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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Taylor, Natasha May and Caitlin Cassidy (earlier)

Victorian towns told to evacuate or shelter as major flooding hits – as it happened

Australia Bali Anthony Albanese Coal
Cars cross a flooded road in Heathcote, Victoria, Australia
Cars cross a flooded road in the central Victorian town of Heathcote. Victoria and Tasmania are on alert for heavy rain and flooding. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

The day that was, Thursday 13 October

We will wrap up the live blog here.

Here’s what you might have missed today:

  • Parts of Victoria have seen rainfall as high as 166mm in the past 36 hours, and wind speeds up to 160km/h. There are 70 warnings in place across the state, and there have been hundreds of SES callouts, and dozens of rescues, with rain expected to hit Melbourne hard until 7pm AEDT.

  • Heavy rain also hit Tasmania, with several floodwater rescues in northern Tasmania. Rain is not expected to ease until Friday morning.

  • Australia was one of 143 UN member states to support a resolution condemning Russia’s organisation of “illegal so-called referendums” in the four regions and declaring that “the subsequent attempted illegal annexation of these regions have no validity under international law”.

  • Members of the NSW Rail Tram and Bus Union voted to close down Opal readers at Sydney stations, as part of their prolonged industrial dispute with the state government.

  • The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced the government will lower the full supply level of Wivenhoe Dam due to the threat of more flooding.

  • The Northern Territory government introduced legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years of age.

  • Private health insurer Medibank said it has shut down access to some customer-facing systems following “unusual activity” on its network on Wednesday.

We will be back with you again tomorrow morning with all the latest. Until then, I hope you manage to stay dry and warm.

Updated

People near Acheron River told to move to higher ground

Updated

Medibank says it is investigating cybersecurity incident

Also just another update on the Medibank cybersecurity incident.

The company says it has taken offline the ahm and international student policy systems and its data and is now in the process of restarting it.

The evidence continues to show that no customer data was accessed in the intrusion, but the company says the investigation is ongoing.

Medibank said:

We have spoken with the Australian Cyber Security Centre, APRA, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, the Department of Health and the Department of Home Affairs over the course of the day to ensure that our regulators and other key stakeholders are informed.

We have begun the process of contacting our customers and our focus remains on ensuring the ongoing security of our customers, employees and stakeholders and the continued delivery of Medibank services. Our highest priority remains resolving this matter transparently and as quickly as possible.

This shows how proactive companies are seeming to be now in the wake of the Optus data breach.

The health insurer Medibank was hit by a cyber attack.
The health insurer Medibank was hit by a cyber incident. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

It seems the rain storm has hit Melbourne now. Starting to get pretty heavy.

Updated

Victorian towns told to evacuate or shelter as flood waters rise

The rural town of Rochester north of Melbourne has been told to evacuate.

And people in towns in the riverine area from Seymour to Lake Eildon have been urged to move to higher ground.

Victorian emergency authorities say flood waters are rising rapidly in the area and could get as high as levels seen in 1974 as rain continues.

There are dozens of warnings in place and they are changing rapidly so people in flood-affected areas are being urged to keep a close eye on updates.

Updated

Rainfall and flooding summary for Victoria

Here’s a summary of the rain situation in Victoria from our friends at AAP:

Rainfall recorded:

  • Northeast Victoria: Almost 200mm

  • Metropolitan Melbourne: 22mm with another 10mm to 20mm expected to fall

  • Strathbogie North: 166mm

  • Near Euroa: 145mm

  • Seymour: 124mm

  • Other parts of the state: 50mm to 70mm

  • Another 20mm to 60mm is expected to fall in those same impacted areas across northern and central Victoria

Areas under threat:

  • More than 70 warnings issued across the state

  • 197 properties under threat from flooding and another 279 could become isolated between Seymour and Lake Eildon from Thursday evening

  • Five properties under threat from flooding above the floor and 20 could become isolated on the Seven and Castles creeks near Euroa from Thursday evening into Friday

  • 200 properties under threat from flooding above the floor and up to 700 properties could become isolated near Rochester along the Campaspe River from Friday morning

  • Three houses and a local tavern could be affected by major flooding along the upper reaches of the Maribyrnong River

  • 50 properties under threat from flooding above the floor and up to 600 could be isolated near Shepparton from Saturday afternoon

  • About 12 properties, including a local shopping strip, could be affected by major flooding at Skipton from Saturday

Catchments at or above 100% capacity:

  • Tarago

  • Yan Yean

  • Maroondah

  • O’Shannassy

  • Dartmouth

  • Eppalock

  • Nillahcootie

  • Tullaroop

  • Moondarra

  • South Gippsland Water major systems

  • Blue Rock

Updated

RBA apologises after software update error stops PayID transactions

The Reserve Bank of Australia has now provided a more detailed explanation for the issue that caused PayID transactions to go down for banks across the country for five hours last night.

The RBA says it was an issue with the “Fast Settlement Service” and the “Low Value Clearing and Settlement Services”.

It was an error during a planned change to the software that manages the RBA’s virtual servers, which then disrupted the production servers, which meant that the RBA’s information and transfer system was not able to send or receive the files needed between around 7pm and midnight yesterday.

The services have now been restored and are working at full capacity, and the RBA is working with banks to clear the backlog of payments.

Michele Bullock, the deputy governor of the RBA, said:

We sincerely apologise to industry participants and customers for the inconvenience and disruption caused. It was disappointing that this occurred and we recognise the impact this would have on people relying on the payments system. I want to assure people that the Bank takes the stability of the payments infrastructure very seriously and will double its effort to ensure this does not happen again.

Updated

Death reported at WA mine

WorkSafe has reported a death at a mine site in the Pilbara.

Mine safety inspectors are en route to the site to investigate, along with WA Police.

Worksafe said it is the second mining fatality in Western Australia in the past week, with another death reported at Gold Fields’ Hamlet underground mine two days ago.

Updated

New Zealand in 'early conversations' with Australia on agriculture emissions reduction

New Zealand’s climate change minister James Shaw is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing about the country’s proposed methane emissions tax that is causing a lot of consternation among conservatives in Australia.

Shaw explains that New Zealand already has an emissions trading scheme that covers every sector of the economy except agriculture, so the government is setting up a separate agriculture emissions pricing scheme.

He says the government’s proposal will have an on-farm calculator to work out the source of emissions on the farm:

Which basically comes down to the methane that is emitted from animals or nitrous oxide and then what are the offsets on that farm, such as trees that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

That then strips out a net number which shows what the farmer is liable for and it provides an incentive for them to reduce their emissions over time.

He says the proposal has come from the agriculture sector after the NZ government struck a deal with the sector in 2019 to develop a plan. He says there have been some modifications but it is ultimately the sector’s own proposal.

Shaw says he has had “early conversations” with the Australian government around how the two countries might cooperate on agricultural emissions reduction.

It is an important part of the economy and we do need to feed the growing population around the world and to do so with less arable land and a lower emissions profile. [It is] so important for us globally that we crack this particular nut.

New Zealand’s climate change minister James Shaw at Owhiro Bay beach in Wellington.
New Zealand’s climate change minister James Shaw at Owhiro Bay beach in Wellington. Photograph: Mark Mitchell/AP

Updated

More power outages in western Victoria as severe weather continues

Powercor says there are about 3,480 power outages across western Victoria, with about 2,700 of those located in the Woodend and Gisborne region, with 580 in the Edenhope area.

More power outages are expected this afternoon and this evening as wild weather continues.

The company said crews will respond to faults as quickly as possible, subject to road and ground conditions, and customers are asked to remain patient.

Updated

Penny Wong visits Marshall Islands and promises ‘we will work with Pacific nations’

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is visiting the Marshall Islands, which is about halfway between Australia and Hawaii. It is home to around 20,000 people, and Wong said in a press conference she was the first minister to visit since borders were reopened.

She announced an agreement had been reached to share ABC radio content to Marshall Islands, noting that in many cases radio was the main form of media.

Wong was asked about the shift in climate policy under the new government and what it means for Pacific Island nations. She said it was a big shift:

It’s a great thing. It’s an important thing that we have been elected with a very clear mandate for an ambitious climate policy. One that will see renewables in Australia take up in excess of 80% of our energy consumption or our energy production generation this decade. That’s a big shift for a country that, as you know, has been very energy-intensive. So we will work with Pacific island nations because we understand it’s important.

Senator Penny Wong.
Senator Penny Wong. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Government’s response to Optus data breach ‘very tardy’, opposition says

Karen Andrews claims the government was “very tardy” in its response to the Optus data breach, and should have been telling people what they should have been doing right away.

She says the government “haven’t come up with any legislation” to address gaps in cybersecurity legislation, and she points to the government stopping her introducing a bill targeting ransomware (the Optus data breach was not a ransomware attack).

