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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Taylor and Stephanie Convery (earlier)

Thousands evacuated as SES fields 3900 calls for assistance – as it happened

Sydney Australia Flood Ukraine Ashley Sullivan Murray Watt ADF New South Wales Government
NSW floods
Evacuation orders are in place across Sydney as heavy rainfall continues. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

The day that was, Monday 4 July

We will leave the live blog there for today.

Here’s what made the news today:

  • The rain across Sydney is still falling heavily, and the 74 evacuation orders and 62 warnings, covering 32,000 people, will likely remain in place overnight, according to the NSW SES.
  • An operation has begun to tow the cargo ship, MV Portland Bay, to safer waters, after the ship began to drift towards the shore south of Sydney when it lost power.
  • The NSW SES has received more than 3900 requests for assistance and has had 85 flood rescues as of earlier this afternoon.
  • Australia will send more than $100m in new aid to Ukraine including military equipment, as well as levelling sanctions on 16 new Russian officials, after prime minister Anthony Albanese’s unannounced trip to Kyiv.
  • There were at least 26 reported Covid-19 deaths on Monday.
  • The Aboriginal flag will fly permanently on Melbourne’s West Gate bridge.
  • WorkSafe Victoria has charged St Basil’s homes for the aged over Covid-19 breaches, where 45 people died from Covid-19.
  • French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thébault says Australia is back on France’s list of key partners in the Indo-Pacific, as the relationship has been repaired after the change of government in Australia.

Until tomorrow, I hope you can stay dry and out of the wet weather if you’re in one of the affected areas.

Updated

Bragg byelection: South Australian Liberals hold seat

The South Australian Liberals have consolidated their lead in the Bragg byelection, following the counting of the first pre-poll and postal ballots, AAP reports.

At the closing of counting on Saturday, Jack Batty was ahead of Labor’s Alice Rolls by little more than 200 votes.

But by Monday afternoon that lead had grown to more than 1,100.

With almost 66% of the vote counted, the Liberal candidate was ahead 53.4% to 46.6% on a two-party preferred basis.

The byelection for the eastern suburbs seat was forced by the recent resignation of former deputy premier Vickie Chapman.

Greens candidate Jim Bastiras attracted more than 16% of the primary vote, up on the 13% the party managed at the state poll.

About 9,000 voters cast either an early ballot or applied to vote by post in Bragg, with about half of those still to be included in the result.

While Labor fell just short of victory, premier Peter Malinauskas said it was amazing to think Bragg, so long a Liberal stronghold, was now a marginal seat.

“To be able to get a significant swing to us on the back of an even bigger swing a few months ago is something we’re very excited about,” he said.

“To get so close is a little surprising. But it’s also a demonstration of the fact the people of the eastern suburbs have been taken for granted by the Liberal party.”

Batty told said there was no such thing as a safe Liberal seat any more.

“I’ve never taken this seat for granted and I never will,” Mr Batty told radio 5AA.

“I treated it as a marginal seat throughout this entire campaign.”

With the Liberals set to retain Bragg, the opposition will have 16 MPs in parliament’s 47-seat House of Assembly.

The Labor government holds power with 27 seats, with the remaining four held by independents.

Updated

NZ PM Jacinda Ardern to visit this week

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced that the New Zealand PM, Jacinda Ardern, will return to Sydney for her second visit from 6-8 July for the Australia-New Zealand leaders’ meeting.

It will mark her second visit in two months to Australia, and her second visit in Albanese’s time as PM.

The annual meeting will set the agenda for trans-Tasman cooperation into 2023, the PM said.

Albanese:

I am delighted to welcome prime minister Ardern back to Australia, along with her delegation of government and business leaders.

This will be our second bilateral meeting in the past month, which is a reflection of the closeness of our trans-Tasman relationship. It truly is one of family.

I look forward to discussing ways to strengthen Australia’s bond with one of our closest neighbour.

Anthony Albanese and Jacinda Ardern during a joint press conference in Sydney last month.
Anthony Albanese and Jacinda Ardern during a joint press conference in Sydney last month. Photograph: Flavio Brancaleone/AAP

Updated

My colleague Melissa Davey has this explainer on the cases of Diphtheria in Australia for the first time this century.

Tasmania extends free flu vaccination program after spike in infections

Tasmania has extended its free flu vaccination program for a month amid a winter spike in infections, AAP reports.

The state government on Monday announced the rollout at GPs, pharmacies and state-run clinics will continue until 31 July.

“As expected, after two years of very few cases in Tasmania, influenza is re-emerging in the state,” premier and health minister Jeremy Rockliff said in a statement.

A record near 250,000 people in Tasmania have received a flu shot, but a quarter of the over-65 population is yet to get a jab.

A snow topped kunanyi / Mount Wellington is seen from across the Derwent River in Hobart. The health department has been notified of 1,670 cases of influenza this year.
A snow topped kunanyi / Mount Wellington is seen from across the Derwent River in Hobart. The health department has been notified of 1,670 cases of influenza this year.
 Photograph: Ethan James/AAP

“Additionally, we are focused on increasing the rates of children aged between six months and five years with only 26.8% having received a vaccine,” Rockliff said.

The health department has been notified of 1,670 cases of influenza this year.

New flu cases, reported each week, have tracked 232, 324, 381, 487 across the month of June.

“People may consider wearing a mask to offer them further protection when they are in more crowded places and cannot maintain physical distance,” Rockliff said.

“Everyone with respiratory symptoms is reminded how important it is to stay at home until their symptoms clear.”

GPs and state-run clinics provide vaccines for people six months and over; and participating pharmacies for those aged 10 and over.

Updated

Body modifier jailed for seven years after being convicted of manslaughter

A body modifier convicted of manslaughter after a silicone snowflake he implanted into a young woman’s hands became infected, leading to her death, has been jailed for at least seven years and six months.

New South Wales district court judge Helen Syme on Monday sentenced Brendan Leigh Russell to a maximum 10 years in prison, saying he had shown no remorse, acceptance or taken any responsibility for his crimes.

Updated

Call for gender targets to address number of women represented in Liberal party

Calls for the Liberals and Nationals to adopt gender quotas appear to have been rejected by party leaders, despite female voters abandoning the Coalition at the federal election, AAP reports.

When the new parliament meets for the first time on July 26, women will make up 11 of the Coalition’s 58 members in the House of Representatives, or 18%.

In comparison, Labor will have 36 female members of 77 in the lower house, or 46%.

In the upper house, 14 of 32 Coalition senators are women.

Linda Reynolds during Question Time in the Senate chamber at Parliament House in Canberra
Linda Reynolds: ‘The data speaks for itself.’ Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Liberal senator and former senior minister Linda Reynolds says the party must adopt gender targets to address the issue of female representation.

She told the Australian she supports temporary quotas to ensure more women have the opportunity to be elected for her party.

“The data speaks for itself,” Reynolds said.

“We now have the worst outcome in the House of Representatives for Liberal women for three decades and it is not a situation that will resolve itself.”

But acting opposition leader Sussan Ley told the newspaper the Liberals’ target of 50% female representation by 2025 should stay.

The issue is expected to be raised in the party’s election campaign review.

Australian National University gender policy fellow Sonia Palmieri said while quotas are proven to help increase the number of women in politics, they need to be accompanied by penalties for failing to implement them.

She told AAP the Coalition must also work to change its culture and historical tendency to undervalue the contributions of women in politics.

“The women aren’t the problem, it’s the men and the party culture,” Palmieri said.

“Women are not electoral liabilities, they win seats.”

