At least eight people were on the vessel north of Sydney when it caught fire on Sunday afternoon
A boat has exploded on the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, leaving four people fighting for life with critical burns.
Eight people suffered burns and smoke inhalation in the explosion at Brooklyn near Danger Island on Sunday afternoon.
Continue reading...NSW deputy premier says ‘there will be no moratorium on coal in the Upper Hunter or anywhere else in the state’
The New South Wales deputy premier, John Barilaro, has rejected Malcolm Turnbull’s call for a moratorium on new coalmines in the state and demanded the former prime minister “set aside his war on the Coalition”.
Turnbull said on Wednesday he believed coalmine proposals and approvals in the state’s upper Hunter Valley were “out of control”.
Continue reading...Two women who travelled to Byron Bay in NSW while infectious are among the four new local cases of the UK variant of coronavirus
A number of states have slammed their borders shut to Queenslanders as greater Brisbane enters a snap three-day snap lockdown after authorities discovered four new locally-acquired coronavirus cases.
Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, on Monday described the growing cluster of seven cases as “significant community transmission” of the UK variant. She warned people in greater Brisbane to stay home over the coming days.
Continue reading...State reports four new local cases; Nationals MP Anne Webster lodges complaint over alleged sexual harassment in parliament. Follow the latest updates
• Queensland Covid hotspots
• Queensland authorities contradict earlier advice about Covid case hosting ‘party’
• Coalition women call for MP drug and alcohol testing in response to sexual misconduct crisis
The Victorian state government won’t release a three-page email chain in which a decision to put Melbourne under a coronavirus curfew was made, reports Karen Sweeney from AAP.
Victorian opposition MP David Davis requested all documents relating to the curfew to be released under Freedom of Information.
These are the documents that relate directly to the decision to put Melbourne under a curfew and the reality, in our view, is there is little reason the documents should not be in the public domain.
We have one document - it is three pages of an email chain containing legal advice.
It is a single document - it may just be a single decision has to be made by the tribunal...
It’s just hard to see why this has been strung out for so long.
It’s worth considering how soon this lockdown is coming after the end of jobkeeper and how close it is cutting it to the start of the federal government’s half-priced plane ticket program.
Jobkeeper ended on Sunday, and the tourism sector support program is slated to start on 1 April.
Continue reading...Seven townships around Hawkesbury River remain evacuated as SES warns flood water can contain sewage, debris and dead animals
• How to avoid getting trapped in a submerged car during floods
Evacuation orders remain in place for seven north-west Sydney towns impacted by last week’s flooding as New South Wales’s cleanup effort begins in earnest.
The State Emergency Service said evacuated residents of Pitt Town North, Pitt Town Bottoms, Cornwallis, North Richmond, Agnes Banks, Gronos Point and Freemans Reach should not return until authorities give the all-clear.
Continue reading...PM issues Facebook statement saying he ‘deeply regrets’ raising a sexual harassment claim in response to question from journalist; forecast improves on east coast but flood waters still pose risk. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
The bells have rung for the House sitting - but day three of estimates is upon us as well.
The Treasury secretary is up from nowish, if you want to tune in
The two News Corp major city tabloids have made their displeasure with Scott Morrison for attacking a Sky News journalist during his press conference yesterday abundantly clear this morning.
Despite the mea culpa from the PM late yesterday the Herald Sun and the Daily Telegraph carry very negative front pages and unflattering mocking headlines: “Sco-woe” and “Sco-D’oh”
FRONT PAGE
Read today's paper: https://t.co/H9DzehmZVI#sydney #NSW #newspaper #frontpage #news pic.twitter.com/yvYOq7zDdA
TODAY'S FRONT PAGE.
Wednesday March 24
Read the digital edition in our app or online > https://t.co/qEcoijKR39
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.#Melbourne #Victoria #FrontPage #newspaper #news pic.twitter.com/QnX389rBM0
Distressed domestic animals and wildlife, from greyhounds to kangaroos, have been moved to safety during the floods disaster
Paul Zammit’s dinghy became a Noah’s Ark of sorts during the New South Wales floods disaster.