Updated

Novak Djokovic ban should not be overturned, Coalition says

The shadow home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, tells ABC’s Afternoon Briefing she is opposed to overturning the ban on tennis champion Novak Djokovic returning to Australia after he had his visa cancelled by the former Morrison government for not being vaccinated.

Djokovic is not able to come to Australia for three years, unless that ban is overturned, and there is speculation it will be overturned to allow him to come back for the Australian Open next year.

Andrews says if his ban is overturned, it would raise questions about bans being overturned for anyone else.

She says one rule should apply to all.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic is banned from entering Australia for three years.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic is banned from entering Australia for three years. Photograph: John Walton/PA

Updated

Richard Marles is asked about the distressing footage shown at a Bali bombing memorial in Bali on Wednesday night. He says the government is “very disappointed” how it has played out.

Updated

Australia aims to strengthen PNG relationship through defence, Richard Marles says

The defence minister and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing live from Papua New Guinea.

He says defence is the real strength of the relationship between PNG and Australia, saying there would be very few, if any, officers in PNG who had not received training from Australians. He talks about strengthening the relationship with the country through defence.

He says:

All of this is part of doing the work. Making sure we are present in the Pacific and we are focused on developing the countries of the Pacific and doing all of that and establishing ourselves as the partner of choice for countries in the Pacific, that if we do well, we naturally are.

He says he would not say it is being pushed now as a result of China:

We are obviously in a very challenging and complex strategic world and there is no doubt that China forms part of that landscape but actually this is much more about the relationship between two countries, in the case of Australia and the PNG, who don’t just see each other as friends but we see each other as family. It is much more about building a relationship on our own terms and that is how I would describe Australia’s relationship with the Pacific more generally.

Updated

Queensland government to lower level of Wivenhoe Dam due to flood threat

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has announced the government will lower the full supply level of Wivenhoe Dam due to the threat of more flooding.

With a third La Niña under way, the premier said the government had decided to lower the dam’s water level temporarily to 80% of its capacity.

Palaszczuk said:

With parts of Queensland already saturated, the threat of floods is here and it is real.

In light of forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology and expert advice, the decision has been made to lower the level of Wivenhoe Dam.

This will increase the temporary flood storage space in Wivenhoe Dam to allow additional flood waters to be stored if required.

The state’s water minister, Glenn Butcher, said the decision was not reached lightly and followed advice from Seqwater, the Department of Environment and Science, and the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water.

Butcher said over the next two weeks Seqwater would drain about 116,000 megalitres of water:

This provides additional flood mitigation benefits provided by the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams system, manages the ongoing safety of both dams, and balances south-east Queensland’s water security.

Updated

Defence IT networks attacked or probed for vulnerability ‘every single day’, minister says

The assistant defence minister, Matt Thistlethwaite, has told a cybersecurity conference in Melbourne that defence networks are attacked or probed for vulnerability “every single day, in almost every single way”.

He said:

The digital arms trade is booming and cyberspace is the new battle domain.

As much as every fighter jet, frigate or tank, our communication networks are critical to Australia’s Defence.

What is at stake is Australia’s national security.

Defence’s IT footprint consists of more than 1,000 networks, 10,000 servers, over 100,000 end points, and 30,000 mobile devices, he said.

The network handles more than 16,000 terabytes of data, across ships, submarines, aircraft and army.

He said:

A single vulnerability in a Defence system can put our men and women in uniform at risk, and result in an unacceptable threat to our nation and our national interest.

The government’s 2022 Defence Information and Communications Technology Strategy and the Defence Cyber Security Strategy recognises the importance of cyber security, he said.

Updated

Melbourne’s worst rainfall to come between 5pm and 7pm tonight

People crossing a street in the rain in Melbourne
Heavy rainfall across Melbourne this evening could result in flash flooding. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

The Bureau of Meterology says the worst rainfall across Melbourne will be between 5pm and 7pm tonight, which could result in flash flooding.

There will be isolated showers across the state tomorrow, with more settled weather towards the start of next week, with the potential for rain mid to late next week.

The State Emergency Service has received more than 1,600 requests for assistance, with 300 of those related to trees down and the rest related to flash flooding and requests for sandbagging.

There have been 23 flood rescues from people attempting to drive through flood water.

Updated

Ten thousand without power and 20 flood rescues in Victoria

The Victorian emergency management commissioner, Andrew Crisp, says parts of Victoria have seen rainfall as high as 166mm in the past 36 hours, and wind speeds up to 160km/h.

He said there were 70 warnings in place across Victoria this afternoon, and around 10,000 people were without power.

A total of 40 schools and early childhood centres have closed, and over 80 bus routes have been shut down across the state.

So far there have been about 20 rescues, and Crisp urged people to avoid the roads if they can.

He said from 5pm this afternoon there will be “significant rainfall” across the metropolitan area, and there will be the potential for flash flooding.

The weather system will move east tomorrow, but Crisp warned there could be another weather event later next week.

Road workers are seen along a flooded road in Ascot, a northern suburb of Bendigo
Road workers on a flooded road in Ascot, a northern suburb of Bendigo. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Updated

With that cow business cleared up, I leave you in the excellent hands of Josh Taylor.

Updated

Who knew “attacks on cows” and “a tax on cows” were homonyms?

We brought you the news on the blog a little while ago that the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, had weighed in on the methane debate saying “the talk of attacks on cows now is a complete and utter outrage”.

Apparently, what Dutton might have actually said was “a tax on cows”.

To be fair, the first interpretation was more in line with his Coalition colleague, Barnaby Joyce, who said in 2021 the only way to reduce methane by 30% by 2030 would be “to go grab a rifle (and) go out and start shooting your cattle”.

Updated

Queensland Labor MP tables restaurant menus during speech on fish bill

My colleague, Guardian Australia Queensland reporter Eden Gillespie, noticed some unusual documents were today uploaded to the Queensland government’s tabled papers section.

The member for Stretton, James Martin, had submitted a variety of menus from restaurants in his electorate including Hand Made Noodle, Phat Pantry, Ho Lin Wah Restaurant and 9 Seafood Restaurant.

Why?

Seafood legislation apparently. Queensland parliament is debating a bill put forward by the Katter party and LNP which would require restaurants to update their menus with the location from which they purchased fish.

Martin gave a speech last night outlining the negative impact the new rules would have on restaurants, particularly the multicultural restaurants in his electorates because they often have very large menus.

Martin told parliament last night:

The key problem that I can see with this bill is that it is written with a particular kind of restaurant in mind – a fine-dining establishment where the chef writes a new menu every day based on local produce; a menu that would only be on one A4 piece of paper with entree, main and dessert.

… However, if members come to my electorate in Stretton, they will see restaurants that are a bit different to this … I am very lucky to represent one of the most multicultural areas in Queensland. One of the great benefits of this is the fantastic food available at the many Chinese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Malaysian restaurants and more.

… A key point of difference – and the key reason this bill will not work – is the menus. The menus in my local area are epics; they are more like magazines or books and they are quite expensive to produce. It is a considerable cost to the small business owner to produce these menus, and they are pretty spectacular. Restaurants pride themselves on having massive menus with chefs who are capable of whipping up hundreds of different dishes in a flash. Most of these dishes contain delicious Australian seafood as well as some imported items, and many contain multiple different types of seafood. Seafood laksa, seafood fried rice or Singapore noodles, just to name a few, have many different types of seafood in them, and these change based on supply and what is available. Ultimately, it would be impossible, expensive and unworkable for restaurant owners in my local area to alter their massive menus every day based on supply.

For the benefit of the house, I have brought some of these menus along and I would like to table them. These are a sample from restaurants that are within walking distance of my office, and I am happy to say that I have dined at all of them many times.

Updated

Northern Territory triple murderer sentenced to life in jail

A gunman who murdered three people and killed another during a drug-fuelled shooting spree across Darwin will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of release, AAP reports.

Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann pleaded guilty mid-trial in November to intentionally killing Hassan Baydoun, 33, Michael Sisois, 57, and Rob Courtney, 52, and the manslaughter of 75-year-old Nigel Hellings, on 4 June 2019.

The 48-year-old was sentenced in the Northern Territory supreme court on Thursday to three life sentences for the three murders and 15 years for manslaughter, with Justice John Burns refusing to set a parole date.

Hoffmann was also sentenced for six other charges, including three counts of recklessly endangering life, drug possession and one of threatening to kill.

Hoffmann was high on methamphetamine when he shot the four men dead while hunting a man named Alex Deligiannis, who he believed had stolen his ex-girlfriend Kelly Collins.

Updated

Defence minister looks forward to more visits to PNG

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, met with Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, in Port Moresby earlier today.

Marles has said the meeting brings the defence relationship between the two countries even closer, and also reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to PNG’s economic growth.

Marles has shared some images of that meeting:

‘The talk of a tax on cows now is a complete and utter outrage’: Dutton

More news on the methane front.

