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.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

Police drop all charges against Friendlyjordies producer accused of stalking John Barilaro

Kristo Langker was arrested at his home in June last year after an investigation into alleged stalking

Police have dropped all charges against Friendlyjordies producer Kristo Langker after accusing him of stalking former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro.

Langker, 22, was arrested at his home in June last year after an investigation into alleged stalking by NSW police’s fixated persons investigation unit.

Continue reading...

Coalition considering extending extra payments to flood victims in northern NSW after backlash

Scott Morrison continues to defend flood response as Queensland premier says offer to declare a national emergency in the state’s south-east is ‘too late’

Scott Morrison is “looking at” extending eligibility for extra payments to more flood victims on the New South Wales north coast, in response to anger over the decision to leave some of the hardest-hit disaster areas out.

The prime minister made the comments in Brisbane where he was planning to declare an emergency two weeks after major floods that killed 13 people and damaged thousand of homes and businesses in the south-east.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison says defence force ‘not available on a moment’s notice’ to respond to floods disaster

Prime minister visits Lismore as government declared national emergency to release more resources to help

Scott Morrison was met with a fiery reception in flood-devastated Lismore, as he defended the speed of his government’s response to the disaster, saying the ADF is “not available on a moment’s notice”.

Ahead of Morrison’s arrival in Lismore, the federal government declared a national emergency around the floods, giving the Commonwealth greater power to send in defence force assets and skirt around administrative “red tape” to get financial support out quicker.

Continue reading...

States on borrowing binge as Morrison government predicts $1tn in net debt by 2024-25 fiscal year

Pandemic and other disaster recovery efforts will further power state debt, says rating agency

Australia’s states and the ACT have almost doubled their borrowings in the past three years, placing them on track to hit the half-trillion dollar debt mark by mid-year, according to rating agency S&P Global.

The borrowing binge comes as the Morrison government projects almost $1tn in net debt by the 2024-25 fiscal year, with commonwealth outlays on the economy and health during the Covid pandemic amounting to more than 14% of gross domestic product.

Continue reading...

NSW Liberals again fail to resolve preselection deadlock making federal intervention likely

Latest proposal on process to decide candidates ahead of May federal election scuttled by four votes against

The NSW Liberal party has again failed to resolve its preselection woes, virtually guaranteeing that the federal party will need to step in to finalise candidates for the looming election in May.

A proposal to hold branch votes in the electorates of Hughes, Parramatta and Eden-Monaro, where more than one person is running, and to endorse candidates in two other seats, largely failed, after the state executive rejected rule changes to fast track the process.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

Once in 1,000 year floods yet nobody is talking about climate change (everyone is talking about it but the government) | First Dog on the Moon

The floods are not unlike the incredible and unprecedented fires three years ago

Continue reading...

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.

Continue reading...

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”.

Continue reading...

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

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.

Continue reading...

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

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.

Continue reading...

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

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.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

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

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.

Continue reading...

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

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 ...

Continue reading...

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

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.

Continue reading...

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

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.

Continue reading...