was on Today earlier alongside Peter Dutton, discussing Ukraine and the week in parliament.

Karl Stefanovic:

Richard ... it’s been a big week. The PM labelled you in parliament the Manchurian candidate, you little Chinese spy, you, hey?

(Laughs) Well, obviously not. But I think tossing around patriotism in that way and using it as a political football, I mean ... I’m not particularly hurt by it but it does pay quite a disrespect, I think, to those men and women who we ask to put on a uniform each and every day and to literally put their lives on the line for that very concept.

These are really encouraging numbers and yes, of course, hours worked were down to the Omicron shock and the fact that more people have been getting more jobs. We can expect things to ramp up very quickly as we get the lifting of restrictions, the opening of international borders and get back to normal.

We’ve already got the borders open to those skilled moderate workers and backpackers ... this is all about making sure we get more jobs back, maintain the growth and get that 4.8% figure potentially even down to a number starting with three.

Continue reading...

Australia politics news live updates: Rudd accuses Liberal party of ‘appeasing’ China; NSW nurses strike; at least 36 Covid deaths

Posted on by

Victoria records 20 Covid deaths, NSW records 16; former Labor PM hits out at Peter Dutton; Morrison government prepares legislation that would speed up the deportation of foreign-born criminals convicted of violent or serious sexual offences. Follow live

Prime minister Scott Morrison has accused judges of handing out sentences that allow foreign-born criminals to dodge deportation.

The government will introduce legislation so non-citizens who have been convicted of a crime are easier to kick out. He tells 2GB radio that judges are giving out more lenient sentences so people are not captured under current laws. He says:

The judges are handing down sentences that allow people to get around this.

We want to make sure we can punt them.

Continue reading...

Australia politics news live updates: parliament marks anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations; at least 22 Covid deaths recorded

Posted on by

Parliament marks anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations; Acoss calls for next budget to address climate crisis; at least 22 Covid deaths recorded; treasurer asked about possible axing of low-income tax offset; politicians back in Canberra for final sitting week before federal budget. Follow all the day’s news

NSW treasurer Matt Kean is talking about the weekend’s byelection results. He says:

This wasn’t a referendum on the government ... these were four byelections that had unique issues in each of the seats.

Continue reading...

Australia news live updates: Victoria’s ‘code brown’ to end; WA records second Covid death of pandemic; Morrison ‘misled’ by MPs who crossed floor

Posted on by

Peter Dutton confirms Scott Morrison was misled by Liberal MPs who crossed floor on religious discrimination bill; Martin Foley says code brown declaration for Victoria’s hospitals will end Monday; at least 49 Covid deaths recorded nationally. Follow all the day’s news

An electric scooter rider has died after a collision with a station wagon south-east of Melbourne, AAP reports.

Police said a white Volkswagen station wagon was driving on the Princes Highway in Narre Warren on Thursday afternoon when it collided with the e-scooter.

The rider, who has not been formally identified, died at the scene. The station wagon driver was not injured and stopped to help the rider.

Major collision investigation unit detectives are investigating the crash.

Opinion:

Continue reading...

Lower house sits late to continue religious discrimination bill debate – as it happened

Posted on by

Debate over religious discrimination bill to continue as House of Representatives agrees to sit late; Brittany Higgins calls for Jenkins review to be implemented; nation records at least 68 deaths from Covid – follow all the day’s news

The Coalition has been sitting on a major report into the state of the care workforce in Australia since September last year, Sarah Martin reports. The report “set out to examine the needs of the care and support workforce for aged, disability, veteran and mental health care”:

I mentioned the Health Services Union’s survey earlier, in the context of the opposition hoping to wound the government over the aged care crisis.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live news updates: PM apologises to Brittany Higgins as parliament acknowledges history of bullying, harassment, sexual assault

Posted on by

Apology for staff and politicians who have experienced sexual harassment, assault and bullying at Parliament House; Daniel Andrews welcomes border reopening, announces free RATs for kids in childcare; anti-vaccine mandate protests continue; Victoria records 9,785 Covid cases and 20 deaths, NSW records 9,690 cases and 18 deaths; Queensland records 5,178 cases and 12 deaths. Follow the latest updates live

The defence minister Peter Dutton has told the Today show he is reserving his right to take legal action against former NSW premier Bob Carr, who doubled down on his claims that Dutton was the “mystery minister” who called prime minister Scott Morrison a “psycho”. Dutton said:

It was not me. I mean, every family’s got this crazy uncle that wakes up from the rocking chair and sort of in a startled way shouts out something and I just don’t know what is going on with Bob Carr. Is he the full quid or not? He’s a bizarre guy. He hasn’t produced any evidence. He’s now saying if it’s not me, then the person needs to come forward to prove my innocence. I just find it bizarre. But anyway, I just find it bizarre. But anyway, I think he has discredited himself.

He hasn’t produced any evidence and you can’t just make a claim and then back away from it. But that’s what he’s done. I think it’s embarrassing for him and I think most journalists frankly have treated him as a bit of a joke and this sort of relevance deprivation syndrome cuts in for a lot of former politicians as we’ve discussed on the show before.

Continue reading...

Australia politics news live updates: Peter Dutton hits out at Bob Carr over text message claims as row deepens

Posted on by

Barnaby Joyce ‘has some explaining to do’, Michael McCormack says; defence minister denies claims he was behind messages that branded the prime minister a ‘complete psycho’. Follow all the day’s news live

Communications minister Paul Fletcher is telling ABC radio about the restoration of funding to the national broadcaster (see Amanda Meade’s story, linked in a previous post).

The ABC will have to detail their levels of Australian content and other key services.

Continue reading...