What we learned: Sunday 9 June
That is all for today, folks. Thank you for joining us on the blog. Here is a wrap-up:
Flood-hit NSW communities have been warned to exercise caution as they return to their homes owing to the widespread damage in those areas hit.
Queensland will up the discount available to first homebuyers to allow those eligible to save roughly $17k when buying a house.
The Coalition has been criticised over its moving target on climate change after Peter Dutton flagged his party would abandon the 2030 emissions target if re-elected.
The NSW health system will get a $480m boost to give more free telehealth appointments, bolster urgent care clinics and expand emergency departments to ease the pressure on the state’s hospitals.
The Palestinian football chief has reportedly been denied entry to Australia over a visa “technicality”.
Greens leader Adam Bandt has called for sanctions against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet ministers over their role in carrying on the invasion in Gaza.
We will be back tomorrow morning with all the latest.
Updated
Vivid Sydney to get extra police after crowd crush reported
Police reinforcements have been brought in after huge, densely packed crowds at Vivid Sydney’s light festival prompted safety concerns around the harbour, with people saying they felt trapped in the crush.
A highly anticipated drone show around Circular Quay on Saturday night saw thousands line the harbour as part of the 23-day festival, with long weekend crowds gathering en masse.
The crush prompted organisers to post on X, formerly known as Twitter, around 8.30pm asking people to avoid Circular Quay.
Following the drone show, one user on X said there was a dangerous crowd crush near the Overseas Passenger Terminal.
NSW health minister Ryan Park said extra police would be on duty on Sunday night for the second drone show.
It’s an incredibly popular event. It’s a long weekend. It’s good weather at the moment, people are out and about.
Police advise that there was a lot of people there, a lot more than expected.
Park asked people not to go to the foreshore unless it was necessary, saying that “if you can see the city, you’ll be able to see the light show”.
You don’t have to be right down there at the foreshore.
– AAP
Updated
NSW debt worse off after $1bn error – report
A $1bn mistake in the New South Wales state government means the state’s debt position has been incorrectly reported for five years.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the error was caused when property sales for Sydney Metro were counted twice.
Normally, sales of property are counted only once.
The effect of the accounting means that the state’s debt position is actually worse than reported since 2018.
The true state of NSW’s debt position will be $119bn.
A drop in GST payments in 2024 will also mean the state will receive $1.9bn less next financial year than previously forecast.
Updated
Five badly injured in Brisbane road crash
Five people remain in hospital after a “very high impact” two-car collision in Brisbane left passengers with life-threatening injuries.
Queensland police and ambulance services were called to the suburb of Forest Lake on Saturday just after 10pm, when a Mercedes-Benz had collided with a Toyota Landcruiser at an intersection.
Dr Stephen Rashford from Queensland Ambulance Service said all five patients sustained a combination of life-threatening injuries including internal bleeding and multiple fractures.
This is a very high-impact crash involving five patients.
This incident consumed significant resources on an already very busy Saturday night.
This included five ambulances, two critical care paramedics, an ambulance medical officer and a supervisor.
A man in his 20s was taken in a serious condition to the Princess Alexandra Hospital with chest and abdominal injuries.
Another man in his 20s, also a passenger in the Mercedes, was taken to the same hospital with limb injuries in a stable condition.
A woman in her 20s was taken in a stable condition to the Princess Alexandra Hospital with limb injuries.
Two more patients were taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital, including the driver of the Landcruiser, a woman in her 50s with abdominal injuries, and a woman in her 20s with minor injuries.
The forensic crash unit is investigating the crash.
– AAP
Updated
Bandt calls for sanctions on Netanyahu's 'extreme war cabinet'
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has continued his criticism of Labor’s response to the conflict in Gaza, accusing the federal government of “empty words as they continue to back the invasion and let [Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu] get away with absolutely zero consequences”.
In an advance copy of Bandt’s speech, seen by Guardian Australia, the minor party leader planned to tell a Melbourne rally at the state library on Sunday that the Albanese government needed to place more pressure on the Israeli government to end its campaign in Gaza.
Bandt said Labor must place sanctions on Netanyahu’s “extreme war cabinet”, cancel specific defence contracts and rule out two-way military trade.
He also called on the leader to expel the Israeli ambassador until the conflict ends and for Australia to recognise Palestine as a state.
All of this can be done and must be done. Otherwise, everything from Labor is empty words as they continue to back the invasion and let Netanyahu get away with absolutely zero consequences.
