Australia’s first-home buyers urged to ‘go in with eyes wide open’ about future rate rises

The good news is more places on offer in the first home guarantee scheme. The bad news could be higher mortgage repayments

Laura Valencic has never had the luxury of calling the “bank of mum and dad” to help her buy a home.

After the federal government announced more places under the first home guarantee scheme in the budget, Valencic feels like she finally has an in. But she’s wary of a potential pitfall in the future: will she be able to afford the mortgage repayments when interest rates rise?

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Bondi beach swallowed by tide waters and other Sydney beaches flooded over

Clovelly beach flooded over, Coogee Surf Club battered and boats ripped from moorings in Manly and Bronte

Huge swells have lashed Sydney, swallowing beaches under tide waters and ripping boats from their moorings inside the harbour.

Bondi and Clovelly beaches were flooded over and waves battered the walls of the beachside Coogee Surf Club on Saturday morning.

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Ukraine president addresses parliament; Putin a ‘war criminal’, PM says – as it happened

Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Australian contribution to become more critical as Scott Morrison pledges extra $25m in military assistance to Ukraine; Sydney rainfall tops record set in 1956; flood and hazardous surf warnings across NSW; nation records 32 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Parliament has passed legislation that can stop deadly mitochondrial disease in babies, using a partial DNA donation. It passed in the Senate scramble last night. Here’s the background:

Communities in the northern rivers region of NSW are going to get some reprieve from the rain today as the east coast low drifts away from the coast.

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Sydneysiders avoiding CBD after Covid ‘reset’ on working habits

Average weekday trips into city on public transport still down 55% compared with pre-pandemic levels

Public transport use continues to lag across Sydney and trips to city offices and entertainment venues remain low, with average daily weekday trips still down 55% on pre-pandemic levels.

Trips rose just 1% between February and March, despite the indoor mask mandate – which had been attributed as a leading cause of the sluggish return to offices – dropping more than a month ago.

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Sydney commuters to get free public transport for 12 days in April

Scheme is an attempt by NSW government to revitalise city centre and compensate for February train shutdown

Sydney commuters will get free public transport for 12 days in April, including over the Easter holidays, as the state government attempts to revitalise the CBD and make amends for last month’s 24-hour train shutdown.

The fare-free period will run from 14-26 April, which includes the Anzac Day public holiday. The announcement is part of an agreement to end a long-running dispute between the New South Wales government and the state’s rail union over pay and workplace conditions.

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Star casino senior manager admits ‘knowingly misleading’ regulator on gambling junkets

Inquiry hears building approval submission for a private gaming room failed to mention a window allowing junket operator to receive cash from players

A senior casino manager has admitted “knowingly misleading” the New South Wales gaming regulator about how gambling junkets operated inside a private high-roller wagering room at The Star Sydney.

Graeme Stevens, group compliance manager at Star Entertainment Group, resumed evidence on Friday at a royal commission-style inquiry into whether the gaming giant’s Sydney casino should keep its licence.

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Japanese encephalitis declared disease of national significance – as it happened

Rex Patrick to reveal political intentions tomorrow after Nick Xenophon announces run for Senate; Japanese encephalitis declared disease of national significance; Liberals select candidate for Bennelong; fifth arrest this week over climate crisis protest; Morrison says having Putin at G20 ‘a step too far’; at least 35 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Here’s the latest on that rain to come, which is already hitting Sydney.

Australia is risking its economic security in a future crisis by being too dependent on foreign-flagged commercial ships, a former navy chief, Tim Barrett, has warned.

When push comes to shove, the place where the ship is registered is king. They can tell their ships where to go, what to do and what to carry. We don’t have an ability to do that except for the handful we have left.

To be entirely dependent on others is very concerning.

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Seventh Japanese encephalitis case in NSW; nation records 17 Covid deaths – as it happened

PM highlights China’s ‘chilling silence’ on Russian invasion as Labor says China has ‘responsibility’ to call out Putin’s actions; NSW Health confirms seventh case of Japanese encephalitis; man in court over Sydney boarding house fire; Coalition to spend $243m on four mining projects; a man has died in Broken Hill after driving his ute into flood waters; nation records at least 17 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

NSW Health has added the results from 10,000 additional positive rapid antigen tests to its official numbers after a data error meant they were left out.