She said it was telling that 14 of the 18 seats which changed hands at the 2022 election were won by women.

Nationals leader David Littleproud does not support quotas but instead wants to foster an environment where more women are encouraged to run in winnable seats.

He said leadership is required to help more women take up roles in federal parliament.

I’m going to be very strong in trying to identify key women out there that would put their hand up for pre-selection.

Ultimately we are a membership-based party and the members will decide but I want to create an environment where [women] feel comfortable to come forward and invariably I believe that they’ll shine through.

Updated

Operation to tow stranded cargo ship begins

An operation has begun to tow the cargo ship, MV Portland Bay, to safer waters. Earlier today, the vessel was drifting with no power towards the shoreline south of Sydney.

The NSW Port Authority confirmed three tugs had arrived to tow the ship into safer, deeper waters this evening.

Chief operating officer John Finch:

The priority is getting this vessel and its crew into safer waters and away from land and the potential of grounding. All tugs have now arrived and connected to the ship so the operation has commenced to raise its anchors and move this ship safely out to sea in a slow and controlled manner.

The conditions make the towage operation quite difficult. In 8-metre swell the vessel is going to be rising and falling and rolling. That’s going to put a lot of stress on the equipment and the tug lines.

Finch said the next few hours would be “critical” as frontline responders pushed to get the vessel well off the coast before the weather deteriorated further.

Updated

Labor owes credit to Coalition for disaster response, opposition MP says

After Watt, the shadow emergency management minister Perin Davey is on, and she thanks Watt for including her in briefings, and says the plan being enacted is the same one put in place by the former Coalition government.

I’m very pleased that the commonwealth disaster plan has been put into action early this time, as it was in March in the northern rivers and Queensland floods. The same systems have been followed. The same processes are in place. No one is doing anything any faster or any slower. It’s all the same processes. These were put in place under the Coalition government. And I’m glad they’re still working under the new Labor government.

I want to thank Minister Watt. He reached out to me over the weekend to make sure that I could be included in briefings and I think that just shows that particularly when you’re in the crucial stages of an emergency, it’s not political. It’s got to be bipartisan and we’ve all got to stand shoulder to shoulder to provide support.

Updated

Defence force to assist with NSW flood response

The emergency management minister, Murray Watt, is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing.

He says 200 defence personnel and two helicopters have been made available to NSW in response to the floods. He says more may be required to assist with the clean-up but it’s not quite at that point yet.

Obviously we’re waiting for some of the flood waters to recede so people can get a sense of the level of damage that’s required. I’ve made very clear to the NSW government that we stand ready to assist them in any way necessary and I think you’ve been able to tell there’s been a high degree of cooperation between the federal and the state government so far.

He says the advice doesn’t suggest declaring a national emergency but it is likely the NSW government will declare it an emergency on the state level, which will trigger federal and state disaster support. He says the compounding disasters from regions facing multiple floods in the past year means support will need to get out quickly.

A kayaker paddles around the flooded playing fields and clubhouse of the Oakville United Soccer Club in McGrath Hill west of Sydney near Windsor.
A kayaker paddles around the flooded playing fields and clubhouse of the Oakville United Soccer Club in McGrath Hill west of Sydney near Windsor. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

‘Atrocious’ weather conditions hampering efforts to tow ship to safety

Finch said while it hadn’t been confirmed exactly what was wrong in the engine, preliminary advice from the ship’s crew suggested the problem was a failure of the turbo engine blower.

He said he was “hopeful” the whole incident would be over by tomorrow.

The shipping company have ... engaged the services of a specialist marine engineer to confirm their beliefs and that will be worked through over the next few hours.

They think the problem is a main turbo engine blower has failed, if that is the case and there’s no further issues it should be relatively straightforward repair, they’re saying four to six hours.”

Finch said there was no specific cause to a turbo engine failure, however it was particularly unlucky considering current conditions and would make the towage operation particularly difficult.

Cars fail, ships fail, that’s what happens sometimes at sea. Unfortunately, we just happen to be in atrocious conditions at the moment, we’ve got eight metre swells, 30 knots, it’s atrocious ... to be operating in. The safety of the ship’s crew is also paramount ... our compassion towards the crew and the safety of all responders are key.

They’re quite rare ... it just happens to coincide with a poor weather event. It’s going to make the towage operation quite difficult because you can imagine in an 8-metre swell the vessel is going to be rising and falling, rolling ... I’d like to get this vessel out tonight a good 12 miles off the coast and we’ll keep the tug in attendance throughout that period and we won’t release any of the salvage requirements until the vessel’s fully repaired.

We don’t expect anything at the moment ... we’re hopeful the vessel can get repairs done ... they’ve said a minimum of four hours to repair, so hopefully tomorrow it’ll all be over.

Updated

Cargo ship stranded near Sydney 'stable', authorities say

The Port Authority of New South Wales has held a press conference this afternoon updating reporters on the cargo strip currently stranded off the NSW coast.

John Finch, the controller of the incident, said the vessel was in a “stable, anchored position” about an eighth of a mile off the coast.

He said he hoped the ship would be towed out to “deep, safe water” in the next three hours.

We’ve got two tugs in attendance, two anchors deployed, we’ve got a third tug that’ll be arriving in the next 15 or 20 minutes and then we’ll mobilise those tugs to secure some heavy towage lines and then we’ll start the process of retrieving the anchors and getting the vessel towed out to deep safe water.

That’s probably going to take two to three hours because the vessel ... deployed both her anchors and put out quite a considerable amount of cable so we’ve got to retrieve that cable ... very slowly, safety is paramount here, protecting the tug crews that are working to get a safe outcome.

The Portland Bay cargo ship stranded off the cliffs of Royal National Park, south of Sydney

Finch said at this stage the aim was to keep the crew on board the ship.

There was an initial plan this morning to evacuate the non-essential staff but once the vessel deployed its anchors and it was in a stable condition it was no longer drifting towards the rocks ... the master asked to keep his crew on board because at this point in time they’re confident they can make an engine repair once they get into safe, deep water.

They’re confident they’ve determined exactly what the issue is with the main engine, they have spare parts on board, they do have qualified marine engineers on board who can effect those repairs.

Updated

Dangerous swell conditions have stopped the Manly ferry today, but not the surfers on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Surfers brave huge swells at Manly as an east coast low passes of the coast of eastern Australia.
Surfers brave huge swells at Manly as an east coast low passes of the coast of eastern Australia.
Surfers brave huge swells at Manly as an east coast low passes of the coast of eastern Australia.
Dangerous swell conditions on Sydney Harbour have caused the Manly-Circular Quay ferry to stop running.

Updated

York says there are 1,000 NSW SES volunteers out at the moment being supported by police and emergency services. The requests received have been about damaged roofs, water in houses and fallen trees.

We have crews working to make sure those areas are safe and a large number of flood rescues as well. Again, the message, as we always send the message to the community, is don’t drive through flood waters.

Coming in tonight, there’s an added danger. You can’t see the water across the road often and you can’t assess what depth it is or what speed it’s running at. Try and avoid those roads and try and keep safe and dry and make your plans early.

Updated

NSW flood evacuation orders likely to remain as more heavy rain forecast

NSW State Emergency Services commissioner Carlene York is providing another update on the ABC.

She says the rain in NSW is still falling fairly heavily, and the 74 evacuation orders and 62 warnings, covering 32,000 people, will likely remain in place.