He carried his pet emu, Gookie, to safety – Bodyguard-style – on Tuesday morning.
Continue reading...School closures as more rain, flooding expected on mid-north coast; major flooding expected along the Hawkesbury River in western Sydney, as well as the Macleay River at Kempsey and Smithtown, and the Hastings River. Follow the latest news
• NSW pounded by rain as residents along Hawkesbury brace for worst flooding in 50 years
• Berejiklian says fires and floods may push people to ‘breaking point’
• ‘Never seen anything like it’: locals watch helplessly as floodwaters rise across New South Wales
Morrison warned the damage from the floods could be significant.
This is an ongoing situation that is evolving and is extremely dangerous. And we are meeting regularly to be updated on the events and to direct our response. We are grateful at this point that no lives have been lost so far.
But weakened foundations for buildings, of roads and trees, they all create risk as do downed power lines and rising water levels. So we ask all Australians in these affected areas to please use caution. Check and on your neighbours and those who you know that are alone.
As is appropriate this time, many members supporting their communities are not here in this place. Another deputy premised and the Minister for government services and other ministers are also reaching out and working closely with the mayors and other communities ensuring they receive every support. This will be a very difficult week for hundreds of thousands of Australians if not more as we face the immediacy of the floods, and there will be many difficult months ahead as the cleanup and recovery from this natural disaster gets under way.
We have very competent agencies and our state governments stopping they are very good at dealing with these types of emergencies. They are doing a tremendous job right now and theAustralian government is standing together with them in ensuring they can be delivering on this most urgent of times. But above all, we rely on Australians themselves. They have shown, as we came together, we can get through these things when we work together, and that is what we will do in the hours, days, weeks and months ahead, responding to this disaster like those before and then rebuilding and recovering afterwards.
Prime minister Scott Morrison is addressing parliament about the floods.
Mr Speaker, Australia is being tested once again. The east coast of Australia, predominantly New South Wales but also in south-east Queensland, has experienced an extraordinary deluge over recent days. Rains are expected for at least the next 24 and 48 hours.
In south-east Queensland, there has been intense rainfall with more than 300 SES requests for assistance, over the 24 hours until this morning with crews working through the night.
I want to acknowledge and pay tribute and say thank you on behalf of all of us here in this place Mr Speaker for the extraordinary efforts of our volunteers and the emergency services and responding to this terrible event. And there is a serious risk still ahead. Heavy rainfall is likely to continue up much of the eastern half of New South Wales and into southern Queensland today and tomorrow. Heavy falls will also develop over northern and central inland parts of New South Wales tomorrow, bringing the risk of flash and significant river flooding to several additional catchments. A different low pressure system is also expected to form off the southern New South Wales coast, bringing rainfall they are also.
Thankfully, the current forecast has conditions easing statewide from early Wednesday but we will watch and see. Mr Speaker, I want to assure residents and all storm and flood affected areas that all parts of government are working closely together.
We understand that this is likely to be for recovery support and cleanup operations including personnel, vehicles and machinery stopping the premier and they were discussing that over the weekend. We have also been just advised now in discussions on the potential for heavy lift aerial support but this is also still to be scoped.
Continue reading...Penrith floods could be worst in 60 years, as Queensland and SA send emergency crews to help. This blog is now closed
NSW flooding: people flee their homes overnight as extreme rain wreaks havoc
And so we shall leave it there for today, and for the week. Here’s what went down today:
The NSW Government has announced an extension of the disaster recovery assistance, adding 18 LGA’s to the initial 16 LGAs announced yesterday.
In a statement, NSW MP David Elliott said the storms had already done extensive damage, and that with the weather not scheduled to ease until Wednesday, the full extent of the damage is still not known.
Severe winds, relentless rainfall and widespread flooding has damaged roads and properties, businesses and public assets right across New South Wales
Through the DRFA, a range of practical assistance measures are now available to help people get back on their feet and support councils with the clean-up and repairs to infrastructure.
Continue reading...With the mid north coast facing a once-in-a-century flood, residents are bracing for the worst as the rain keeps falling
As floodwaters inundate the New South Wales mid north coast, residents are scrambling to take stock of the damage and prepare for the rising tide.