The Melbourne MP urged the rally to ensure protests were kept peaceful in response to what he said was “slander” and “lies” from politicians and the media to discredit them.
Now I understand you will be marching after this. I know you will make your views heard peacefully. There has been so much slander about your peaceful protests that I just want to make something crystal clear, something you all know already: there is no place for violence in our politics, against people, politicians, their staff or their offices, and everyone has the right to feel safe. I know that is not what you’re about, but I’m just making this clear for the Labor and Liberal politicians and those in the media who are now attacking your peaceful protests and deliberately trying to discredit you and stop you from speaking out. Their lies cannot stop the push for peace. Keep being peaceful, and keep being powerful, and we will win.
Last week, the Greens were criticised by both major parties for allegedly encouraging protests at MPs’ electoral offices in recent months.
Anthony Albanese on Tuesday condemned pro-Palestinian protests outside MPs’ offices in the months since 7 October as a bad development for democracy, with some Labor MPs claiming they and their staff had been intimidated in some instances.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, called the Greens “evil” and accused Bandt of being “unfit” for public office.
Updated
Man stabbed in SA road rage altercation
South Australian police are investigating a road rage incident where the driver of a black VW Golf stabbed the rider of a black Suzuki motorbike.
The incident took place at the Gepps Cross intersection at Blair Athol about 9pm on Saturday.
Witnesses reported an altercation between the driver of the car and the motorbike rider. When emergency services arrived, they found a 21-year-old man with a stab wound to his lower back, and he was transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The VW was last seen travelling north on Port Wakefield Road.
Police have spoken to the registered owner of the car and have seized the vehicle as evidence.
The investigation remains ongoing and police are appealing to anyone who witnessed the encounter, or anyone with dash-cam footage, to contact Crime Stoppers.
Updated
Palestinian football chief reportedly denied entry to Australia over visa ‘technicality’
Reports the head of the Palestine Football Association has been denied entry into Australia is a matter for the government, according to Football Australia.
The Socceroos are scheduled to take on Palestine in a World Cup qualifier in Perth on Tuesday night.
7 News reports Palestine Football Association president Jibril Rajoub was denied entry over a “technicality” in his visa application and was not onboard a private plane carrying players that touched down in Perth on Saturday.
A spokesperson for Football Australia said the organisation provided visa support to all visiting football delegations, in line with responsibilities as the host member association.
Football Australia is aware of the situation regarding the president of the Palestine Football Association, Jibril Rajoub.
This is a matter for the Australian government.
The sporting body will continue to work with the federal government to facilitate the arrival of football stakeholders, they added.
Rajoub is a politician and also the chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee.
He met with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach in Lausanne, Switzerland, in April.
The Department of Home Affairs does not comment on individual cases but a spokesperson said all non-citizens applying for visas were considered on an individual basis against requirements in national migration legislation.
International football’s governing body, Fifa, said responsibilities for granting entry to a country rested with relevant national authorities.
Fifa is in favour of the entry and exit of all members of all delegations, for all international fixtures.
The Palestine Football Association has been contacted for comment.
Updated
WA liquor curbs to tighten – report
Broome and Derby will face new restrictions on alcohol sales over concerns about anti-social behaviour.
The West Australian reports that Lanie Chopping, director of Liquor Licensing, will intervene to restrict sales of take-away alcohol in the Kimberley towns after months of speculation.
Updated
‘Great wealth transfer’ between generations under way
After decades of building up wealth, baby boomers are handing down trillions in gifts and inheritance in a massive transfer of wealth from one generation to the next.
The underlying principles of divvying up money, property and other assets remain more or less the same under what’s being called the “great wealth transfer”, according to legal professionals.
In 2018-19, the average inheritance was $125,000 and 50 was the typical age of a recipient, according to Productivity Commission research from a few years ago.
With forced retirement saving, longer careers and rising property values, personal wealth has been growing and the commission expects inheritances and gifts to lift in parallel, with the $120bn total passed on in 2018 already double that of 2002.
Australia’s over-60s are expected to transfer around $3.5tn of their wealth to younger generations in the next 20 years, or an average of about $175bn per year.
– AAP
Updated
Jobs, population and business updates on the way
Appetite among businesses for hiring in a barely growing economy will be on show as official labour market data is rolled out for the month of May.