She said:

I don’t anticipate many of those will be lifted now [with] the risk to the public of trying to get them back into their houses at night time but also the overnight rains that have been forecast. It is forecast to ease possibly for tomorrow but the night time will be a concern. I don’t want people to think they can move back into their houses and we would recommence evacuating those. We’re going to make sure it’s safe and the community who have evacuated are in safe places. And we’ll be looking at where we can lift those orders tomorrow.

Like I say, it looks like it’s easing tomorrow and some of the areas we’re getting ready is around the Hawkesbury. The bureau forecast additional rain and chances of higher flooding on the Georges River. We’ll get information out to those areas as well, so they can prepare and be ready.

She says about 200 people have turned up at the seven open evacuation centres, but that people should try to stay with friends and family if they’re worried about the spread of Covid or the flu and want to avoid evacuation centres.

Kurrajong Road disappears under flood waters in Richmond west of Sydney.
Kurrajong Road disappears under flood waters in Richmond west of Sydney. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Emergency warning issued for Northern Territory bushfire

While some parts of the country are under water, fires are burning in the north.

A fire an hour outside Darwin in the Northern Territory has been upgraded from an alert to an emergency warning.

The emergency warning is for Poett Road, Rum Jungle, and another fire has an alert level on the Adelaide River.

Updated

Cargo ship stranded off NSW coast likely carrying 1,000 tonnes of fuel

Three tugboats are now in close proximity to the cargo ship stranded off the NSW coast, just south of Sydney. The boats will attempt to stop the Portland Bay vessel from drifting back towards the shoreline. The bulk carrier had come precariously close – about 1.8km – from running aground and there are still concerns about the potential for disaster.

Experts say the ship – known as a handysize bulk carrier, a smaller version of a cargo ship – likely carries about 1,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and could cause an environmental disaster if it ran aground.

A tug assists the Portland Bay cargo ship which sits stranded off the coast of Sydney.
A tug assists the Portland Bay cargo ship which sits stranded off the coast of Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Dr Reza Emad, a marine safety expert with University of Tasmania’s Australian Maritime College, said he was confident the ship would be able to be rescued and taken to a shipyard in Sydney for repair.

But Emad told the Guardian that the vessel – owned by the large, Hong Kong-based maritime logistics company Pacific Basin – would likely have about 1,000 tonnes of fuel on board.

If a ship goes aground for any reason, even if they are not tankers, the amount of fuel that they carry … this one carries about 1,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, which is really dirty.

A similar cargo ship caused an environmental disaster after running aground in Sri Lanka this time last year.

Updated

Locals ‘are better prepared’, says Richmond resident

The sun temporarily shone over Richmond in Sydney’s north-west this afternoon, a brief reprieve before rain pelted down again.

While some were despairing and frustrated, many residents were also resigned to the flooding, telling the Guardian it comes with living in the region.

Don Levy’s home is seeing the water lapping his doors for the second time this year, with the water reaching “knee-depth” in March.

But he said he was “used to it”, nonchalantly marching through the water in his shorts and thongs, even brushing aside a wasp sitting on his beanie:

We’re hoping it doesn’t come in again this time, but we have been getting used to it.

This time is not as stressful as last time, it feels like we are better prepared, it doesn’t bother us as much.

It’s expected because we live on a floodplain, with all the other rigmarole and people talking, it isn’t going to change anything.

We accept that living here is just going to get more difficult.

Windsor street disappears under floodwaters at Richmond, north-west of Sydney
Windsor street disappears under floodwaters at Richmond, north-west of Sydney. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said he has contacted the minister for emergency management, Murray Watt, and the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, for briefings on the flood situation in NSW once he was able to upon leaving Ukraine.

Updated

Employment department ‘aware of some intermittent issues’ with Workforce Australia

Here is a statement we’ve received from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations about the tech issues that have hit the new Workforce Australia platform today.

A spokesperson says:

The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations is aware of some intermittent issues impacting some clients accessing Workforce Australia online or mobile services earlier today. We apologise for any inconvenience to affected clients. The site is now performing well and we will continue to monitor these services to ensure clients have a great experience.

Tens of thousands of online users have already successfully accessed services today. If you’re moving into Workforce Australia and experiencing log-in issues, please try again.

But as Josh notes, users are claiming the issues are not yet solved.

Updated

Barely recovered from March floods, north-west Sydney suffers again

Many residents in north-west Sydney have only just recovered from the flooding earlier this year, some heartbroken by the repeat damage.

McGraths Hill, just outside Windsor, is facing the rising Hawkesbury once again, with water levels currently just below the March 2022 mark.

Members of the Oakville United Soccer Club are despairing at their club house and playing fields flooding.

Dylan Loutkovsky has been with the club for 22 years, and says he is devastated watching it go under water.

We only got games going on Friday, and we were meant to play Premier League this Saturday. We’ve only played one game this year.

Our club is suffering, we’re losing members over this, it’s slowly dying now because of all the floods. 17 boys were meant to play here, every team was excited to get back out there.

We won’t be able to get on the pitch again until late this year, everything in the club house has been destroyed, I’m just devastated.

Updated

Further to Natasha’s last post, Workforce Australia suggests the issues are resolved, but the reply to the tweet suggests not.

Access issues with new employment services system on first day

Jobseekers are experiencing distress as many are unable to access the government’s new employment services system, Workforce Australia, which launched today.

The Antipoverty Centre say three out of four people who provided feedback could not log in, with those who are required to report today at risk of being penalised because of problems.

The Antipoverty Centre says Tony Burke, the employment minister, has not responded to their proposal to suspend all penalties for a minimum of 90 days during the transition to the new system.

Jay Coonan, an Antipoverty Centre spokesperson and JobSeeker recipient says he is one of the people unable to log into the system:

This is causing so much unnecessary fear and distress to those of us on payments and we should not be paying the price of the government’s refusal to listen to us.

Changes to employment services in 2015 and 2018 saw dramatic spikes in the number of people penalised while trying to adjust.

The worst effects were felt by First Nations people, and we know that every problem that affects welfare recipients disproportionately harms First Nations, trans, homeless, disabled and other marginalised people.

We did not want history to repeat, and yet from day one we are seeing precisely the problems we feared. There is too much at risk for the 800,000 people surviving on poverty payments. Disruption and problems with the welfare system kills people.

Costs are skyrocketing and people on income support are being ignored and thrown to the curb.

An Australian Council of Social Service report released at the end of June had also warned the new system retains many of the problems baked into Jobactive.

Updated

NSW SES receives 3900 requests for assistance

The New South Wales State Emergency Services commissioner Carlene York has told the ABC that the heavy rainfall in NSW is expected to continue today and into the evening.

She says there have been 3900 requests for assistance and 85 flood rescues, and this will continue into the evening:

We had around 3900 requests for assistance which is enormous. A big demand on our emergency services and particularly New South Wales SES. And we’ve had 85 flood rescues. It’s important for the community to remember it’s still dangerous out there. Water on the road. Really busy out there. We anticipate another busy night.

Even though the rain has slowed in some places, York warns people to be careful, noting that the rivers can still rise in this time.

She said:

Some of the rivers particularly near Windsor [were] rising at about 30cm per hour. It can change quite dramatically. Just because it’s not raining doesn’t mean the catchments aren’t filling up. The Warragamba dam is spilling a huge amount of water down to the river. And people can find themselves isolated and therefore need our assistance to get them to safety. Really important they don’t rush out at the moment. Keep home, stay off the roads, and be aware of the warnings and the information that we put out for them and it’s designed to make sure they’re safe.

Rain is forecast through to Friday but it is expected to ease off tomorrow, and not be at the levels seen in the past few days. She says coming out of the La Niña and into the wet season between December and March, there could be more flooding and storms in the coming months.