As mentioned on the blog earlier, the federal agriculture minister, Murray Watt, said the government was considering signing on to the US president Joe Biden’s global methane pledge. The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, isn’t keen on the idea, claiming the pledge which looks to curb cows’ methane production (bovine burps, essentially) would be “the death of the Australian BBQ”.

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has now weighed in.

Updated

Emergency warning issued for Goulburn River in Victoria

Those around Lake Eildon to Seymour are being told to move to higher ground.

Rail workers vote to shut down Opal readers in Sydney

Members of the NSW Rail Tram and Bus Union this week voted whether to take further action closing down Opal readers at Sydney stations, as part of their prolonged industrial dispute with the state government.

The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that rail workers voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of the action.

Matt O’Sullivan writes:

The Rail Tram and Bus Union has yet to decide when it will inform the government of plans by its members to deactivate Opal readers. It is required to give three days’ notice of the planned industrial action, which will make the entire Sydney rail network free for commuters.

RTBU state secretary Alex Claassens said it was likely that it would notify the government next week, but that would ultimately be a decision of delegates.

Claassens told the paper:

“We think the government will challenge it ... and take us to the Federal Court.

“The earliest that we could notify is sometime next week.”

Updated

Central bank blames ‘technical error’ for payment transfer outage

We brought you the news a little earlier about Australian banks being hit with payment transfer outages.

My colleague Josh Taylor has the full story:

Melbourne to get reprieve from steady rain before rapid increases in afternoon

The meteorologist Jane Bunn says the rain will be “on and off” rather than steady for the next few hours, before rapidly increasing in late afternoon when the risk of flash flooding will increase.

Updated

Police investigate six armed robberies on convenience stores in Melbourne

Victorian police are investigating a series of armed robberies in Melbourne’s east this morning.

Police have released a statement saying:

It’s believed the trio committed six armed robberies on convenience stores and fast food restaurants between 4.15am and 4.45am.

Investigators have been told two men, wearing balaclavas, produced a handgun and an edged weapon, before stealing cash and cigarettes.

It’s believed a third offender waited in a vehicle, possibly a silver SUV, while the armed robberies were taking place.

Police say the six-armed robberies were committed in:

  • Blackburn Road, Glen Waverley

  • Canterbury Road, Forest Hill

  • Middleborough Road, Box Hill

  • Canterbury Road, Box Hill South

  • Williams Road, Blackburn

  • Canterbury Road, Blackburn South

No one was injured during the incidents and no arrests have been made, police say.

Updated

Warning for South Esk River in Tasmania

Russia is primary reason global economy is struggling, Jim Chalmers tells G20

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been speaking to a meeting of G20 economic ministers and central bank governors in Washington DC.

Nothing too enlightening on the budget (or stage-three tax cuts) but he did give a serve to Russia, which is a G20 member (although it’s not clear if they had reps in the room).

Chalmers said:

It’s been a difficult year, of course, made much harder by Russia’s illegal, immoral, unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

And that has exacerbated fragilities in the global economy, it’s constrained growth, increased inflation, heightened energy and food insecurity, and it’s elevated financial stability risks.

And for good measure:

Russia is obviously the primary reason why we’re in the position that we’re in right now. It’s not the only reason, but it’s the primary reason.

Chalmers repeated recent comments that the global economy “is now entering an even more dangerous phase”, where the navigational task of governments “has become narrower, and it has become more perilous as well”.

With inflationary pressures intensifying, financial stability risks rising, with a third of the world economy “facing consecutive quarters of negative growth”, things do loom large with gloom. (The IMF said a third of the global economy could be in recession next year.)

In a hint of how his first budget (due for release on 25 October) will look, Chalmers said:

We need to strike the right balance between providing targeted support to those most impacted by high energy and food prices, but we need to ensure that our fiscal policies don’t exacerbate inflationary pressures.

The best buffer against the global uncertainty that we all face right now is responsible budgets.

Our support can’t be indiscriminate, it can’t be excessive, it can’t be poorly targeted.

He concludes:

The world is looking to us once again around the room, finance ministers and governors, to take a coordinated approach to resolving these challenges.

Otherwise, it will be the most vulnerable who pay the price, and we will prolong and exacerbate what is already a very difficult and dangerous situation.

Commentators such as Adam Tooze, a prominent economic historian, have noted action by central banks has been extraordinary and likely elevated the risk of a global recession, as we reported here:

For now, the odds remain strong that the Reserve Bank of Australia will lift its cash rate again next month ... whether or not the move is coordinated or not with counterparts elsewhere.

Updated

Where are people moving to, and from, in Australia?

This week saw the second release of the 2021 census data, including information about whether the pandemic has seen an increase in sea/tree-changers.

At Guardian, our data wizards Nick Evershed and Andy Ball have put together some very cool interactive graphs showing patterns of internal migration.

Updated

Optus customers in SA now able to apply for replacement license online

Better late than never …

Updated

Tasmanian premier compares weather conditions to heavy flooding of 2016

Tasmania’s premier, Jeremy Rockliff, is providing an update on the floods.

He says the conditions are exactly what the Bureau of Meteorology were predicting, consistent with the heavy flooding of 2016.

We are monitoring the situation extremely closely … The severe weather has been occurring especially on the north-west coast. The weather and the rain has been heavy in the north-west and north – we have had to see some roads and highways closed for some areas.

We urge Tasmanians to continue to make informed decisions and think twice for jumping in the car and going and doing that job or delivery. Think twice about moving around on the network unnecessarily.

An emergency warning has been issued for Railton and surrounds, while the entire Mersey River community, with the exception of Devonport, are on flood watch. The Railton community has been told to prepare to evacuate.

Emergency teams have set up three evacuation centres, at Railton, at Latrobe and Deloraine. We have capability for more evacuation centres at other locations should they be required but I won’t disclose those locations …

The conditions outside and on the roads are unsafe due to the intense rainfall. We urge people to restrict non-essential travel and as well, we ask drivers to drive with extreme caution.

We expect conditions to deteriorate and once the front has passed, the soil is saturated already … you will see floods rising.

Roads have been closed between Launceston and Bernie, while Tasmanian airports have confirmed the port of Devonport will be closed “at least for today, potentially longer”.

Updated

The floods in Tasmania are being compared to the natural disaster in 2016 that claimed the lives of three people, with conditions expected to worsen as the rain continues.

Five people have already been rescued from Liffey, 41km south-west of Launceston.

Updated

NSW parliament discusses auditor general’s damning review of state’s environmental offsets scheme

In the NSW parliament this morning, the upper house heard the state is “trading on the extinction of our biodiversity” as it debated a matter of public importance on the damning NSW auditor general’s review of the state’s environmental offsets scheme.

Moved by the Greens MLC Sue Higginson, it follows findings by the audit office that the scheme was failing to protect some of the state’s most threatened species and ecosystems and was riddled with integrity and transparency concerns.

Higginson pointed to offsets never delivered, “the foul practice of double-dipping” which involves claiming an offset on land that is already protected, and the auditor’s finding that 96% of demand for offset credits in the state biodiversity market could not be met:

The truth is we knew the scheme was failing and we knew the scheme was in trouble before this report was tabled.

She said the report was an “indictment of a scheme gone drastically wrong”, telling the parliament:

If we were a corporation playing in the finance market, right now if the government was playing in that market with this scheme, under these rules and with these outcomes then it would be wound up.

It would be done for insolvent trading and it would probably be put behind bars.

The opposition’s upper house leader, Penny Sharpe, said the audit found the NSW government had failed to design a scheme in line with the biodiversity requirements of their own legislation:

They failed at the first hurdle.

The audit was brought forward after a Guardian Australia investigation uncovered serious problems with the scheme, including conflict of interest concerns.

Sharpe said a parliamentary inquiry, also triggered by Guardian reporting, would soon report and would recommend further changes.

Speaking in the upper house for the government, the Nationals MLC Ben Franklin said the NSW offsets system was “world-leading” but acknowledged it needed some improvements.

He said the government had either agreed or agreed in principle to all of the report’s 11 recommendations. He said the former environment minister, Matt Kean, had introduced changes in 2021 that meant the scheme was now in the strongest position it’s been in since commencement”.

Updated

Boil water order issued in north-east Victoria as safety of drinking water could be compromised by floods

Power has gone out across Echuca in north-east Victoria as the rain continues to pelt down, and a boil water order has been issued.

Coliban Water said excessive stormwater entering one of its treated water storage tanks may “compromise the safety” of drinking water. The tank has now been isolated.

Nearby, it’s anticipated Rochester will be cut off from the south on Friday. Hundreds of volunteers and SES members have been sandbagging in anticipation of flooding.

The Goldfields region is also being badly hit:

Updated

Australia’s new tourism mascot could draw attention to commercial killing of kangaroos, activists say

Ruby Roo, the new unofficial face of Australian tourism, has been hailed by some as a refreshing new figurehead to lure international travellers back to the nation and condemned by others as “bland”.