Horses and livestock were seen floating along rivers and washing up on beaches on Sunday, as the region faced a once in a lifetime deluge.
Continue reading...City battered by rain as storms across the state trigger floods, a mini-tornado in Chester Hill and hamper Covid vaccine deliveries
Swathes of suburban Sydney were on alert for dangerous flooding after the city’s main dam spilled over on Saturday, with severe storms across New South Wales also triggering a mini-tornado, evacuations, and hampering coronavirus vaccine delivery.
Warragamba Dam spilled over at about 3pm on Saturday and daily rainfall records for parts of the mid north coast for March were broken by more than 100mm.
Continue reading...More than 400mm falls on parts of mid north coast as flash floods hit state
Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Agata Imielska also announced some rainfall records had been broken in the last day.
She said for the mid north coast and Hunter region, rainfall has broken previous May records by as much as 200mm.
To give you context of the rainfall, we have seen 405mm recorded at Kendall. So that’s a record heaviest rainfall that we’ve seen. Also, 371mm at Red Oak.
And it’s not just the total rainfall amount, it’s also how quickly and intensely that rainfall has actually fallen. So we had 160mm fall in just three hours at Kindie Bridge that resulted in also a record river height at that particular location.”
Sydney’s Warragamba Dam is set to spill over this afternoon and combine with river flows to potentially cause flooding across western Sydney.
The Bureau of Meteorology national flood services manager, Justin Robinson, delivered the warning at a press conference in Sydney just now. I’ll share the updates from that over a few posts here.
It’s a very dynamic and evolving flood situation and we could see some very deep and rapid responding rivers with very high levels.
Warragamba dam is right at spilling point. Good luck to those downstream in Western Sydney. Here's the capacity of the dam over the past month: pic.twitter.com/yn3vtOny2u
Continue reading...Locals who have endured months of mice and rats getting into their houses, stores and cars are praying heavy rain will help wipe them out
Warning: graphic images may disturb some readers
Drought, fire, the Covid-19 pestilence and an all-consuming plague of mice. Rural New South Wales has faced just about every biblical challenge nature has to offer in the last few years, but now it is praying for another – an almighty flood to drown the mice in their burrows and cleanse the blighted land of the rodents. Or some very heavy rain, at least.
It seems everyone in the rural towns of north-west NSW and southern Queensland has their own mouse war story. In posts online, they detail waking up to mouse droppings on their pillows or watching the ground move at night as hundreds of thousands of rodents flee from torchlight beams.
Continue reading...More than 100 federally funded clinics will take bookings for Covid-19 jabs from Friday and will begin administering them from Monday. Follow latest updates
This is Elias Visontay bringing you this morning’s main stories: some Covid vaccine developments, a growing political feud, and misogyny culture in the spotlight across the globe.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is “safe and effective”, Europe’s medicines regulator has said, but it will continue to study possible links between the shot and a rare blood clotting disorder. Australian doctors have complained about vaccine supply issues but, from Monday, an additional 6.14 million Australians will be eligible to receive the jab – here’s how to to find out if you’re one of them, and how to book. Australia’s economic performance is also under scrutiny, as the worst performer on a list of the world’s 50 largest economies for “green recovery” spending to kickstart economic growth after the pandemic.
Continue reading...People have stood at bars once again – but there remains a fine line between standing and dancing, which is still banned
New South Wales residents are now allowed to stand with their drinks in bars, following the latest easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
“This is what life is all about,” the New South Wales treasurer, Dominic Perrottet, said while holding a Guinness on Wednesday.
Continue reading...After 100,000 women marched for justice on Monday, the federal government faces scrutiny over whether it’s listening. Follow all today’s latest news and updates, live
Mike Bowers has been busy this morning.
Scott Morrison’s address to the joint party room spoke about the March4Justice issues, as well as the wider concerns about harassment and abuse at work, included a comparison to the Kokoda Trail.