A NSW State Emergency Service rescue boat on floodwater from the swollen Hawkesbury River, in Windsor.
A NSW State Emergency Service rescue boat on floodwaters from the swollen Hawkesbury River, in Windsor. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/EPA

Updated

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has posted these photos of his trip to Ukraine.

National Covid summary

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 26 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 1,134
  • In hospital: 136 (with 2 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 8,958
  • In hospital: 1,725 (with 50 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 247
  • In hospital: 21 (with 1 person in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 4,056
  • In hospital: 598 (with 16 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 2,559
  • In hospital: 220 (with 9 people in ICU)

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 1,094
  • In hospital: 72 (with 3 people in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 24
  • Cases: 7,317
  • In hospital: 513 (with 28 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 4,312
  • In hospital: 226 (with 9 people in ICU)

Ambulance Victoria failing to meet patient transfer targets


AAP reports Ambulance Victoria has consistently failed to meet its target of transferring 90% of patients to emergency departments within 40 minutes.

Researchers last week suggested that target should be scaled down to as low as 15 minutes.

Their study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, found mortality increased with transfer times of more than 17 minutes for patients with chest pain.

In 2018, ambulance ramping may have been associated with up to 70 preventable deaths from 51,000 people.

However, cutting the target to 15 minutes would not solve the problem, Victorian emergency doctor Simon Judkins argues.

He pointed out that paramedics needed somewhere to offload patients to.

“We’ve seen during Covid ... we created ambulance offload spaces within the hospital system, where we can free up ambulances and get them back out into the community where they should be,” Judkins told industry publication InSight+.

Instead, the areas within emergency departments (ED) were not properly staffed.

Ambulance patients were left waiting hours with paramedic trainees or nursing staff, rather than ambulance crews, Judkins said.

“So, it’s not solving the problem, it’s just creating a bigger queue in front of the hospital.”

Rather than focusing on ambulance targets, authorities should look at whole system reform, Dr Judkins said.

Other parts of the hospital system need to change the way they manage patients, he said.

Cardiology units, for example, could take ownership of how they get patients moving through the system faster to create capacity for EDs.

“We’re staffing (the ED) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The rest of the hospital health system seems to be still operating on an 8am until 6pm, Monday to Friday continuum,” Judkins said.

“To say just offload ambulance patients quicker isn’t going to fix a thing.”

On the original report findings, an Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said the organisation works with all hospitals to transport patients as promptly as possible.

“We’re implementing strategies to relieve pressure in the system including introducing rapid offload escalation measures, patient offload teams and increasing resources on the road and within our Secondary Triage Service,” the spokesperson said.

State opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the state needed system-wide solutions to get more capacity in hospitals and quicker responses to people in emergency health situations.

“Frontline staff continue to do outstanding work but have been hamstrung by insufficient resourcing and support by the current government,” she said.

The Department of Health has been contacted for comment.

Updated

NSW government to take legal action against Rail, Tram and Bus Union

The New South Wales government will launch legal action against the rail worker’s union in a bid to end industrial action that has crippled the state’s public transport network, marking the latest escalation in its ongoing battle with public sector unions.

The premier, Dominic Perrottet, today said his government would file action against the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) in the Industrial Relations Commission seeking to block a fresh round of industrial action planned for this week.

Dominic Perrottet
New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Updated

Residents cut off by flooded Hawkesbury

The rising Hawkesbury river has cut off many residents from their homes and businesses, with many in Windsor struggling in what is the second major flood in four months.

With school holidays in full swing in NSW, many locals have resorted to bringing their children to see the flooded Windsor Bridge.

Isaak Salami is stuck on the wrong side of the bridge, after coming back from a ski trip, where he fractured his arm.

He said he has had to stay in a hotel room, in the hopes of waiting out the rain:

I’m stuck here for a couple of days, in March I also got stuck, but on the other side, where I live.

It kind of sucks, because the bridge is supposed to be flood proof, and it obviously isn’t.

It’s definitely become more difficult to live here, because you just don’t know what will happen every time it rains.

Isaak Salami.
Isaak Salami. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

This is from a little earlier today:

Stricken ship off Sydney ‘holding position’

The NSW Port Authority, which is controlling the operation to save the stranded cargo ship off NSW’s coast, says the vessel is “currently holding” its position.

But the Port Authority has warned “the potential” for it to run aground on the coastline off the Royal national park, south of Sydney, remains.

The Portland Bay bulk carrier has deployed anchors and is being assisted by one lone tugboat, the Diamantina, which is attempting to stabilise the vessel.

Two further tugboats are on their way.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority said:

An incident is currently unfolding between Port Kembla and Port Botany after a vessel lost power and there is a multi-agency response underway.

The vessel is in NSW state waters with the potential to run aground on coastline in that vicinity.

The vessel has deployed anchors and is currently holding. One tug has arrived at the vessel and two further tugs are on their way.

As per national and state response national agreements Port Authority of NSW now managing the incident in the extreme sea conditions.

The vessel is around 170m long with no cargo onboard.

A number of agencies are responding including AMSA, Port Authority of NSW, NSW Maritime, Marine Command and the JRCC.

The Portland Bay cargo ship sits stranded approximately 1km off the cliffs the of Royal National Park, south of Sydney.
The Portland Bay cargo ship sits stranded approximately 1km off the cliffs the of Royal National Park, south of Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Updated

Sydney’s Windsor Bridge submerged for third time this year

The Windsor Bridge is underwater once again, as the rain continues to pelt north-west Sydney.

The bridge, once considered to be flood resistant, is submerged for the third time this year, with residents frustrated at being cut off once again.

Jason McCallum owns an engineering business that employs 20 people, but could only have one person working today as his workshops are cut off due to the flooding.

It’s the second time this year his business has been adversely affected by the rain, and says the situation is getting frustrating:

This bridge has been closed five times in the last two years, it feels like it’s just wrong. And it’s all mismanagement of Warragamba Dam, they need to find a solution to this.

It’s not just frustrating, it’s hurting me financially. We have jobs that need to go out today and we can’t. And if the bridge is really closed for 11 days, that’s just unbelievable.

Debris is seen as the Windsor Bridge is submerged under floodwater from the swollen Hawkesbury River.
Debris is seen as the Windsor Bridge is submerged under floodwater from the swollen Hawkesbury River. Photograph: Reuters

Updated

South Australia records one death from Covid-19 with 220 people in hospital

There were 2,559 new cases in the last reporting period, and nine people are in intensive care.

Updated

Helicopter rescue of cargo ship crew aborted

I’ve just spoken with staff with the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter, which was involved in early attempts to winch the 21 crew members from the stranded cargo ship earlier this morning. The Westpac chopper has been put back onto standby and has returned to base. Conditions were simply too dangerous to attempt the air rescue, a spokesperson said.

We’ve been there along with other aircraft... we know there was 21 people on there that we were trying to winch. But the boat has a lot of upright structures on it, and with the wind and the heavy seas, there’s just so much movement that it became too risky and too dangerous. We didn’t want to lose lives.

The air operation is now on standby while tugboats attempt to stabilise the ship. The Westpac helicopter spokesperson said the crew can get back to the bulk carrier, named the Portland Bay, in about 5-6 minutes, if they are needed.

So now it’s a monitoring situation to see if they can try to stabilise the boat and we may be able to try again.