Animal activists, though, say the CGI kangaroo could backfire by highlighting the large scale commercial killing of the species to a global audience.

Animals Australia on Thursday slammed the “hypocrisy” of using kangaroos to lead Tourism Australia’s new global campaign while more than 1.5 million kangaroos are slaughtered each year, largely without monitoring.

The Animal Justice party and advocacy group Kangaroos Alive have also condemned the move.

Animals Australia director of development, Louise Bonomi, said making the kangaroo the face of tourism was the equivalent of Japan adopting a whale as its tourism icon, or Canada marketing itself using harp seal images.

Tourists would be absolutely horrified if they had a glimpse of the nightly slaughter that inflicts immense suffering on kangaroos shot in the wild and huge trauma for the surviving animals who manage to escape the shooters’ rifles.

This is an industry that thrives under the cover of darkness, which might explain why Tourism Australia were possibly unaware of it and did not anticipate any backlash. The government-endorsed mass commercial slaughter of kangaroos in Australia has become our national shame that has sparked growing outrage in the US, Europe and other countries that cannot understand our seeming indifference to a beloved species found only in our corner of the planet.

The sale of kangaroo meat and leather is banned in California, while a Kangaroo Protection Act introduced in the US Congress last year aims to ban the sale of kangaroo products nationally.

Updated

Pictures emerge on social media of flooding in north-east Victoria

North-east Victoria is getting a serious hammering.

This is Seymour, an hour and a half’s drive from Melbourne on the Goulburn Valley highway:

Further north in Shepparton and Wangaratta, sandbags are being driven in to fortify supplies:

Meanwhile, the Campaspe River is getting an absolute lashing:

Updated

Victorian SES receive 1,000 calls for assistance in 48hrs

Wiebusch also gave some information around what rescues SES have had to perform in Victoria:

To date, most of our calls have been for flash flooding, leaking roofs and those sort of things. We have a range of trees that have come down in some parts, but we are around about 1,000 requests for assistance in the last 48 hours … over the last week, just over 2,500 requests for assistance as we see these different weather systems move through the state.

Updated

Victorian dams spilling over for the first time in decades

Tim Wiebusch also provided some more details of water storage facilities, some of which are full for the first time in decades.

Some of our most major dams that haven’t spilled in several decades are now spilling – so the Dartmouth Dam, the first time in 26 years. Lake Eildon, the first time in 28 years. And the Thompson dam, one of our biggest storages, could be spilling by this weekend, the first time in decades.

(The Thompson reservoir, the country’s third-biggest and the size of two Sydney Harbours, is nearly full – this hasn’t happened since 1996.)

Things are sodden. Water storages are full and we are likely to see more of these rain patterns come in the next six to eight weeks, which will continue to challenge Victorians with riverine flooding.

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Victorian rivers at major flood levels as evacuation orders expected, SES says

Tim Wiebusch, the chief officer of Victoria’s State Emergency Service, provided ABC News with an update at midday:

We are really concerned about the catchments that are on and north of the divide here in Victoria. It does start on the Wimmera River … in the far west, comes back across the Avoca, Loddon and Campaspe catchments …

[In] the north-east of the state, we have major flood warnings current for the Goulburn, the Broken, Severn, Castle Creek and Ovens rivers, and here in Melbourne, the Maribyrnong River and its upper reaches is going to meet with major flooding and we are looking at what the downstream consequences may be …

Also in the south-west, we have Mount Emu Creek and the Hopkins River reaching that moderate to major flood level over the coming 24 to 48 hours.

How quickly is the water rising in some of those places?

It’s really already starting to rocket in some of those rivers. Our storages here in Victoria are completely full and overflowing. They are spilling into our river system. This added rain we are receiving is just exacerbating that, so we are in for some significant flooding, some which we haven’t seen since 2010-2011 in some parts of the state.

At this stage, we haven’t issued any evacuation warnings at this point but we are expecting they will come, particularly on catchments like Mount Emu Creek where Skipton will be a challenge point.

We also are on the Campaspe River with communities such as Rochester, where 700 properties could be surrounded by flood waters and potentially 250 of those being inundated by those flood waters.

But if we go to the north-east of the state, our communities really start to number up, particularly on the Goulburn River, the Ovens and King which converge on Wangaratta, these communities need to be looking at their local flood guide by going to ses.vic.gov.au and downloading their local flood guide, understanding what flood level they could be affected.

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Reports Manly Sea Eagles coach sacked

Manly have reportedly sacked coach Des Hasler after the board of the NRL club met on Thursday morning.

The decision follows a turbulent few months for the Sea Eagles since the Pride Round jersey controversy, during which the team slipped down the ladder and missed the finals.

Anthony Seibold will reportedly take over as the new coach.

Hasler, a club legend, leaves Manly a two-time premiership winner and with the second-most coached games in the club’s history.

Updated

Australia ‘stands with Ukraine’ after overwhelming UN vote

Australia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mitch Fifield, has welcomed the overwhelming vote at the UN general assembly in New York against recognising Russia’s purported annexation of four Ukrainian territories.

Australia was one of 143 UN member states to support a resolution condemning Russia’s organisation of “illegal so-called referendums” in the four regions and declaring that “the subsequent attempted illegal annexation of these regions have no validity under international law”.

Fifield said these countries “stand united in defending the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine”. He tweeted that Australia rejected “Russia’s sham referenda and attempted illegal annexation” and continued to “stand with the brave people of Ukraine”.

Only five countries explicitly opposed the resolution in this morning’s vote: Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua and Syria.

The 35 countries that abstained included China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Thailand and South Africa.

India has typically abstained in such votes, but the war in Ukraine was one of the topics on the agenda when India’s external affairs minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, visited Canberra for talks with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, earlier this week.

Jaishankar had been reluctant to reveal how India would vote, telling Australian reporters it was prudent not to flag voting intentions in advance, but said India had been “very clearly against conflict in Ukraine” because it “does not serve the interests of anybody”.

Jaishankar also defended his country’s long-term ties with Russia, saying India had acquired Soviet and Russian-origin weapons “because, for multiple decades, western countries did not supply weapons to India and in fact saw a military dictatorship next to us as the preferred partner” (a reference to Pakistan).

Despite the different positions taken on the war, Wong had said the Quad partnership among Australia, the US, Japan and India was functioning “extremely well”.

Updated

Robodebt royal commission seeking documents with former government’s legal advice

The former government’s legal advice on the failed robodebt scheme will see the light of day, a royal commission has heard.

The commission is seeking more than tens of thousands of documents including legal advice about the robodebt scheme and related material, some of which is subject to legal professional privilege and public interest immunity claims.

The inquiry heard at a directions hearings on Thursday that Services Australia, which ran the robodebt scheme, had failed to provide some documents on time, in some cases with no warning.

That prompted criticism from the commissioner, Catherine Holmes.

Counsel for the commonwealth, Dominique Hogan-Doran, said the scope of the requests was larger than “anticipated”, reviewing the material was complex and the turnaround was tight.

Hogan-Doran confirmed the commonwealth would waive privilege so legal advice about the robodebt scheme could be provided to the commission.

Solicitors for the agency have been working to review other material, including other documents that discuss the advice to determine what could be provided.

Some privileged documents were being reviewed urgently at the “highest level”, she said.

Holmes questioned why Services Australia had not been more prepared given it knew a commission of inquiry once Labor won the election.

Holmes acknowledged it was complex and the workload was significant but said the commission was on a tight time frame.

Holmes said she did not think any more “delay” could be tolerated and said the remaining documents were due 5pm on Friday. “These sliding deadlines just can’t continue,” she said.

Justin Greggery, senior counsel assisting the commission, said the delays were affecting the work of the inquiry.

He noted the commission needed the full set of documents so it could prepare for upcoming hearings and ask witnesses to appear.

The inquiry’s first hearings are set for the end of the month.

Updated

Manly Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler sacked

Northern Territory to introduce legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility

The Northern Territory government is expected to introduce legislation today to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years of age.

The NT government said once the legislation passes, authorities will refer children under the age of 12 and their families to intensive parenting and behavioural change programs to break the cycle of offending and provide a therapeutic approach.

Lawyers, human rights advocates and First Nations people have long been outspoken critics of the current age of criminal responsibility in Australia, with calls to raise the age to 14 across all jurisdictions.

Currently WA, Tasmania and the ACT have all committed to making steps towards raising the age of criminal responsibility or the age of criminal detention.

In a statement to Guardian Australia, a spokesperson for the NT attorney general and the minister for justice, Chansey Paech, said the reforms will balance community safety with ensuring young children coming into contact with the justice system are supported. Paech said:

The evidence is clear: the earlier a child enters the justice system, the more likely they are to reoffend. Punitive measures are not a deterrent for 10- and 11-year-olds – in fact, it is more likely to increase behavioural problems and offending.