The results were registered between Sunday 13 March and Monday 14 March, with NSW Health warning the numbers will “inflate the cases being reported today for the 24 hours to 4pm yesterday (Tuesday)”.

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Man charged with murder after three die in Sydney boarding house fire

A 45-year-old man has been charged with three counts of murder after the fire in the inner west suburb of Newtown on Tuesday

A man has been charged with three counts of murder following a fire in a boarding house in Newtown in New South Wales on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old man, who police say was a former resident of the boarding house, was also charged with one count of destroying or damaging property by fire or explosive.

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‘We are treating this as a murder’: three killed in Sydney boarding house fire

Police hold fears for a fourth person still missing after an explosion in Newtown that officers believe was deliberate

A murder investigation is under way following the deaths of three people in a “cramped, crowded” and “dilapidated” boarding house fire in Sydney’s inner west.

Emergency services were called to the fire at the corner of Probert and Albemarle streets in Newtown about 1am on Tuesday after reports of a loud explosion. Three people have been confirmed dead, and police hold fears for a fourth person who is still missing.

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‘Industrial bastardy’: David Elliott offers free travel on Sydney trains as union threatens action

RTBU secretary says union will take industrial action if government does not provide free fares ‘as a way of saying sorry’

The long-running dispute between the New South Wales rail union and the state government again threatens to shut down Sydney’s train network, as the transport minister David Elliott accused workers of “industrial bastardy” for the second time in three weeks over planned industrial action.

On Tuesday the secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, Alex Claassens, threatened to use industrial action to force the government to offer free fares to commuters, as it continues to ramp up its long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

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Sydney Harbour turns brown as authorities warn against swimming after floods

Heavy rainfall can cause untreated sewage containing viruses and bacteria to flow into waterways posing health risks to swimmers

Pollution washed into Sydney’s beaches and waterways could linger for days, with state authorities urging swimmers to exercise caution after the flood disaster.

Sydney Harbour turned brown as a result of storm water carrying soil and debris, and algal blooms have appeared on the usually pristine sands of Hyams beach in the Jervis Bay region.

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Australia news live updates: Palaszczuk says too late for emergency declaration in Qld; Rio Tinto ditching Russia; 21 Covid deaths

Palaszczuk rejects Morrison’s move to declare national emergency in Queensland, where flood costs are ‘well into the billions’; Rio Tinto will terminate all contracts with Russian businesses; nation records at least 21 Covid deaths amid concerns over Omicron subvariant. Follow all the updates live

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is being questioned about his promises to keep the cost of living down as he chats to ABC News Breakfast:

Well, we have been making policies that have been driving down the cost of living, for example, around electricity prices which are down by 8% in the last two years.

They doubled under our political opponents, but what I was referring to last night is the international events in the Ukraine have seen a spike in oil prices, and that is flowing through with some people paying more than $2 a litre.

This high and increasing burden of skin cancer emphasises the need for continued investment in skin cancer education and prevention.

We know what needs to be done. Now is the time to do it so that one day Australia is no longer considered the skin cancer capital of the world.

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Scott Morrison says defence force ‘not available on a moment’s notice’ to respond to disaster – as it happened

Lismore residents protest Scott Morrison’s visit as PM says disasters mean Australia ‘getting hard to live in’; NSW flood death toll rises to nine after man’s body found in western Sydney; second Japanese encephalitis death recorded as outbreak spreads to South Australia; Indigenous teenager shot by NT police fighting for life; at least 34 Covid-related deaths nationwide. This blog is now closed

The latest figures from WaterNSW will give some comfort to those in the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain, where flood levels are approaching 1978 heights in places.

As of 5am Wednesday, the spill rate over the Warragamba Dam wall is 215 gigalitres a day, or about half the peak rate reached yesterday.

The good news is that we have seen the river is falling there. The plan today is that the team will be reviewing what’s happening.

They’re making sure it’s safe to return, and we are hoping during the day we might be able to issue that people can return, with caution … We just need to make sure – we need to check things like electricity, sewerage and the like to make sure it’s safe to return.