He said, according to Sky News’ Andrew Clennell,
He actually compared it to walking the Kokoda Trail, is what I’ve been told out of the party room and said we are on a narrow path, we have to look after each other and focus on what matters.”
You wonder how you’ve got over the first hill and the next one’s even bigger.
That’s what it’s like in the pandemic,” he said, citing the next hill as being weaning the economy off government support.
Continue reading...More than 100,000 women are expected to march in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to demand action in response to allegations of workplace abuse. Follow latest updates
Michael McCormack Michael McCormacked his way through an interaction with Janine Hendry this morning, when she asked him for action - and for change.
He ‘can’t give that assurance’.
#March4Justiceau organiser @janine_hendry bumped into Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack in the Parliament corridors ... here's how it ended. @10NewsFirst #auspol pic.twitter.com/fnkr3nam0h
Janine Hendry, a founder and organiser of the March4Justice, explained to the ABC this morning about why organisers turned down Scott Morrison’s offer of a private meeting with a small number of march delegates:
I think it is really quite disrespectful to the women whose voices need to be heard to have a meeting with our prime minister behind closed doors.
I have invited the prime minister, as I have all other sitting members of parliament, to come and march with us, to come and listen to our voices. I don’t think it is really a big ask – we have come to Canberra.
Continue reading...Users told their pin was incorrect when they tried to log in to the state’s official contact-tracing app
New South Wales residents were left unable to check in to restaurants and other venues on Thursday afternoon using the state’s official Covid check-in app, Service NSW, after it went offline.
The outage lasted about four hours and affected the official Service NSW app, although Service NSW said its coronavirus webform check-in was not impacted.
Continue reading...Gladys Berejiklian receives the AstraZeneca jab; Qantas chief Alan Joyce warns tourists and students could abandon Australia. Follow latest updates
Cairns hospital called a code yellow on Tuesday due to an influx of patients, including a number of Covid-19 payments from Papua New Guinea.
More from AAP:
More than 260 people presented at the emergency department on Tuesday, with road crash victims adding to increased pressure on services.
“A sustained high number of presentations to the ED, alongside a spike in trauma admissions and several patients needing isolation for Covid-19 had led to the hospital declaring a Code Yellow,” the hospital said in a statement on Wednesday.
News that the Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui is settling in Australia after being granted a travel exemption by the Australian government is unlikely to go down well in Beijing.
When Guardian Australia contacted the Chinese embassy in Canberra for comment on the matter, an official pointed us to remarks made by the foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing last week. The foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, told reporters Monday last week:
China’s position on Hong Kong-related issues is consistent and clear. Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong, and every bit of Hong Kong affairs belongs to China’s internal affairs, in which no other country has the right to interfere.
The Chinese side urges the Australian side to stop meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs and China’s internal affairs in any way. Otherwise the China-Australia relations will only sustain further damage.
Continue reading...SA Health says positive Covid-19 wastewater results may be linked to hotel quarantine, but further investigations are under way. Follow the latest updates
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended the pace of the vaccine rollout saying it can only be rolled out as fast as it’s being supplied by the federal government, reports AAP.
Queensland gave 6,300 people their first doses of the Pfizer jab last week, against a target of 3,000, but there’s been media criticism of the state’s slow rollout compared with other states.
All of this is being done in consultation with the Commonwealth, so please don’t disrespect the process...
We want to get it right, we want it to be rolled out smoothly, and of course we are making sure that the people have the adequate training to do this.
We are adapting very quickly to the numbers that we’re getting, but the Commonwealth are adjusting these numbers on a regular basis how much we’ll get.
And in some cases, as in the figures I was given like last week, we’re getting triple what we expected and they have to last us for a few weeks because they can’t necessarily guarantee (how much) we’re going to get each week.
Wentworth Liberal MP Dave Sharma’s idea for International Women’s Day seems to have backfired this morning after he handed out what I believe are pink carnations to women.
Sharma tweeted this out this morning:
Happy International Women’s Day.
Let’s make it a day when we strive to improve the respect, dignity and equality for every woman, everywhere.#internationalwomensday2021 #IWD2021 pic.twitter.com/pbpqfGdzp7