Thursday’s labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics is expected to underline resilience despite an economy losing steam in the face of higher interest rates and persistent price pressures.
Even with the March quarter national accounts showing an economy expanding just 0.1%, the unemployment rate may actually drop back below 4% in May, a heartening sign for those looking for work.
As well as jobs data on Thursday, fresh ABS population statistics for 2023 year-end will be of interest given the political focus on migration levels post-pandemic.
The pulse of the business sector will also be taken, with National Australia Bank set to release its monthly survey on Tuesday.
The business survey will be followed by overseas arrivals and departures data from the ABS on Wednesday, and Commonwealth Bank’s household spending insights data on Thursday.
– AAP
Updated
A non-citizen convicted of offences related to alleged drink-spiking who Andrew Giles said he wanted to be “rid of” has had a major win in court, with the commonwealth conceding he cannot be deported.
On Tuesday the federal circuit court made declarations that “there was no real prospect of removal” of businessman Safwat Abdel-Hady currently or in the period 28 July 2022 to 13 February 2024 and his detention was not authorised by the Migration Act for those 18 months.
The findings open the way for Abdel-Hady to pursue damages for false imprisonment in that period, which includes three months after the high court ruled on 8 November 2023 in the NZYQ case that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful where there is no prospect of removal.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent, Paul Karp:
Updated
Police warn of surge in internet malware trying to steal information
Australian internet users have been warned about a jump in criminals secretly taking control of their devices by hiding viruses in legitimate email attachments and popular video games.
Australian federal police say there’s been a surge in remote access trojans, also known as Rats, which allow third parties to spy on people and steal their personal information.
Computer video modifications and downloadable email attachments hidden in what appears to be legitimate links are the biggest culprits.
Criminals have targeted popular games including Runescape, Minecraft, PUBG: Battlegrounds and ARK Survival, the force said.
The malware allows criminals to access webcams, microphones, passwords, location history and other data held on the device.
The force’s acting Assistant Commissioner, Chris Goldsmid, likened the viruses to the plague as he urged Australians to continually update their virus protection and software.
He said some viruses aren’t detected by antivirus software so victims may not even know if malware has already been installed on their device.
This type of cyber offending can evolve into extreme and malicious forms of data theft and victim manipulation, with criminals using stolen data to commit extortion or financial crimes.
In April, an Australian man was charged after allegedly developing and selling a Rat on a hacking forum, while in June 2023 a Geelong man was sentenced to a three-year good behaviour bond for buying one of the viruses online.
A 27-year-old Maltese national was also arrested overseas in February for allegedly distributing a virus in the popular game Warzone, partly due to intelligence provided by federal police.
Using a remote access trojan in Australia in any way carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
– AAP
Updated
Dutton vows ‘immediate’ deportation of non-citizens for dangerous crimes
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged that his government will deport any non-citizen who commits a dangerous crime in Australia.
They don’t [deserve to say] and they should be deported immediately.
Dutton made the comments to the Weekend Australian, where he accused the Labor government of undermining faith in Australia’s migration system by ‘bringing in thousands of people who haven’t been properly checked from a war zone.’
[There are] millions of people who want to come to our country – be law abiding, help their neighbours, not rob them; go to work, not turn up to a Centrelink office.
The interview marks two years since the Coalition entered opposition and an effort by Dutton to frame the party’s political platform going into the next election.
Updated
NSW health system gets $480m boost
More free telehealth appointments, a boost to urgent care clinics and expanding emergency departments are part of a $480m bid to ease pressure on New South Wales hospitals.
The health funding boost in the upcoming state budget is designed to avoid 290,000 visits to emergency departments each year and improve the flow of patients through the health system, according to the state government.
It comes against a backdrop of a record number of serious presentations to triage services and ambulance responders.
Some $171m is being pumped into the Healthdirect single front door program, allowing more people in need of urgent care to have virtual medical appointments instead of going to emergency if deemed appropriate.
The service is free for anyone with Medicare.
Urgent care clinics that provide immediate care for non-life threatening conditions will also receive a $100m boost, while $70m will go towards expanding emergency department short stay units.
An additional $31m will be spent on expanding the capacity of the Hospital in the Home program.
Health minister Ryan Park said the funding had been targeted towards strategically important areas that could provide alternatives to emergency departments.
We are building on the success of our virtual and urgent care services that bridge the gap between primary care and emergency care, and ultimately improving access to healthcare for people across NSW.
