At least 35 people in crash involving two ADF vehicles near Lismore in northern NSW

Nineteen ambulances dispatched to incident shortly after 5pm with some ADF personnel ‘seriously’ injured, according to the prime minister

More than 35 people were involved in a collision between two Australian Defence Force vehicles at Lismore, in northern New South Wales that has left 13 injured, some seriously.

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 5pm with initial reports that 22 people had been injured. This was increased to 36 people shortly after 6pm. A defence spokesperson said late on Saturday night that 13 personnel were injured, despite more being involved.

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Gold Coast residents told to ‘take shelter now’ as NSW authorities search for man missing in Cyclone Alfred flood waters

Almost 100,000 homes in Queensland and NSW were without power on Friday evening as cyclone crawled towards the coast

Millions of people are sheltering from Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it crashes into the coast of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales bringing destructive winds and heavy rain.

The slow-moving weather system was finally expected to make landfall after speeding up overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning as it moved towards Brisbane.

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Tropical Cyclone Alfred live updates: wind and rain intensify as category 2 storm nears south-east Queensland and northern NSW

BoM path track map predicts TC Alfred will cross coast on Saturday near Brisbane, the first storm of its size to do so in decades. Follow the latest updates today

Welfare recipients told to perform mutual obligations as cyclone bears down

We have a news story this morning about the impact the cyclone is already having on life in Queensland.

Fallen trees and giant stands of bamboo blocked the single road to our farm until the army and council brought heavy machinery to clear a path some time after.

We were without running water or power for days, maybe weeks, the packing shed a makeshift kitchen where we ate meals cooked off a gas barbecue and drank instant coffee made with rainwater and UHT milk to the hum of a generator.

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Welfare recipients told to perform mutual obligations as Tropical Cyclone Alfred bears down on Queensland

Disability employment provider Help asked jobseekers to perform telephone appointments before later clarifying they were voluntary

Private employment agencies across Queensland have given jobseekers the impression they still need to perform their mutual obligations, despite there being a pause across large swaths of the state while it prepares for Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The mutual obligations scheme forces jobseekers to complete tasks such as applying for jobs or attending training, or risk their payments being stopped.

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Cyclone Alfred live updates: BoM tracking map forecast shows category 2 storm hitting Brisbane and south-east Qld; landfall in Queensland and NSW delayed as storm slows – latest news

BoM path track map predicts TC Alfred will cross coast on Friday near Brisbane, the first storm of its size to do so in decades. Follow the latest updates today

Speaking of preparations, adjunct senior lecturer at the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook University Yetta Gurtner gives advice here:

Chalmers confident insurance companies ‘know their responsibilities’

I’m confident they know their responsibilities and obligations to people.

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Cyclone Alfred update: NSW and Queensland prepare for flooding as authorities urge ‘do not underestimate this storm’

BoM warns of hazards from ‘erratic’ storm and forecasts show it slowed again and downgraded to a category one storm when it makes landfall between Friday and Saturday morning

Millions of people in Queensland have hunkered down while residents in parts of northern New South Wales have been ordered to evacuate as Australia’s east coast prepares for wild weather brought by Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The slow-moving storm is now expected to make landfall in Queensland late on Friday or on Saturday morning, later than was forecast earlier in the week, after the category two system “spun around on itself” and briefly stalled overnight on Wednesday.

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Brisbane schools and public transport shut as Cyclone Alfred to hit later than expected

Parts of Queensland and NSW prepare as BoM weather forecast shows Alfred making landfall between Maroochydore and Coolangatta

Schools, airports, public transport and most businesses are beginning to shut down in Brisbane and across south-east Queensland, as authorities advised Tropical Cyclone Alfred will likely arrive later than expected.

Advice to residents is now that Alfred’s track to the coast has slowed, and that it will likely cross the southeast Queensland coast at some point on Friday.

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Crisafulli urges residents to prepare as storm approaches – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Read the latest Cyclone Alfred news update here

Sandbag queues ‘about an hour’ in Brisbane – Wells

The federal sports minister, Anika Wells, also spoke on the Today Show this morning from Brisbane and said it was the “calm before the storm”.

At the moment that’s the shortest it’s been in 24 hours. It’s a big couple of days ahead for south-east Queensland. We’re more than up to the task, but everybody’s doing their bit.

So everyone’s doing their bit and we thank them for it.

We know that there’s going to be damaging winds, there is going to be powerful surf, coastal erosion, and it will be followed by significant rain that can last a couple of days. So we’re really urging people to be alert, to be prepared, just like the SES is.

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Tropical Cyclone Alfred: Queensland evacuations begin as storm path tracks towards Brisbane

Up to 20,000 homes could be flooded, with beachside and low-lying suburbs most at risk, city council flood map shows

Queensland authorities are advising some residents to leave coastal properties in the path of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, amid warnings that a storm surge of up to 1 metre higher than typical tides could inundate communities.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Australian Defence Force assets have been placed on standby to respond to the looming storm, which was tracking towards the heavily populated coastline between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.

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Communities warned to prepare as weather system takes right turn – as it happened

This blog is now closed

Why should Australia trust president Donald Trump, given how he’s treated Ukraine’s president at the Oval Office? Richard Marles said the government’s focus was on supporting Ukraine:

That’s where Australia lies. That’s the decision that we have to make. And Ukraine can absolutely rely on Australia’s ongoing support in their defence, and we will work with international partners.

We’ve obviously worked with the United States over the last three years, and we’ll continue to do that, but we’ve worked with the United Kingdom, and we’ll continue to do that as well, and with European partners, and look at the best way in which we can provide support.

We have established a timeline with [the] Ukrainian government about the delivery of those tanks to Ukraine. Now, for operational reasons, won’t go into the detail of that timeline.

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‘Be prepared’: Tropical Cyclone Alfred changes direction and heads towards Queensland coast

Weather system bears down on south-east Queensland with BoM forecasting landfall between Brisbane and Sunshine Coast

Tropical Cyclone Alfred has made a dramatic right turn, and is now “heading towards the Queensland coast”, the state’s premier has warned.

Alfred had been gradually heading in a generally southerly direction for 12 days, but changed course on Tuesday as expected.

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