The Portland Bay bulk carrier is sitting less than two kilometres from Eagle Rock to the north-west. It has anchored in an attempt to stop drifting back towards the shore. One tugboat has already arrived on scene and at least one other is due to arrive shortly.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority confirmed to the Guardian that the Portland Bay left Wollongong via Port Kembla early on Sunday afternoon, not on Monday morning, as has been reported elsewhere.

Updated

I’m going to head off and get myself some lunch now. Thanks for following along this morning – you’ll have the inimitable Josh Taylor with you for the rest of the afternoon. Stay warm, dry and safe!

A little earlier, my colleague Mostafa Rachwani interviewed Brian Russell, who was rescued from the floodwater after his car was inundated. Guardian Australia photographer Mike Bowers was there too, and captured the scene.

An SES swift water rescue boat attends to Brian Russell’s car after rescuing him from his flooded vehicle along Blacktown Road, near Richmond, west of Sydney.
An SES swift water rescue boat attends to Brian Russell’s car after rescuing him from his flooded vehicle along Blacktown Road, near Richmond, west of Sydney. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Brian Russell in the front of the boat is rescued SES from his flooded vehicle along blacktown Road near Richmond west of Sydney. Monday 4th July 2022. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia
Brian Russell sits in the front of the SES rescue boat. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Brian Russell is rescued by SES from his flooded vehicle along blacktown Road near Richmond west of Sydney. Monday 4th July 2022. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia
Russell is helped to shore by SES rescuers. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Brian Russell after being rescued by SES from his flooded vehicle along blacktown Road near Richmond west of Sydney. Monday 4th July 2022. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia
On not-so-dry land. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Aboriginal flag to fly permanently on Melbourne’s West Gate bridge

Since 2019, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags have flown on a rotational basis on the West Gate Bridge during Reconciliation and Naidoc weeks.

But at the end of this year’s Naidoc week, the Aboriginal Flag will remain in place on the bridge, the roads minister, Ben Carroll, and minister for First Peoples, Gabrielle Williams, announced on Monday, with permission from traditional owners.

They said work is also under way to identify the feasibility and requirements of flying the Torres Strait Islander and Victorian state flags alongside the Aboriginal and Australian flags, taking into consideration current flag protocols as well as the structural, safety and maintenance requirements of the West Gate bridge.

Located on Bunurong country, the West Gate bridge is one of the state’s most important assets and the flags flown are some of the largest in the country.

The duo said the flying of the Aboriginal flag is another step in recognising and celebrating First Peoples and traditional owners as the custodians of the land and waters in Victoria.

Caroll said:

The West Gate bridge is one of our most visible landmarks – now the thousands of motorists who use the bridge every day can view the Aboriginal flag flying proudly above our city.

Williams said:

The Aboriginal flag signifies unity, identity and resilience for Aboriginal people. We are very proud that we can now fly this important symbol above Melbourne.

Flying the flag follows our ongoing partnership with the First Peoples of Victoria on our path to treaty and truth.

It comes after the NSW government recently announced it will spend $25 million to permanently install the Aboriginal flag on the Sydney Harbour bridge.

Updated

NSW Port Authority leading cargo ship rescue effort

The responsibility for rescuing the stranded cargo ship has now been transferred from the commonwealth to the state government.

The Australian Maritime and Safety Authority says the NSW Port Authority is now leading the coordinated response.

In a statement, AMSA said:

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is assisting the NSW Port Authority with an incident 1 nautical mile (1.8 kms) east of Garie Beach, NSW, where a bulk carrier vessel is experiencing difficulty.

The 170 m vessel, the Portland Bay, lost main engine power this morning and is drifting off Garie Beach. The ship has dropped anchor and is currently holding position.

There are 21 people on board.

AMSA has tasked the Essendon Challenger jet to attend the scene which will provide a communication link and location data.

A salvage towing vessel has been tasked from Port Botany.

Also responding are NSW Water Police tugs from Port Botany, the Volunteer Marine Rescue service, the Australian Navy and emergency services.

Here’s some video of the cargo ship from Surf Lifesaving NSW:

Updated

WorkSafe Victoria charges St Basil’s Homes for the Aged over Covid-19 breaches

A Melbourne aged care home where 45 people died from Covid-19 has been charged by the workplace safety watchdog, AAP reports.

WorkSafe Victoria on Monday announced it charged St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Victoria with breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

It alleges that in July 2020, after the home was notified a worker tested positive to Covid-19, St Basil’s failed to require workers to wear personal protective equipment.

It also allegedly failed to train workers how to safely don and remove protective equipment, verify that staff were competent using it, tell staff when it should be used and supervise its use.

Ninety-four residents and the same number of staff members tested positive for Covid-19, and 45 people subsequently died from complications related to the virus.

Updated

Queensland records no deaths from Covid-19 with 598 people in hospital

There were 4,056 new cases in the last reporting period, and 16 people are in intensive care.

Victoria records 24 deaths from Covid-19 with 513 people in hospital

There were 7,317 new cases recorded in the last reporting period, and 28 people are in intensive care.

Tugboat attempting to move stranded cargo ship

Just a brief update on the situation with the stranded cargo ship south of Sydney.

A tugboat named the SL Diamantina is in close proximity to the cargo ship now and is attempting to assist in moving the bulk carrier further from the coastline of the Royal National Park.

The ship is reportedly double-anchored, which authorities hope will stop it from running aground until it can be moved to safer waters.

Tracking data shows the Diamantina is sitting close to the bulk carrier, roughly two kilometres from Eagle Rock to the north-west.

A second tugboat has not yet arrived. Authorities said the second tugboat may be about two hours away.

We have had no further word about the 21 crew members.

Helicopters were dispatched to lift them to safety, but the Australian Maritime Safety Authority has indicated that it is currently too unsafe.

Updated

Camden residents in ‘disbelief’ they’re flooding again

Therese Fedeli, the mayor of Camden, has told the ABC the community is in a state of “disbelief” with the latest flood coming as they are still recovering from the last one:

We are in disbelief. You keep on saying that ‘not again.’

We are a resilient place… but that does not mean that the residents and businesses in the community aren’t on a downer. Most of them have just come out of the last flood. We were just getting our homes back in place, their businesses back in place.

The Camden Sports Club is seen inundated by floodwaters in Camden.
The Camden Sports Club inundated by floodwaters. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

Updated

Windsor street disappears under floodwaters at Richmond, west of Sydney.
Windsor St disappears under floodwaters at Richmond, north-west of Sydney, as geese look on. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Members of the public look on as the Windsor Bridge is submerged under floodwater from the swollen Hawkesbury River, in Windsor, north west of Sydney, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Members of the public look on as the Windsor Bridge is submerged under floodwaters from the swollen Hawkesbury River, in Windsor, north-west of Sydney. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

Evacuation orders for parts of Cattai and parts of Sackville North

More evacuation orders from NSW SES. Residents and business are directed to evacuate:

  • parts of Cattai by 2pm today
  • parts of Sackville North by 12.30pm today

Updated

Cargo ship’s earlier route off NSW coast

Note that this tweet is from earlier today and the Portland Bay bulk carrier is not out of control any more (though not out of the woods), but this image does give you a good sense of the trajectory it took before being secured where it is now.

It’s stuck off the coast near this beach – needless to say (to anyone in NSW right now), this picture was also not taken today!

Cliffs and vegetation surrounding Garie beach on the New South Wales coast, Royal National Park, Australia
Cliffs and vegetation surrounding Garie Beach on the New South Wales coast, Royal National Park. Photograph: KarenHBlack/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Updated

Here’s a picture of the cargo ship (not taken today) that’s stuck off the coast, south of Sydney. Police said in the press conference just now that the ship is double-anchored but rescue efforts have been delayed due to the weather.