The state government is expected to reveal further details of the package on Sunday morning.
– AAP
Updated
Opposition leader accused of trying to scrap Australia’s commitment to Paris agreement
Peter Dutton has been accused of planning to break Australia’s commitment to the landmark Paris climate agreement after he said he would reject the country’s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target.
The opposition leader reportedly told the Weekend Australian that he would oppose the legislated 2030 emissions target – a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – at the next election but remain committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
Dutton also reportedly conceded that the Coalition’s commitment to introduce nuclear power in Australia would not lead to plants being built before 2040, a point made by experts, and critics who have accused the opposition of planning to delay action to address the climate crisis.
The opposition leader said he would do more to promote the use of gas, a fossil fuel. He was quoted as saying there was “no sense in signing up to targets you don’t have any prospect of achieving”.
The News Corp story did not mention departmental projections that last year suggested the country was likely to make a 42% cut by 2030 based on an assessment of existing and announced policies. The government said it showed the 43% target was within reach.
For more on what’s going on with Australia’s emissions reduction targets, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s environment climate and editor, Adam Morton:
Updated
Coalition’s climate target move a ‘big mistake’, Labor says
The education minister, Jason Clare, has criticised the opposition’s “big mistake” on its climate change goals after Peter Dutton reportedly told the media he would ditch Australia’s 43% emissions reduction target by 2030 if elected.
Dutton was quoted in the Weekend Australian on Saturday as saying there was “no sense in signing up to targets you don’t have any prospect of achieving”.
On ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning, the shadow communications minister, David Coleman, reiterated the Coalition would reveal its policy on meeting the Paris agreement “well in advance of the election”, but added: “We won’t maintain a Chris Bowen fantasy when it plainly won’t happen.”
Clare, on Sky’s Sunday Agenda, described the move as a “big mistake” and said Dutton’s decision makes “Tony Abbott look like Al Gore”.
Clare said:
I think Peter Dutton’s made a big mistake. I think any Australian who thinks climate change is real would think now that Peter Dutton is a real risk – risk to investment or risk to jobs but just a risk that Australia will do nothing to tackle climate change. You know, even Tony Abbott didn’t pull out of a global agreement on climate change and he thinks it’s crap. You know, this makes Tony Abbott look like Al Gore. No wonder that you had a couple of Liberal MPs in the last few weeks hot to trot to bring Josh Frydenberg back.
The Coalition is expected soon to unveil its plan to introduce nuclear energy into Australia, if elected, following a repeal of the ban.
Clare said:
[Nuclear] costs a bomb. It costs a fortune wherever it’s been rolled out, or attempted to be rolled out. Around the world costs have blown out. So it costs a bomb. It takes too long. And to be frank, it’s about as popular as a mother-in-law on a honeymoon. Most Australians who look at this [plan] don’t want a bar of it.
Updated
Weekend auction levels dive
Auction activity has fallen dramatically this weekend, with 1,281 auctions to be held over the long weekend.
This is nearly half the 2,380 auctions held last week but still above the 1,033 auctions that occurred at the same time last year.
Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 67.3% across the country, which is lower than the 71.4% preliminary rate recorded last week but just above the 66.2% actual rate on final numbers.
Across the capital cities:
Sydney: 408 of 508 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 70.1%
Melbourne: 342 of 468 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 63.2%
Brisbane: 94 0f 125 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 67%
Adelaide: 60 of 97 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 85%
Canberra: 42 of 67 auctions with a preliminary clearance rate of 52.4%
Tasmania: One auction to be held
Perth: Eight of 15 auctions held
Updated
Queensland to lift stamp duty threshold for first-home buyers
Queensland will bump up the threshold for people to access a new homebuyers’ discount on stamp duty to help 10,000 people a year into the property market.
Queensland premier Steven Miles told a press conference on Sunday that the measure would feature in upcoming state budget, due to be delivered on Tuesday.
The discount means eligible homebuyers will save up to $17,350 when they buy.
The threshold for a concession on transfer duty will be raised from $500k to $799k, making thousands of new buyers eligible. It will phase out for values above $800k.
The measure will also apply to vacant land with the threshold rising from $250k to $350k, and phase out from $500k.
The Queensland government will offset the growth in demand by increasing the foreign investor land tax surcharge to 3% and the transfer duty surcharge for foreign buyers to 8%.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Miles described the policy as an “awesome” announcement.