It’s time to get smarter on our youth justice approach and break the cycle of youth crime.

But advocates such as Change the Record’s Cheryl Axleby said while the reforms were welcomed, more needed to be done to reduce the rate of Indigenous young people ending up in the system. Axleby said:

We pay kudos to the government, but we really could have had the opportunity to actually raise the age to 14 where typically they make up the high statistics of Aboriginal youth who are incarcerated in the Northern Territory.

Axleby said it was important all jurisdictions look at making genuine reforms to reduce incarceration rates.

Are they really doing it to reduce incarceration rates? Or are they just window-dressing to demonstrate that they’ve made some change and that should be good enough?

The NT government said police will continue to investigate, respond and support the needs of any victims of crime.

Updated

Medibank responds to cyber-attack

The private health insurer Medibank has said it has shut down access to some customer-facing systems following “unusual activity” on its network on Wednesday.

The company said it took immediate steps to contain the cyber-attack and engaged specialised cybersecurity firms to help, but that at this stage there was no evidence that any sensitive data, including customer data, had been exposed.

The company’s name and international student policy management systems have been taken offline and will be offline for most of the day. Those customers can contact the insurer, but Medibank has warned staff will not be able to access policy information at this stage.

Medibank’s CEO, David Koczkar, said:

I apologise and acknowledge that in the current environment this news may make people concerned.

Our highest priority is resolving this matter as transparently and quickly as possible.

We will continue to take decisive action to protect Medibank Group customers and our people.

We recognise the significant responsibility we have to the people who rely on us to look after their health and wellbeing and whose data we hold.

We are working around the clock to understand the full nature of the incident, and any additional impact this incident may have on our customers, our people and our broader ecosystem.

Updated

Higgins said:

As we have already heard, we are now seeing the rivers rise and the areas that were forecast to be impacted are being impacted. There are emergency warnings in place for some areas which include Railton and La Trobe at the moment and … evacuation centres [have been] opened at the Railton Green shed, La Trobe memorial hall and the Deloraine community centre at the moment.

Conditions outside on the roads are challenging. It is challenging for emergency services, in getting to people that need help. We’ve been utilising our police, Tasmania fire service, State Emergency Service, Surf Lifesaving Tasmania for swift water rescue and also the Westpac rescue helicopter.

My advice to the communities being impacted is if you don’t need to leave home, don’t leave home.

If you’re asked through Tas Alert through the emergency warnings or otherwise to prepare to leave or to evacuate your houses, listen to the advice and move to the evacuation centres or places of safety outside the flood zones. By doing this, not only will you protect yourselves and your family members, but you’ll also allow emergency services to concentrate on those who are unable to move as easily, to assist them to go to places of safety.

The weather impact is significant and will continue through to the early hours of Friday morning. We want to get through this but be mindful, don’t go through flood waters: don’t drive, don’t walk, don’t swim in them. They’re dangerous and what you are doing is then putting yourself at risk and potentially also then diverting emergency resources to assist you because of something you’ve actually caused yourself.

Updated

Flood rescue under way in Liffey in Tasmania

Jonathan Higgins, an assistant commissioner of Tasmanian police, is reiterating warnings about driving through floodwaters:

The flood waters can be so strong that they can actually move your car as well and vehicles along the roads. So it is really important you don’t go into floodwaters. You don’t know what’s there.

Just because you think it is a straight stretch of road or a bridge, doesn’t mean there is not debris that has washed down through that system already and will be underneath.

He said emergency services are currently responding to a rescue at a property at Liffey where “we are using surf lifesaving swift water rescue capability to assist to get people to safety”.

Updated

Rain increasing above 100mm in parts of Tasmania

A press conference is now happening in Tasmania about the state’s extreme weather.

A Tasmanian Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson is the first up. He says:

The forecast heavy to intense rainfall that we have been talking about for the last couple of days has started to fall. We’ve seen rainfall ramp up overnight and into this morning. So, for example, we’ve had 30-60mm across much of northern Tasmania increasing to above 100mm in parts of the great western tiers and similar and smaller amounts up into parts of the north-east.

In particular, we saw up to 9am this morning 185mm at Great Lake and similar amounts along other parts of the tiers. We also saw over 100mm at Sheffield township. We expect that rainfall to continue through today.

It will start to ease in the very early hours of tomorrow morning. By about 3am the change … is directing that rainfall on to the north of the state, that change will come through and we will be left in westerlies, showers, much lighter rainfall and we won’t see similar heavy rainfalls as far as we can see, through to next week.

So the focus of the rainfall at least will be through the rest of today and into the early hours of tomorrow morning. That rainfall, of course, is producing a lot of flooding.

Over the last month and weeks we have seen soils become saturated, so the rainfall that falls has no capacity to be absorbed into the soil. It’s running straight into rivers. And we’re starting to see those rivers respond to the heavy rainfall yesterday and overnight. In particular, we have major flooding anticipated on several river basins in the north.

Updated

More than 1,200 properties in Victoria left without power from severe weather

Nearly 10,000 homes were without power overnight, with hundreds yet to be restored, AAP reports.

A Powercor spokesperson said:

Powercor crews are working to restore power to about 470 homes and businesses across western Victoria.

The State Control Centre, which manages state emergencies, said 1,211 properties are still without power.

Updated

More from AAP on the weather in Victoria:

The state emergency management commissioner, Andrew Crisp, said the heavy rain would reach metropolitan Melbourne on Thursday afternoon. He told the ABC:

We’ve had nearly 30mm of rain in the last 24 hours. We’ll probably see another 20 to 25mm on top of that.

Officials have been doorknocking along the Maribyrnong in inner Melbourne to ensure residents are on high alert, with search and rescue teams on standby.

Sarah-Jane Gill, a manager at the Rochester Riverside holiday park in rural Victoria, has been evacuating guests and said she could see the river rising from her home.

It is scary. You laugh in the face of it all, but we’re very nervous.

In 2011, a record flood hit the town of Rochester after the Campaspe River reached a historic peak of 9.12 metres.

The Bendigo mayor, Andrea Metcalf, has ordered parents to collect their children from council-run childcare centres by noon due to weather concerns. She said the area was bracing for the impact of severe flooding in Rochester to flow downstream to Bendigo.

The heavy rain also caused a landslide near Falls Creek on Wednesday. The slow-moving active slip forced the closure of Bogong High Plains Road at midday, with anyone left in the area told they might not be able to leave for three days.

Damaging gusts up to 110km/h are tipped to hit alpine peaks on Thursday and clear from Friday morning.

Updated

SES rescues five people driving through flood waters in Victoria

There have been multiple rescues across Victoria as the state was pummelled with rain overnight, causing flooding and thousands of power outages, AAP reports.

Severe weather warnings have been issued in most parts of the state.

State Emergency Service volunteers have rescued at least five people driving through floodwaters in rural areas, including a woman at Heathcote after her car filled with water to her feet.

The SES has received more than 800 calls for help, mainly in Swan Hill, Echuca and Seymour.

There are 46 sandbag collection points across the state and it’s believed thousands have been been distributed to residents so far.

At least 100mm of rain has already been recorded in the northern Goulburn-Broken catchment and State Emergency Service officials warn those in western and central regions are also at risk of serious impact.

Watch and act alerts are issued for major flooding on multiple river systems including the Campaspe in central Victoria, and the Ovens and King rivers in north-east Victoria.

In the 24 hours to 8am on Thursday, 40mm to 80mm were recorded in the Campaspe catchment, with up to another 100mm forecast throughout the day.

Updated

SES warns Australians not to drive through flood waters

As intense rainfall causes flooding in Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales today, emergency services are renewing their appeal to the public not to drive through flood waters.

Their warning comes as flooding in central west NSW claimed the life of a 46-year-old man south of Bathurst this week.

The man, who had been missing since Sunday, was found by police in his submerged vehicle on Tuesday.

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Australia’s defence relationship ‘even closer’ with PNG, defence minister says

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is holding a joint press conference with Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, in Port Moresby.

Marles talks about the existing defence relationship and wanting to make it “even closer”, with Australian and PNG defence personnel working more closely together and ensuring both countries’ defence forces are stronger.

Updated

Australian banks cop industry-wide outages

Australian banks have been temporarily crippled by industry-wide payment transfer outages, leaving frustrated customers in the lurch, AAP reports.

Big banks including ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac copped the fund transfer outage overnight.

Westpac said it was aware an issue had been identified by payment platform operators that was affecting all Australian financial institutions. The bank said on Wednesday night that it had “since been resolved”.

ANZ released a similar statement saying it was “experiencing an industry-wide outage” preventing the processing of payments.

CBA was also rocked by the issue affecting Osko payments. The bank advised customers not to retry their transactions.