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Sydney floods: two found dead, roads inundated, homes and suburbs across the city swamped

Streets become rivers amid shocking deluge as Manly Dam spills and Roseville bridge flooded, with evacuation orders covering more than a dozen suburbs

Tens of thousands of Sydney residents have been forced from their homes as floods unleashed carnage across Australia’s largest city and claimed the lives of a mother and son.

Australia’s death toll from the east coast floods rose to 21 on Tuesday as a massive stretch of the New South Wales coast endured dangerous winds and heavy rains, causing landslides and wild surf conditions as the second east coast low in a week moved in.

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Australia news live updates: residents in Sydney’s south-west ordered to evacuate; Queensland flood death toll hits 13

Thousands of people in Sydney’s south and south-west have been told to leave as flood warnings are in place for vast swathes of NSW, as Dominic Perrottet admits ‘better planning’ is required for future flood mitigation. Follow all the day’s news

Federal opposition frontbencher Tanya Plibersek has jumped on the radio right after the premier to talk about Labor’s proposed $77m package to improve consent education at school. (Hopefully with something better than that bizarre milkshake video from last year.)

Well, the national curriculum has just been strengthened in this area to say that all students should learn about respectful relationships while they’re at school ... This is making sure that we change the objective in the curriculum into real change in every classroom in Australia.

... If we can change that when they are young, we can change these shocking statistics across Australia where we see one in five Australian women experiencing sexual assault in her lifetime, one in three experiencing domestic violence.

Premier, can you guarantee people who lost their homes to these floods, that they will be able to rebuild where they are, or will some be forced to move to less flood-prone areas?

Well, Patricia, I’ll work through that because I mean, obviously this was an unpredicted, freak catastrophe. I mean, there’s a 14 and a half metre flood in Lismore!

But ultimately, in these times, we need to have frank assessments of the circumstances.

Again, I don’t mean to be rude, but you say “freak” – is it really a “freak” if we’re being told we’re going to have more of these events more frequently?

Should we be really describing it that way when we know that these events are going to be with us more often?

We’ve never seen a 14 and a half metre flood in Lismore, I’m sure you have that. There’s no doubt that we are seeing more of these events and we need to make sure that as we rebuild, we do so in such a way that ensures that we protect people’s lives and we have communities built in a way where we mitigate flood risk or fire risk.

... So as we get to that rebuilding phase, we’ll certainly look at better planning and more flood mitigation and fire mitigation as we move through.

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Australia news live updates: weather warnings stretch from NSW mid-north coast to Victoria border; ‘rain bomb’ set to cost Queensland billions

Severe weather to affect coastal areas from Coffs Harbour to Bega; Queensland estimates ‘rain bomb’ will cost state more than $4bn; two NSW residents among Japanese encephalitis patients in Victoria; ADF defends NSW flood response; PM speaks on east coast floods, Ukraine crisis; nation records at least 32 Covid deaths with 23 in South Australia. Follow all the day’s news

As expected, AGL Energy has formally rejected the takeover bid by billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and Canadian asset manager Brookfield, posting an ASX statement this morning.

AGL, the country’s largest electricity generator, received a revised bid late on Friday, offering $8.25 a share, up from an initial unsolicited bid of $7.50 a share.

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Severe weather warning extended to cover much of eastern NSW, with heavy rain and flash flooding forecast

A second east coast low is expected to form overnight, bringing heavy rain and damaging winds

A second east coast low off New South Wales is forecast to form overnight into Tuesday, bringing heavy rain but also stirring stronger winds than a similar system last week.

The Bureau of Meteorology has expanded its warning zone for heavy falls and damaging winds to cover an area from Coffs Harbour almost all the way south to the Victorian border.

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NSW flood cleanup continues as south-east Queensland again lashed by thunderstorms

Severe rainfall that may lead to flash flooding ‘likely’ in Queensland, while Hawkesbury-Nepean river in NSW set to surpass last week’s flood level

South-east Queensland has again been lashed with rainfall and thunderstorms, while areas around Sydney and Newcastle faced the renewed risk of flooding as the cleanup continued.

Destructive winds and giant hail were possible as a “very dangerous storm” near Beaudesert in Queensland moved east on Sunday afternoon. Severe thunderstorms were also detected near Boonah, north-west of Noosa Heads, with severe rainfall that may lead to flash flooding “likely”.

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

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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