The fact of the matter is, the best we can do for a Queenslander’s cost of living for the lifetime is help get them into their first home. We know that when someone owns their first home, once they are in the property ownership system, they will be better off alive. And so we don’t just aspire for Queenslanders to have a roof over their heads, we aspire for them to have prosperity for a lifetime, we aspire for them to own their own home.
In the past four years, $216m in transfer concessions has applied to 17,660 first home buyer transactions in Brisbane.
A further 76,241 homeowners had the transfer duty home concession applied to the purchase of their Brisbane home.
– AAP
Updated
Western Victorian power lines plan faces community backlash
The Victorian government is facing vocal backlash from communities across western Victoria over two proposals to build high-voltage transmission lines to transport energy between states as more renewables come online.
They are the Victoria to NSW Interconnector West – known as VNI West – and the Western Renewables Link, a transmission line intended to carry wind and solar-powered energy from a power station in Bulgana in western Victoria to Sydenham in Melbourne’s north-west.
For several years, communities have campaigned against the lines, which will travel hundreds of kilometres and include owners as high as 85 metres in some locations. They argue they should be built either underground or along different routes.
Consultation on the government’s proposal is open until 16 June, with a final plan to be published late this year. A bill creating the community benefit scheme is expected to be introduced to the Victorian parliament in early 2025.
Updated
Neighbouring properties that are “significantly impacted” by upgrades or new lines could receive up to $40,000. This includes rural blocks within 400 metres of projects and urban properties within 200 metres.
To be eligible for the payment, the property owners must demonstrate a “significant loss of visual amenity, including surrounding natural landscape”.
The power lines would also need to be “clearly visible from the point of the dwelling, home occupation or other site of sensitive land use”, with payments to decrease in size the further owners are from the lines.
VicGrid is also seeking feedback on “exceptional circumstances” under which property owners could be paid more than $40,000, such as “impacts to culturally significant sites or practices”, or hospitality and tourism businesses that may lose income as a result of the change.
Under the scheme, funds will also be directed to regional communities and traditional owners.
Updated
Key event
Victoria mulls up to $200k payments for properties affected by power line upgrades
Victorian landowners with power transmission lines on their properties could receive payments of up to $200,000 and their neighbours up to $40,000, under a plan being considered by the state government.
The state government’s new transmission planning agency, VicGrid, has opened consultation on a program that would collect funds from power companies to pay communities affected by new transmission lines.
Under the proposed community benefits scheme, landowners with lines on their properties will be paid $200,000 per kilometre - paid in annual instalments of $8,000 over 25 years and indexed to inflation - by the state government.
Updated
Coleman denies double standard over deportation direction
Coleman is being interrogated about his actions as immigration minister relating to direction 79, which was cited by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in “a number of cases” to justify allowing those with criminal convictions remain in Australia.
The direction required decision-makers to take into account the bests interests of a child when considering whether to deport a convicted criminal from Australia.
Coleman, who has repeatedly attacked the government and Labor minister Andrew Giles for “weakening” the immigration system, said the direction “strengthened the system” and made it “stronger than previously”.
However, Speers pointed out that it allowed a heroin trafficker to remain in Australia, asking whether Coleman would “take responsibility for that”.
Coleman:
I’m not familiar with the specific examples.
Coleman also denied a double standard.
I don’t agree at all. I made it stronger. That’s the decision I made. The decision that Andrew Giles made was, how do we ensure that people who would otherwise go back to New Zealand get to stay in Australia? That was a shameful decision and that’s why he sought to reverse it in direction 110. But he still kept the connection to the Australian community as a primary consideration, which is the whole problem with direction 99 in the first place. These guys have no idea how to manage the immigration system. That’s why we have seen such terrible results.
Updated
Coleman, who gave his maiden speech about how Australia’s national foundation was “made stronger” by migration, is asked about whether he was “comfortable” with the Coalition’s plan to cut back the country’s immigration intake.
I’m very comfortable. We have to cut immigration.
Coleman has also attacked the government for issuing a direction that, in his words, would “let criminals stay in Australia”.
Updated
Asked about the reality that people will be able to circumvent the age verification system, Coleman says “that’s true of just about every law”.
We don’t say, oh, some people might try to traffic illegal material, so we won’t have a law to stop it.
Updated
‘Time to take action’ on social media age verification – Coleman
Coleman has explained the Coalition’s plan to impose a system of age verification to allow young people to access and use social media.