Updated

NSW government rules out methane tax on agriculture

We brought you the news earlier that the federal agriculture minister, Murray Watt, said the government is considering signing onto the US president Joe Biden’s global methane pledge.

The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, isn’t keen on the idea, claiming the pledge which looks to curb cows’ methane production (bovine burps, essentially) would be “the death of the Australian BBQ”.

The comments come as New Zealand is set to introduce legislation which will see farmers pay for greenhouse gas emissions under world-first plans.

Now, the NSW government has released a statement this morning ruling out imposing a methane tax on agriculture and criticising New Zealand’s policy.

The deputy premier, Paul Toole, said a proposal by the New Zealand government to tax farmers for agriculture emissions from 2025 would only drive up farmers’ costs without giving them the necessary support to genuinely reduce emissions. Toole said:

We have a clear policy to partner with farmers to improve their productivity while reducing emissions – New Zealand Labour’s policy is the complete opposite, and has raised fears it will shrink their livestock industry and drive up the cost of food.

Our government has worked hard to shift the emphasis from regulation to incentive-based outcomes, putting us on track to halve our emissions while attracting up to $37 billion in private investment by 2030.

We call on NSW Labor to provide certainty to farmers and consumers that they will never introduce an agricultural methane tax like this.

The minister for agriculture, Dugald Saunders, said the NSW government is already working with the agriculture industry on some of those incentive-based initiatives.

We have the primary industries and productivity abatement program, biodiversity credits supply fund, and we are working on a range of new programs through our natural capital program.

We are also collaborating with Angus Australia, the University of New England and Meat and Livestock Australia on a $19m research project that aims to identify cattle that have a low methane output through breeding values.

These sorts of programs will make a real difference to improving our climate and reducing emission, demonstrating you don’t need a great big new tax to reduce on-farm emissions.

Updated

Tasmanian rivers swell due to intense rainfall

Updated

Warnings are coming through thick and fast as Victoria floods. Here are some of the latest, but you can check out the full list here.

Andrews government commits additional $13.6m to Australia's first public IVF service

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, and health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, have announced that, if re-elected in November, the government will spend an additional $13.6m on the state’s public IVF service, which begins taking patients next week.

Andrews told reporters at the Royal Women’s hospital:

This is all about providing thousands of Victorian families, thousands of Victorian women, with the support that they need in order to start a family. The joy of children is well known to us, we know how important that is, and we know that the IVF journey can be very, very challenging, very difficult, very complex. The end result of course is worth it, but anything we can do to make those fertility services as accessible as possible, is really important work.

At the 2018 election, Andrews pledged $32m to introduce a number of low-fee bulk-billing IVF clinics in Melbourne and regional Victoria, in an Australian first. Last year’s budget also allocated $70m on the project.

Andrews said the first clinic will open on 18 October and offer two free IVF cycles:

It will be providing services to around 4,000 women. We’re very pleased today to announce that if we’re elected in November, we will expand it by a further 1,000 women each and every year, and we will also move to have a number of satellite sites.

The sites, which will offer services such as initial consultations and pathology, will be established in Bendigo, Mildura, Shepparton, Geelong, Ballarat, Warrnambool, Epping, Sunshine and Heidelberg, he said.

Thomas said the clinic will also offer services such as fertility preservation, genetic testing, donor and surrogacy services – including Victoria’s first public sperm and egg bank – and a range of other treatments, counselling, information and support.

Prospective parents will need a referral from a GP or a specialist in order to access the services.

Updated

Rochester football ground underwater as SES sandbagging continues in Victoria

The rural Victorian town of Rochester has seen its footy ground go underwater. Flooding is affecting most of the state off the back of intense rainfall.

Guardian’s very own Calla Wahlquist is in central Victoria where she is trying to keep her horses dry.

Updated

Victorian emergency services received 600 calls for assistance before 9am

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is holding a press conference in Melbourne this morning as the state is hit by wild weather. He says the State Emergency Service has already received 600 calls for assistance to 9am this morning:

Obviously, we send our deep gratitude to every SES volunteer and all of our emergency services who are doing a very good job at the moment trying to support everybody affected by this rain event, which is now well and truly underway ...

I’m obliged again just to send the clearest of messages. Please, please don’t drive into flood waters. It’s very dangerous for you and it’s also very dangerous for the person who has to come and rescue you. The same can be said for walking into flood waters and of course, playing near flood waters is just as dangerous.

Andrews says he will be receiving updates from emergency services throughout the day and urged Victorians to keep an eye on the Vic Emergency website.

Updated

Government pledges more than $1m for LGBTQ+ sexual violence prevention

Here’s a little scoop for you – the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, is this morning announcing $1.1m in funding for LGBTQ+ sexual violence prevention, including a new national survey, research and evaluation of existing programs.

Rishworth will formally announce the funding in Melbourne this morning, at a La Trobe University event for the “Opening Doors” LGBTIQ-inclusive family, domestic and sexual violence services report at The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society.

The findings of the survey will go towards the government’s work in addressing family, domestic and sexual violence, ahead of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children being launched later this month. Rishworth said:

I want to make sure we aren’t leaving the LGBTQIA+ community behind in our conversation about family, domestic and sexual violence.

It is clear that dedicated investment is needed. We need to mainstream LGBTQIA+ perspectives into social policy so we can get to the root of the issue and work to stop violence before it happens.

The new funding comes after calls for dedicated data collection for LGBTQ+ communities on this problem, which has been shown to be as prevalent as in the general population by evidence presented to the royal commission into family violence.

Updated

Public service to develop in-house consulting model, minister announces

The Albanese government plans on rebuilding the public service to allow it to do its job – without constantly calling in consultants.

Katy Gallagher, who is also the minister for the public service among her other responsibilities, will address the Institute of Public Administration Australia a little later today where she’ll talk about the Albanese government’s planned reforms for the APS.

We’ve seen a sneak peek of the speech and it seems to address one of the issues public servants have spoken about for years – the loss of capability within the public service because of outsourcing.

The minister will say:

There is work to be done in repairing years of neglect suffered by our public institutions. Outsourcing, poor resourcing, clunky systems, and deliberate devaluing by the previous Morrison government has meant that the Australian people are looking at our institutions with a more jaundiced eye.

The Albanese Labor government’s plans to reform the APS will make it an organisation that is more capable, with greater integrity, placing people at the centre of what we do and a model for other governments and organisations to follow.

As part of that, Gallagher will announce:

To deliver on the government’s commitment to reduce reliance on consultants, government is working to develop an in-house consulting model for the APS to strengthen core capabilities and functions that have increasingly been contracted out to consultants at significantly higher costs.

There is already deep expertise in the APS, like data analytics and evaluation, customer service and event management, foreign policy, geoscience, or curating priceless historical collections.

An in-house consulting model will give public servants the opportunity to develop expertise further, build relationships, collaborate with colleagues, and challenge themselves in new ways. It can create opportunities to work across departments to support one APS.

We have started work on a model for the government to consider by the end of the year and I look forward to sharing more with you as we progress.

The APS academy, our central capability development program run from the APSC, has an important role to play here alongside the in-house consulting model. Let’s not give away some of our most interesting work on evaluation, project management and strategy to the private sector.

Updated

Images are coming through from Tasmania and Victoria as the states prepare for flooding amid intense rainfall.

ABC reporter in Tasmania Monte Bovill has images from Redwater Creek in Railton, while Channel Seven’s Sarah Krieg says the Victorian town of Wangaratta will be using Yogi Bear to measure the King River’s flood level.

Updated

Animals will suffer in extreme weather, wildlife organisation wars

We’ve been bringing you updates about flooding in Victoria, Tasmania and NSW. We know many Victorians are without power while many others are preparing to evacuate their homes. However, it’s not just humans feeling the effects.

Wildlife Victoria is anticipating the weather will see many more distressed or injured animals, and has doubled the number of responders on call to help deal with the substantial increase in demand.

Lisa Palma from the organisation told ABC News it’s a particularly dangerous time for wildlife due to breeding season.

So this time of year, all of our wildlife have young, so they are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather … What we saw this time last year in just one day of similar conditions [was] over 950 calls statewide into the wildlife Victoria emergency response service, so it is going to be pretty tough for our animals out there.

Typically what we will see [is] birds flying from nests, so this time of year we have got a lot of chicks in nests, fledgling birds about. We will see animals like grey-headed flying foxes, who are a threatened species, often crash-landing into balconies.

We will see animals waterlogged, tree branches come down; we typically see a lot of injuries, so we have injured adults and orphans to deal with.

The first thing in this kind of weather is to call us first, do not attempt to go into dangerous conditions. Call 8400 7300, one of our operators will take your name, mobile number and a description of what is going on. We will then determine what to do from there. In most cases that will involve us deploying one of our trained rescue volunteers to attend the animal.

What typically happens in this sort of weather [is] the humans bunker down at home, but our animals are out there, and we are usually dealing with the effects for weeks afterwards.

