The day that was, Sunday 3 April
It’s time for us to wrap up the blog for the evening. Here’s a summary of the day’s top news stories:
- Communities across eastern Victoria have been urged to move to higher ground after heavy rain flooded rivers in the region, with more severe weather expected overnight.
- Michael Towke, who initially beat Scott Morrison in a ballot to contest Cook for the Liberal party 15 years ago, doubled down on his position that the prime minister used claims about Towke’s Lebanese heritage to undermine him.
- The Victorian government announced it would invest $1.5bn to increase the state’s elective surgery capacity to 125% by 2023.
- Two missing kayakers – a teenage boy and a 51-year-old woman – were rescued overnight in south-western Victoria after the 13-year-old boy used his watch to signal a police helicopter.
- Outgoing federal MP George Christensen announced he had tested positive for Covid-19.
- There were 17 Covid-19 deaths and 46,818 cases reported around Australia.
Enjoy the rest of your night.
For some positive environment news, may I recommend two pieces by Bronwen Scott, both published today.
The first is about the range expansion of rainbow lorikeets – recent arrivals to Canberra – likely thanks to extensive native tree planting, which has provided them with food and nesting sites:
The second is on efforts to restore critically endangered mabi rainforest in north Queensland, which now covers less than 4.5% of its former range:
Updated