Generic image. Bulk carrier Portland Bay is anchored 1 nautical mile off the coast of the Royal National Park
Bulk carrier Portland Bay (pictured before today) is now anchored one nautical mile off the coast of the Royal National Park. Photograph: Steven Watkins

Updated

An ‘act of God’, says man rescued from floodwaters

Roads lining the Hawkesbury at Richmond are completely under water, as floodwaters continue to rise under torrential rain.

Brian Russel had to be rescued from his car, which got caught in floodwaters just outside Richmond.

He said he saw a detour sign, took a wrong turn, and got caught in the rapidly rising water:

I started coming down on the road when all of a sudden it just got deeper and deeper, the car stopped and started to flood.

It was really traumatic, I couldn’t even open the sun roof.

Russel said he climbed onto the roof of his car to stay safe, with the SES and NSW Police coming to his rescue.

Drenched but in good spirits, he said he was going to be ok:

It’s OK, I live in the high part of Richmond. But this is the fourth time we’ve seen this floods, it’s a bit much, bit dramatic.

But there’s nothing you can do, it’s an act of God.

Residential properties and roads are submerged under floodwater from the swollen Hawkesbury River, in Windsor.
Residential properties and roads are submerged under floodwater from the swollen Hawkesbury River, in Windsor. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/EPA

Updated

Stranded ship is Portland Bay bulk carrier

I’ve found out a little more about the stranded ship that has sparked an urgent rescue operation off the NSW coast.

The ship is the Portland Bay bulk carrier, registered under the Hong Kong flag. It departed Port Kembla yesterday, about 1.30pm. Live tracking data suggests that it is drifting back towards the shore near the Royal National Park. Emergency services and military helicopters have been scrambled to rescue those on board.

In a statement, NSW police said:

A sea rescue operation is currently under way off the coast of the Royal National Park in Sydney’s south.

A co-ordinated operation utilising Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), Marine Area Command, and officers from Sutherland Police Area Command and Wollongong Police District are responding to reports a commercial vessel had encountered mechanical issues about two nautical miles off-shore.

Two helicopters have been deployed to rescue 21 crew onboard. Two vessels attached to Port Kembla and Botany Bay Marine Area Command are onsite assisting.

No further information available at this stage.

We are waiting on a statement from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Updated

Evacuation orders for parts of Richards and Londonderry in Sydney’s north-west

A couple of evacuation orders from the last hour for parts of Richards and parts of Londonderry. Residents and businesses in those areas are ordered to evacuate by 2pm today.



Updated

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet says the federal emergency minister Murray Watt will be on the ground at the flood operations centre today, which he says is “really pleasing”.

There’s a really strong focus in all these media appearances by state and federal politicians today on how they’re all coordinating, all working together – a lot of effort going into appearing united.

Stranded cargo ship anchored off coast but crew airlift delayed because unsafe

NSW police are providing more information about the rescue effort of the stranded ship off the coast of NSW:

A vessel departed Wollongong this morning at about 7:30 and the New South Wales police force was notified that it had lost power and was drifting towards the cliffs of the Royal national park.

The current situation is that this vessel is now double anchored about 1km east of the Royal national park and there is a tugboat on its way that should be there now, actually, that is assisting in pulling the bow of the vessel, which will reduce the chances of it being further pushed towards the cliffs.

There is another tugboat which is about two hours away which will have the capacity to pull it further ... There are 21 crew members on board and there was thought of airlifting some of those crew members off the vessel. I have spoken to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority which indicated they believe it is unsafe to do that at this present time and they have delayed that rescue mission.

Updated

Warning against unnecessary travel amid flood crisis

The SES and the government are advising people not to travel if they don’t have to – to readjust holiday plans if necessary until after all this has passed, which may be some days.

SES commissioner Carlene York has just got up at the press conference:

We’re not out of the danger yet with the significant weather event. As the premier said there has been a large number of requests for assistance and flood rescues over the last – particularly over the last 72 hours – so I would remind people please make sensible decisions that keep you and your family safe and sensible decisions that do not put the rescuers lives at risk as well in responding to your request for assistance. There has been a lot of storm damage. Obviously, the wind has brought trees down and roof damage which the SES and alpine agencies are responding to assault.

As spoken about, some of the areas will be going into recovery and so I just remind people that where you are able to go back in your homes, just do it with safety. There is still electrical problems. There might be damage to buildings, trees, and just make sure you are aware of the risks when you return to those properties when it is safe to do so.

Updated

SES website lists details of seven flood evacuation centres

NSW emergency services minister Steph Cooke is reassuring flood affected communities that “we will be there” through the recovery process, although she doesn’t give many specifics. She notes the location of evacuation centres:

We currently have seven evacuation centres that have been established, and I would really encourage anyone who needs to go somewhere at this time, or you just don’t feel that staying at home is where you would like to be, you may be vulnerable for any number of reasons. We have established seven evacuation centres in the most high-risk areas. They are at Canley Vale, Castle Hill, Gosford, North Richmond and Richmond. Further details can be found on the SES website …

We currently have 184 registrations at those evacuation centres that have been established, and we have 68 people in emergency accommodation presently.

Cooke says the recovery process is already starting in some places:

Where it is safe to do so, we are kickstarting the recovery process. I am working closely with the commonwealth at this time and we do expect the commonwealth announcement tomorrow. We have SES communities in the Georges River area, looking at the impact of this latest flooding on people’s homes, their businesses and the local infrastructure, working closely with councils, of course, to make sure that is all captured, and that will form the basis of our discussions with the federal government in relation to rolling up support for communities as we look to get people back on their feet.

Updated

Perrottet: cargo ship in a ‘very precarious situation’

The premier says there is an evacuation effort going on, and they’ve dispatched assistance:

Currently, the commonwealth government is trying to lift eight non-essential crew from the bulk carrier. ... It is obviously a very precarious position and our thoughts are with those on board. The New South Wales government is continuing to work with commonwealth agencies to ensure that situation is rectified as quickly as possible in ensuring that all 21 crew on board are lifted to safety as quickly as possible.

Updated

Perrottet on flood situation: 'Please follow instructions'

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet:

I want to continue to ask people to follow the instructions of the SES. If there is an evacuation warning in place, please get ready to evacuate. If there is an evacuation order in place, please leave immediately.

These instructions, warnings, orders, they are not in place for the sake of it. They are there to keep you and your family safe. As we have said over the last couple of days, simply because of a past experience with a flood event, it does not mean that that will be the experience this time around. Experiences in the past do not necessarily mean that the flood event will be the same and therefore there could be a worse situation we find ourselves in so please continue to follow those instructions.

... Over the last few days, there have been 116 flood rescues. Since 9pm last night, we have had 83 flood rescues as well as 1593 requests for assistance. There is substantial effort on the ground with our SES teams working through the night and I want to thank them again for what they have been doing.

Updated

Cargo ship adrift off the coast south of Sydney, NSW police confirm

We are just getting word that a cargo ship is stranded off the coast south of Sydney, near the Royal National Park.

Police have confirmed to the Guardian there are fears the ship may run aground.

Multiple helicopters have been dispatched, including PolAir, the NSW police chopper, local rescue helicopters, and a military chopper.

Channel Nine has reported that 21 crew will need to be evacuated by helicopter.

Updated

Nine News is reporting that a cargo ship is adrift off the coast of NSW, just near Royal National Park. We’ll bring you more on this shortly.