I still worry about this wallaby that Guardian photographer Mike Bowers and I saw in Forbes last year.

A wallaby swims in the swollen Lachlan River as it began to inundate low lying areas of South Forbes this morning.
A wallaby swims in the swollen Lachlan River as it began to inundate low lying areas of South Forbes this morning. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

‘Unbelievable’ volume of rain in Bendigo

Intense rainfall in Victoria is seeing rivers swell, increasing the possibility of flash flooding.

The federal member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters, shared this image from her electorate, saying:

I’ve never seen the Back Creek in Bendigo this high before. It’s usually a trickle. The volume of rain coming down across the region unbelievable.

Updated

Government to register concerns with Indonesian authorities following Bali bombings commemoration

We brought you the news on the blog earlier that Australian family and friends of Bali bombings victims have been left distressed by the late-night ceremony at Kuta’s ground zero monument, which was timed to coincide with the time of the 2002 explosions, just after 11pm.

A graphic film that was screened beside the monument depicted the explosions at the nightclubs and their aftermath, as well as images of the bomb maker Umar Patek, who is controversially facing early release from prison.

Jeff Marshall, whose father, Bob Marshall, was killed, told the ABC he was stunned and saddened by the commemoration:

It just ripped our hearts apart seeing it all again.

I came back to fulfil that need of wanting to commemorate and respect him and all the other lives lost. I feel like it hasn’t been done now. I feel like we’ve been robbed.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson has released a statement clarifying that the Australian government was not involved in the event’s organisation and expressing their disappointment:

The Australian government’s focus on the anniversary was honouring the lives of the victims and the courage and resilience shown by survivors and their families at our daytime services in Bali, in Canberra, and at events across the country.

The Australian government wasn’t involved in organising the evening event in Bali. We are deeply disappointed by the decisions made by organisers. We will be formally registering our concerns with the Indonesian authorities.

We understand the distress it has caused and stand ready to offer assistance to any Australians who may need it.

Updated

Up to 200mm of extra rain in Tasmania could see major flooding, meteorologist warns

The latest advice from weather modelling suggests northern Tasmania could see an additional 100-200mm of rain over the next 24 hours, on top of the 50-100 mm that has already fallen, according to meteorologist Ben Domensino.

Domensino says the latest guidance is “concerning” with major flooding possible.

Fremantle becomes eighth council to ban fossil fuel advertising

Local government in Fremantle have voted to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies. The restriction only applies to council-owned buildings, but could include advertising from Woodside Energy, the main sponsor of the Fremantle Dockers, at Fremantle Oval.

The Western Australian council joins seven others around Australia who have made the stand against promoting fossil fuels.

Updated

Qantas to boost wages in expectation of ‘very strong’ profit

Qantas says it has returned to profitability after five consecutive half-year losses due to Covid-19, and is promising $40m in wage increases, AAP reports.

Chief executive Alan Joyce says the carrier expected a “very strong” profit before tax of between $1.2bn and $1.3bn for the first half of 2022-23.

He told reporters today:

It’s a remarkable turnaround. The main drivers of this performance are strong travel demand, both domestically and internationally.

Revenue for business travel was more than 100% of pre-Covid levels and leisure travel was up 130% from before the pandemic, he said.

But costs are also up, with supply chains still snarled and the airline having to have more crew on standby, along with 20 spare aircraft.

Joyce said Qantas would boost worker pay by 10%:

We know our people have done it tough, including long periods of stand-down and a two-year wage freeze.

Updated

Riverina MP Michael McCormack has shared some images of flooding in his electorate:

Updated

Victoria’s rain cycle could last up to eight weeks, emergency services say

Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp has warned the state’s flood risk won’t end any time soon. He told 3AW Radio:

The bureau are saying we’ll continue to see this cycle over the next six to eight weeks.

If you don’t need to be on the roads today, please don’t be on the roads, because it’s not just about the floods, it’s also about the trees.

He says the state is “in this for a while”, with Victorians in for a “campaign flood event”.

Updated

Push to end no-grounds evictions in NSW

It could soon be illegal to evict a tenant from their home without a reason in NSW, in a move that could provide stability to about 1 million renters, AAP reports.

The Greens will introduce a bill to the NSW parliament today which would bring an end to “no-grounds evictions” – where tenants are forced to leave their home without being given a reason why.

Under current rules, renters can be evicted after a six- or 12-month lease, without the landlord having to give a reason.

There is no recourse for renters evicted under “no grounds” – even if they have paid rent on time, and have otherwise been a model tenant.

Greens MP Jenny Leong says scrapping no-grounds evictions would ease cost-of-living pressures for the third of households in the state who rent.

Renters now face being hit with rent increases, and are reluctant to negotiate basic repairs because of fear of being kicked out of their homes.

Leong said:

The power imbalance is seriously off when people’s landlords have the power to make [renters] homeless with no grounds evictions.

The Newtown MP said if the bill was successful about a million renters could spend Christmas in more stable housing.

In 2018 the NSW parliament came close to abolishing no-grounds evictions, during a review of the Residential Tenancies Act.

An amendment which would have seen no-grounds evictions scrapped was supported by Labor, the Greens and independent MPs, but was opposed by the government.

Updated

SES door knocking in Tasmania

ABC reporter Monte Bovill has shared this image of flooding at Redwater Creek in Railton, where he says emergency services are door knocking at nearby homes.

Updated

Body found near Sydney motorway

A body has been found near a highway in Sydney’s south-west, with police investigating whether it is that of a hit-and-run victim, AAP reports.

Police say the human remains were found yesterday afternoon on the Hume Motorway near Campbelltown:

Police commenced a search along the Hume Highway after reports were received that a person had possibly been hit by a vehicle earlier in the week.

A crime scene was established and officers began an investigation to recover the remains, which will be forensically examined.

It’s believed a person – who has not been identified – was hit by a vehicle in the area earlier this week.

Investigations continue and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Updated

‘Walk the talk Labor’: Spender urges government to help households decarbonise

Independent MP Allegra Spender has taken to social media to urge the Albanese government to take action supporting Australian households as they decarbonise:

Our families and businesses are hurting. Sovereign risk is not a defence when the super profits are being made because of a war.

Updated

Mandatory Covid isolation ends tomorrow

A reminder that from tomorrow people who test positive for Covid will no longer be subjected to a mandatory isolation period.

That comes after a decision by the national cabinet two weeks ago.

And that also means there will be no more sick pay for casuals who have Covid, making their decision to stay home if positive all the harder, given that the bills don’t stop.

The only exception is for people in the health, aged care and disability sectors. There are still mandatory isolation periods in place for those industries and a government-provided sick leave for workers without those entitlements.

But for everyone else, it ends tomorrow.

Updated

Treasurer to discuss intensifying global economic challenge with G20 leaders in US

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is in Washington DC where he is meeting with top economic leaders as he finalises the federal budget.

He will take part in high-level meeting with 20 of the world’s largest economies and the International Monetary Fund, where topics will include the war in the Ukraine and energy security amid the climate crisis.

President Joe Biden has downplayed the risk the US will go into a recession but Chalmers isn’t so optimistic. He told reporters in the US capital:

I think that is the broad expectation that some of the big economies that we monitor most closely are at real risk of recession. The risk of recession in some of the major economies has clearly edged over from possible to probable, and that will have implications for us.

Updated

Major flooding expected for three Victorian river systems

Tim Wiebusch, the chief officer of SES Victoria, told ABC News Breakfast:

We have seen 100mm of rain already in the north-east of the state. We have seen another 50mm of rain in some parts of the western parts of the state, we have a watch and act out for major flooding on three river systems.

The first is the Campaspe River in the central part of Victoria where we could see major flooding in through the Rochester township come Saturday.

Then across in the north-east we have a watch and Act major flood warning out for the Ovens River and Kings River, which are around Wangaratta. On Saturday, major flooding expected there.

What is the advice being given to residents those areas?

Our advice this morning as we are expecting a lot of flash flooding this morning ahead of the riverine flooding on Friday and into the weekend. We can’t emphasise enough not to attempt to drive through flood waters. It could be the last decision you make.

We are advising residents to make sure they are going to the emergency site to understand what the warnings are, downloaded the local flood guide off the SES website from Bung Bong, so you can understand what the risks are in your area.

Wiebusch said full catchments also risk exacerbating flooding:

Our catchments at saturation, many at 100% and spilling, which means we’re already seeing reasonable flows at minor to moderate levels, and a number of rivers across on the north of the divide here in Victoria to reach major flooding, and even in our site at Mount Emu Creek at Skipton.

Updated

More flood warnings for Victoria

Government is considering signing up to Biden’s methane pledge, agriculture minister says

There has been a bit of chat about Australia signing up to Joe Biden’s methane pledge lately. No decision has been made as yet, but agricultural minister Murray Watt says it is something the government is considering.