I think this is one of the defining issues of our era. I think that the mental health of Australian kids is being massively damaged by social media. If you look at things like the self-harm hospitalisation rate of girls – a heavy topic, but we should talk about it – up dramatically in the last decade. There is no question in my mind social media is playing a part in that.
Coleman says the Coalition wants laws to “protect kids from the immense damage done to them by social media”.
We have a classification system, R-rated movies. No one says, “Let’s show an R-rated movie to a 10-year-old”, yet on social media they see worse things every day. Imagine if we went back 20 years and say, “You know what? We will create an environment where kids can interact with any adult on earth who can show them whatever they want and we will be OK with that.” We would have said that’s absurd. It’s time to take action.
Updated
Coleman is asked about whether the eSafety Commission be given the power to direct social media companies to remove material globally.
The question follows news that the eSafety Commissioner dropped the case against X (formerly Twitter) directing it to remove material depicting the stabbing of a priest in Wakeley, western Sydney.
Well, what the commissioner was really doing is saying that the easiest way to remove material for Australians is simply to delete it. The act is clear. It’s for Australian users, not global. So what the court case was effectively about is how do you define an Australian user online? That’s what the interim judgement was about. The commissioner has had pretty much all the other platforms deleted the materials. And she wanted to test that in court.
Coleman backed in the eSafety Commission, saying the decision to drop the case was appropriate and that the commissioner “wasn’t seeking to claim global domain over the internet”.
Updated
Coleman has largely avoided the question and is instead attacking Chris Bowen, Labor’s climate change, energy and water minister, over the potential to miss it’s 2030 climate target – by 1%.
Coleman was repeatedly asked about the Coalition’s own policies on the target, noting that the Paris climate agreement requires governments to have a target and a credible pathway to meet those targets.
Coleman refused to be drawn, saying he wouldn’t detail discussions in the party room.
Updated
Coalition ‘committed to net zero by 2050’ – Coleman
Shadow communications minister David Coleman says the Coalition will have “more to say about targets” ahead of the next election.
Coleman was asked by David Speers whether the Coalition plans to scrap Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target.
We will make all of our policies very clear in relation to emissions, we are absolutely committed to net zero by 2050.
Asked about whether the Coalition will “leave open” the prospect of having a 2030 target, Coleman reiterated that “we are absolutely committed to the 2050 target”.
Updated
Shadow communications minister David Coleman will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning.
Coming up on #ABCInsiders with David Speers:
— ABC News (@abcnews) June 8, 2024
• Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman interviewed🔎
• 📸Dan Ilic
• 🛋️Claudia Long, John Kehoe and Clare Armstrong.
See you at 9am #auspol pic.twitter.com/5PhjazuXQF
We will bring you all the latest as it develops.
Updated
Flood-hit NSW residents returning home urged to be careful
Flood-affected NSW communities returning to their homes have been urged to take care as they survey the damage and begin to clean up.
NSW SES acting commissioner Deb Platz has warned those returning to their homes to take precautions as residents in parts of Camden and Ellis Lane, about 65km southwest of Sydney, were allowed home on Saturday after the flooding threat reduced.
While the immediate threat of more damaging rainfall has eased, with the bureau not forecasting any further significant falls over the next few days, the SES still has a dozen emergency evacuation orders in place due to flooding.
The service will begin to survey the damage to communities when waters recede, with possible impacts to infrastructure including roads.
Our priority is to get people back to normal as soon as possible.
But Plats warned residents to remain wary around the Hawkesbury Nepean catchment.
We do not need to see significant rain to bring riverine and flash flooding.
As we have saturated catchments and full dams the rivers can rise very quickly.
The SES conducted 13 flood rescues in the 24 hours to 5am on Saturday.
For more on the floods, read the Guardian Australia’s previous report:
- with AAP
Updated
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
Flood-affected communities in NSW have been urged to take care as people return to their homes and begin the process of cleaning up. Residents of Camden and Ellis Lane south-west of Sydney were allowed to return to their homes on Saturday but authorities have warned of widespread damage.
Perth brothers Callum and Jake Robinson have been farewelled at an emotional memorial service on Saturday. The two brothers were killed while on a surfing trip to Mexico, with an investigation ongoing into what happened. The service was held at Sacred Heart College in Sorrento, in Perth’s north-western suburbs, where their parents described the brothers as full of life and determined to follow their dreams.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started ...
Updated