Updated

Victoria’s Yoorrook commission requests extension

Victoria’s Indigenous truth-telling commission has formally requested a two-year extension for its inquiry to ensure the process does not “replicate colonial injustices” and “trauma”.

The call for an extended timeline comes after a series of resignations over the past six months, with commissioner Dr Wayne Atkinson’s the latest departure last month.

In an interim report released on Monday to coincide with Naidoc Week, the commission said the June 2024 deadline for its final report was “extremely ambitious” for the breadth of its inquiry, given the time needed to customise a culturally appropriate model that does not “replicate colonial injustices”.

The interim report details First Nations elders’ experiences of colonisation and the ongoing pain and harm they have experienced.

Yoorrook chair Prof Eleanor Bourke said elders deserved to “see change in their lifetime”:

Each of the some 200 elders we spoke to pointed to the ongoing effects of discriminatory policies and racist beliefs, including those that led to the stolen generations; policies and beliefs that have not only affected them, but continue to affect their children and grandchildren.

Updated

An interlude

Here’s a beautiful piece by writer Nigel Featherstone about his father, Jack, who tested positive for Covid-19 just days after he celebrated his 93rd birthday, and was given a terribly bleak prognosis.

Updated

Emergency services minister says NSW floods could be worst in 18 months

Emergency services minister Murray Watt warned in one of his radio interviews this morning that the latest flood event could be the worst in the past 18 months:

The latest information we have is that there’s a very good chance that the flooding will be worse than any of the other three floods that those areas had in the last 18 months.

The other worrying aspect to this is that there are areas that haven’t flooded before in the region in the last 18 months or so, which could well flood this time.

– with AAP


A carpark is seen inundated by floodwaters in Lansvale in Western Sydney.
A carpark is seen inundated by floodwaters in Lansvale in Western Sydney. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

A bit more on the expected rain in Queensland. “Some small creek and river rises are possible”, the BoM reports.

NSW records one death from Covid-19 with 1,725 people in hospital

There were 8,958 new cases recorded in the last reporting period, and 50 people are in intensive care.

'We trust this government, definitely': French ambassador

French ambassador Jean-Pierre Thébault says Australia is back on France’s list of key partners in the Indo-Pacific, as tensions with China continue to simmer.

After a friendly meeting between prime minister Anthony Albanese and French president Emmanuel Macron in France, Thébault said there will be future “substantial announcements” on the two nations’ cooperation.

“We trust this government, definitely,” Thébault said, after the acrimonious French reaction to Australia’s cancellation of the submarine contract under former prime minister Scott Morrison. Thébault called it the “unfortunate events”.

He told ABC’s Radio National that the two countries need to cooperate in the region and are “very close” on a number of policy areas:

There will be, definitely, at a higher level than before, specific [military] exercises that have been identified as an opportunity.

He also nominated climate change as a threat, and said France and Australia are now aligned on climate change policy under the new Albanese government.

A free trade agreement with the European Union is also “back on the table”, he said, pointing out that New Zealand has just signed its own FTA with the EU. It’s very likely to happen, but not before 2023, he said.

Definitely it’s very high on the agenda, and France will support it.

But with this new standard of the Australian government, the discussions will be more active than ever.

Updated

Ukraine ambassador says Albanese was received 'very warmly' in Kyiv

Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, has thanked Anthony Albanese for making his trip to Kyiv, saying the secret visit was “not an easy one for him to make his logistics work”.

Myroshnychenko told Radio National this morning:

President Zelenskiy was extremely happy to see him, he received him very warmly.

Prime minister Albanese made a short visit to Ukraine at the end of his European trip, pledging more than $100m in military assistance and other aid in the nation’s fight against Russia’s invasion. Albanese called Russia’s aggression “a gross violation of international law”.

Myroshnychenko said Albanese’s visit – alongside other recent visits by world leaders – sent an powerful message of solidarity:

It’s a very important signal to Russia, to have the leaders of western democracies visiting Ukraine and demonstrating that support.

It’s very important to make those trips, to be able to see what Russians have been doing in Ukraine, why Russia is so dangerous. Russia has undermined the global security order.

Russia is undermining food security, Russia is actually bringing havoc to the commodities markets ... it’s important the world leaders see that with their own eyes.

He praised Australia for “punching above its weight” in support given to Ukraine, with Albanese continually pointing out that Australia was the largest non-Nato contributor to the country’s defence effort.

Myroshnychenko said:

My president said this is really amazing, that Australia has delivered so much, being so far from Ukraine, and everybody is really impressed at the support coming from Australia.

Updated

NSW flooding expected to be worse than past floods

Ashley Sullivan, deputy state duty commander at the SES, is speaking again on ABC. He says there are about 32,000 people who are under evacuation orders.

NSW SES continues to respond to requests for assistance from the community – 3,500 requests since the start of this event, about 400 of them just overnight alone. Unfortunately about 20 flood rescues in the last 12 hours for either motorists who have driven into floodwaters or people that need to be rescued from homes.

He repeats the warnings that these floods are expected to be worse than those in the recent past:

We have seen rivers rise very fast. A lot quicker than expected. Particularly a lot quicker than the community would be used to in recent years. And I will note that these floodings in areas are predicted to be of significant height. Much higher than the March 2021 flooding, and the April 2021 flooding and even the flash flooding earlier this year.

We are asking our communities to take heed of the warnings, the orders and contact the NSW SES on 132 500 or in life-threatening circumstances always 000.

Updated

Queensland forecast

There’ll be rain in Queensland today too, but the Bureau says it will be “moderate”, and mostly clearing by Wednesday.

Updated

New Windsor bridge live cam ...

The picture in this tweet is from a live traffic camera about half an hour ago. It updates every 60 seconds. I just checked the current picture and it is much the same.

Updated

Aerial image of flooding in Western Sydney. NSW, Australia. POLAIR 1 and POLAIR 5 show the extent of flood waters in the Chipping Norton, Nepean and Hawkesbury area.
Aerial image of flooding in Western Sydney. Photograph: POLAIR

Sydney airport check-in queues

This picture of the Qantas check-in queue at Sydney Airport is enough to give me a panic attack.

Updated

Warragamba Dam still spilling but rate slowing

Some data from Water NSW about dam levels and spillage, for those of you who hanker for hard numbers:

  • Since 6am the spill rate from Warragamba Dam has fallen to 380 gigalitres per day (GL/day) down from a high of 515 GL/day yesterday afternoon (Sunday, 3 July).
  • Inflow to the dam is occurring at a rate of 240 GL/day, after rain across the catchment overnight was less than forecast.
  • All WaterNSW major dams in the Sydney network continue to spill, but the rate is also receding.

And further to that, here’s a bit more from Peter Hannam on dam capacity:

Updated

Murray Watt signals potential financial assistance for NSW floods victims

Murray Watt is asked about financial or other kinds of assistance for people who have been affected again and again by floods:

All I can do is assure people in those regions that the federal government will be supporting them. This is a terrible thing for anyone to have to go through just once, let alone four times in 18 months. So I’m not surprised to hear that people are at breaking point.

Obviously there has been assistance provided, whether it be payments or mental health support, after past disasters in the region and I’m sure that we will be very generous in our approach this time as well.

The process from here is that the NSW government needs to formally declare a disaster. We are expecting that will happen pretty soon and that will trigger a whole range of federal and state government support, everything from disaster payments to further counselling support. But as I say, I assure people that their pain is really felt at the federal and state levels and we will be standing with people as they seek to recover going forward.