He told ABC radio RN:

For some time now, I and other ministers have been consulting with farm groups and individual farmers about how they feel about this and what the impacts would be.

To be honest with you, I was surprised when I became the minister and I think my colleagues felt the same way – after all the consternation we saw about the methane pledge in the lead up to the last Cop [UN climate summit] – we were told by Barnaby Joyce and other people that if Australia signed up to this pledge, it would mean we’d have to go around and shoot every cow in the country and all the usual hyperbole you get from Barnaby.

In fact, what it actually is, is an aspirational goal from the world to bring down our methane emissions, which is something not only that I support, but that most farm groups support.

I think Meat and Livestock Australia, the Red Meat Advisory Council and other groups have already got commitments in place to reach carbon-neutral meat production by 2030. And we’re working closely with the industry to help them reduce their methane emissions. So I would encourage everyone to ignore the scare campaign that is going to come.

So no decision yet but Watt was talking it up so it sounds like it is almost a done deal. Previously there had been pushback from the National Farmers’ Federation but it looks like this will be something Australia will be signing up to.

And right on cue – a press release from Nationals leader David Littleproud lobbed in our inboxes about how the methane pledge would be “the death of the Australian BBQ”.

Littleproud claims:

Prime minister Anthony Albanese wants to take away the backyard BBQ.

We know Australians love their sausages, steaks, rissoles and lamb meals – all of that will become out of reach for many. We do not want to see the Aussie BBQ available to only the rich – we urge Labor to reject the methane madness idea and embrace the Aussie BBQ spirit instead of destroy it.

It’s giving 2019 “electric vehicles will be the death of the weekend” vibes. And not in a good way. The Nationals might need to update their criticism cupboard.

Updated

Bureau of Meteorology provides flooding update for Tasmania, Victoria and NSW

Jonathan How from the Bureau of Meteorology has shared the following state-by-state weather update with ABC News Breakfast.

How said there was “significant concern right across south-eastern Australia but particularly Tasmania”.

Tasmania:

We do have a warning for heavy to intense rainfall across the north as well as damaging winds along the east coast and damaging conditions and waves more than 5m. Already seen rainfall totals overnight of up to and exceeding 140mm for some parts of northern Tasmania.

And there is a lot more to come. So we do have a number of flood watches and already flood warnings … and really concerned about locations about Sheffield, Evansdale and Deloraine. We could see flooding approach the levels back in 2016. Really significant flooding for Tasmania to come with this heavy rainfall.

Victoria:

Most of northern and central Victoria including Melbourne is under that warning for heavy rainfall and overnight we have seen more than 100mm at Strathbogie. And most of that rainfall has fallen north of the divide in Melbourne – the gauges getting about 20mm or so –but we are expecting that rainfall to pick up through the day, particularly north of the divide. And from Melbourne we’ll see the heavy rain increasing into the afternoon and evenings.

Damaging winds across the alpine areas which could cause trees to come down, of course, there is a risk of landslides and we have issued quite a number of flood warnings already, including for places like Euroa which is expecting moderate flooding today and many other rivers across the north.

NSW:

Overnight the biggest falls actually in Broken Hill. They now set a new record for the highest October daily rainfall record, more than 50mm overnight but that warning stretches to the Snowy Mountains through to the Riverina. We see that heavy rain pick up this afternoon with strong winds.

We are still seeing lots of flooding areas across the central west and the north-west of the state. They’ll see the rainfall push tomorrow, thankfully, though, not going to see as much as what we have seen further south, but still could cause some renewed rises through some of those flood-affected areas already.

This system will shift on pretty quickly, which is good news. But taking a look at the outlook, next week, looks like we got another round of widespread falls to come. Yes, right, the immediate focus will be the rainfall event. It will push off the New South Wales coast tomorrow and won’t stick around for that much longer.

While we see sunny skies on Saturday, many places will still be in flood. We’ll remind people to stay out of the flood waters. We do see a couple of dry days early next week but there is another system brewing from the west. We see that move across WA and South Australia on Tuesday, reaching the eastern states on Wednesday and Thursday and this one will get up into northern New South Wales and much of Queensland as well. This one looks to be a bit more stormy.

Updated

Emergency management minister discusses flood disasters

The emergency management and agriculture minister Murray Watt is speaking to ABC Radio to discuss flood disasters caused by the third La Niña in a row.

Watt says many people in urban areas don’t realise the reality of isolation faced by communities in rural flood-hit areas.

He says the new government support announced this week amounts to 13 weeks’ payment at the jobseeker level which will help isolated people pay bills and rent or mortgages.

As for the long-term solution, and the possibility of people having to move away from flood-prone locations, Watt says:

It depends on the location we’re talking about.

He says he doesn’t think it’s realistic to be able relocate every farm in central west NSW, with the conversation more relevant to significant urban developments in flood-prone areas.

Updated

Faith leaders call on government to end to new coal or gas projects

Senior faith leaders across Australia and the Pacific are pushing the Albanese government to increase Australia’s ambition on climate, calling for an end to all any new coal or gas projects and the scrapping of public subsidies for fossil fuel projects.

One hundred religious and First Nation leaders from across the region have signed an open letter to Anthony Albanese, asking for a stronger, and more urgent response to the climate crisis.

The letter, published in Australian newspapers and sent to Albanese directly, states:

Australia is a wealthy country that profits from exports that are causing the crisis. We hear the cries of anguish from those most vulnerable in the human family who are losing their lives, livelihoods and homes through climate-fuelled disasters.

The current level of warming is not safe. This moment in history calls for an urgent, courageous, visionary response, especially from those in power. Australia’s leadership in this response, as part of its First Nations Foreign Policy, is vital for the vulnerable communities and ecosystems who depend on it.

Signatories include senior leaders of the Anglican church in Australia and the Pacific, the president of the National Council of Churches, the grand mufti of Australia, and president of the Uniting church, as well as leaders from Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu and Brahma Kumaris faiths.

To coincide with the letter, which was organised by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, multi-faith services for climate justice are being held across Australia and the Pacific, including at the Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral in Suva and the Catholic Maneaba in Kiribati.

The Rev James Bhagwan, the general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, said Australian coal and gas was a threat to his home’s survival “and it doesn’t matter where they’re burned”:

Whether Australian coal and gas is burned overseas or on Australian soil, our homes and cultures are threatened either way.

New coal and gas projects are a death sentence to the Pacific way of life and life in the Pacific.

We in the Pacific have welcomed the willingness of the new Australian Government to listen to the peoples of the Pacific.

The signatories also want Australia to restart contributions to the UN’s green climate fund and “First Nations peoples’ rights to protect Country are fully respected, that there be an orderly and supported transition for coal and gas dependent communities, and endorsement of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty”.

It is part of a global faith campaign under the Faiths 4 Climate Justice banner, where religious leaders urge political leaders to “protect God’s creation”.

More pressure will be put on the Australian government before the next UN climate summit in November.

Updated

Good morning!

Victoria, Tasmania and NSW are bracing for flooding, with warnings in place across all three states.

Most of northern and central Victoria including Melbourne is under warning for heavy rainfall, with 12 watch-and-act warnings in place for flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology says Strathbogie had more than 100mm of rain overnight, most of which has fallen north of the divide. In Melbourne, heavy rain is forecast to increase into the afternoon and evenings.

There have been 400 calls for help in last 24 hours across the state, with more than 700 properties are without power.

In Tasmania communities in the northern half of the state are on high alert for flash flooding, with the rainfall expected to reach the levels of the 2016 floods in which three people died.

Significant rain is expected today and into tomorrow, with 60mm to 100mm in the northern parts of the state, 180mm in the north-east and up to 250mm around the Great Western Tiers.

In NSW flooding continues to affect inland parts of the state, with the possibility of more evacuation orders for the central west town of Forbes and Wagga Wagga in the south.

Overseas, Australian family and friends of Bali bombings victims have been left shocked by the late-night ceremony at Kuta’s ground zero monument, which was timed to coincide with the time of the 2002 explosions, just after 11pm.

A graphic film screened beside the monument depicted the explosions at the nightclubs and their aftermath, as well as images of the bomb maker Umar Patek, who is controversially facing early release.

The ABC’s Anne Barker described the graphic footage as “effectively propaganda videos” by Indonesian authorities – “the worst vision you could imagine of those events, and vision of the wounded”.

Jeff Marshall, whose father Bob Marshall was killed, told the ABC he was stunned and saddened:

It just ripped our hearts apart seeing it all again. We’re not allowed to go into the Sari club to light candles like we have before … It seems to me it’s all about them.

I feel really sad, I feel really sick. I came back to fulfil that need of wanting to come back to commemorate and respect him and all the other lives lost. I feel like it hasn’t been done now. I feel like we’ve been robbed.

On that really sad note, let’s get going.

Updated

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