Updated

Emergency services minister Murray Watt on the NSW floods crisis

Emergency services minister Murray Watt has been doing the rounds on the media this morning – he’s now on ABC News Breakfast. He’s talking about the federal government assistance that’s already been offered to New South Wales for the unfolding flood crisis, some of which we mentioned earlier:

What we have already done is approve two different deployments of ADF troops. So late on Friday night I approved two night-time helicopters from the ADF to be deployed and made available, especially for night-time operations. And also 100 troops. Some of them are actually involved yesterday in some of the evacuation activity, particularly around the Windsor area.

And then yesterday afternoon I approved an additional 100 troops at the request of the NSW government and they will become available from 8am today at 24 hours notice.

One other thing that we have also activated at the request of the NSW government is the European Union’s Copernicus emergency management system, the satellite system they use providing improved radar and visibility over the system as well.

A car is seen abandoned in floodwaters in Lansvale in Western Sydney.
A car is seen abandoned in floodwaters in Lansvale in Western Sydney. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

Updated

BoM’s latest rain update for NSW

The bureau advises “Stay vigilant and monitor warnings”

Updated

La Niña and El Niño are being intensified by climate change – and it’s ‘frightening’

The former commissioner of NSW Fire and Rescue, Greg Mullins, who is now at the Climate Council, spoke to the BBC overnight, with a stark summary of how climate crisis is affecting the frequency of natural disasters in Australia:

What is happening, big picture, is that climate change is intensifying both La Niñas, which lead to these big flood events, and El Niño, which is the opposite: we get droughts, heatwaves, and massive bushfires.

And the science is very clear: we’re seeing wild fluctuations between extreme La Niñas and extreme El Niños, but because of the warming effect of climate change, we don’t even need these events to have extreme weather any more. On the east coast of Australia, we’ve had four major floods, each of which have exceeded previous records, and it’s frightening.

Updated

Sydney flooding concern centres on Hawkesbury and Nepean

NSW emergency services minister Steph Cooke has just spoken to channel Seven. She says areas of western Sydney along the Hawkesbury and the Nepean Valley remain the areas of most concern for authorities.

The emergency services organisations are working around the clock and the SES crews have put in over 10,000 hours since this event was established on Friday.

Cooke says the SES has enough resources to deal with the current emergency and are being supported by other emergency services and the military. She says an extra 100 Australian defence force members are due to come online to support the flood effort on Monday.

Meanwhile, SES deputy duty commander Ashley Sullivan said the river levels across the region will continue to rise, given the level of saturation and the continued rainfall.

These rivers are going to continue to rise for the next couple of days. We have seen significant rainfall in the last couple of days, with the level of saturation on the ground, these rivers have risen faster than predicted.

Aerial image of flooding in Western Sydney.
Aerial image of flooding in Western Sydney. Photograph: POLAIR

Updated

Sydney airport congestion

It seems not to have improved since the weekend …

Updated

My colleague Peter Hannam has been collating some flood and rainfall data over on Twitter.

Up to 100mm rain expected to hit Sydney and the Illawarra this morning

The flood event is far from over. Up to 100mm rain could hit Sydney and the Illawarra this morning, before conditions ease into the afternoon and evening. Almost 70 evacuation orders are in place, many in western Sydney and many issued in the early hours of Monday morning, and the SES is urging residents to avoid travel and reconsider school holiday plans. But in more welcome news, the Bureau of Meteorology says the east coast low that is behind the widespread and sustained heavy rain is weakening. In a statement issued just before 5am, it said:

The east coast low has weakened into a trough over the Hunter district. Onshore flow south of the trough is still directing humid air onshore, causing moderate to at times heavy rainfall in areas near and to the south of the trough.

Drier air will push gradually northwards up the New South Wales coast through the afternoon, clearing most of the rain out of the Illawarra, Blue Mountains and Sydney regions by late this evening.

The bureau said that although rain rates have eased, heavy rainfall could still cause flash flooding in the Illawarra, Blue Mountains, Sydney Metropolitan, and parts of Hunter (including Central Coast) districts.

Heavy rainfall is possible over the Sydney metropolitan and Illawarra districts this morning before starting to ease during the afternoon and evening.

Six-hourly rainfall totals between 60 to 100mm are possible.

An amusement ride is seen inundated by floodwaters in Camden.
An amusement ride is seen inundated by floodwaters in Camden. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

Updated

People downstream from Wiseman’s Ferry urged to evacuate

Those in the low-lying areas of the Lower Hawkesbury downstream from Wiseman’s Ferry are ordered to evacuate by 10am today, per the SES:

Updated

20 people rescued from flood water overnight in NSW

Emergency services rescued 20 people from rising flood waters across New South Wales overnight as the state braces for another day of heavy rain and wild weather.

Most of those rescues involved helping people who had driven into flood waters, something the SES described as “very unfortunate”.

Other residents were leaving it too late to evacuate, the SES said, and becoming stranded in their homes by rapidly rising rivers or floodwaters.

Vision released early Monday morning showed SES officers wading through fast-moving waters and scaling roofs in the dark to help affected residents.

Ashley Sullivan, SES deputy state duty commander, said his volunteers had responded to almost 3,500 requests for assistance since the flood event began. About 400 of those requests for assistance were made on Sunday night alone.

Sullivan reiterated a plea for residents to consider their movements and stay at home.

I understand it’s school holidays, but really have a look at your travel plans, if you do have any. If you don’t need to leave home, please, you know, bunker down at home if it’s safe to do so. Obviously, we’ve issued about 70 evacuation orders, mostly in the Hawkesbury-Nepean area.

Updated

Thousands evacuate as Sydney rivers rise

Here’s more from NSW SES’s Ashley Sullivan from earlier this morning, per AAP.

He says even if the rain eases this week, as predicted, rivers will continue to rise because the ground is already saturated from the last flood emergency.

Speaking to Nine this morning, he said:

We are seeing these rivers rise much faster than what’s been predicted. Much faster than what we expected.

Things are happening quicker. The risk ... has increased significantly.

The SES is asking people to promptly heed evacuation orders and refrain from driving into flood waters.

If you leave it too late, it becomes a rescue and our emergency service partners and the SES have to come and rescue you. We want to avoid that.

We’re still pulling people out of cars, we’re attending a lot of properties where people left it too late.

Numerous evacuation centres have been set up across western Sydney.

You will be looked after. Head to the evacuation centre. Play it safe.

Updated

Albanese commits more than $100m to Ukraine following trip to Kyiv

Australia will send more than $100m in new aid to Ukraine including military equipment, as well as levelling sanctions on 16 new Russian officials, following prime minister Anthony Albanese’s secret trip to Kyiv.

Albanese tacked on a day visit to Ukraine at the end of his European trip for the Nato summit, where he met the country’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and toured parts of the country devastated by Russia’s aggression.

The PM said in a statement following his trip:

Russia’s brutal invasion is a gross violation of international law. I saw first-hand the devastation and trauma it has inflicted on the people of Ukraine ...

My visit to Kyiv and recent visits by other world leaders sends a clear message that democratic nations like Australia will stand side by side with the Ukrainian people in their time of need.

The Australian government had kept the trip under tight wraps for security purposes, with only a small pool of journalists allowed to travel with him to Ukraine, and a media blackout imposed on Australian media until he had left the country. However, international media and Ukrainian officials reported details of the trip earlier, ahead of Albanese’s office releasing a statement around 6.30am AEST on Monday.

In his statement, Albanese committed $99.5m in military assistance, including 14 armoured personnel carriers, 20 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles and other military equipment; a contribution to Nato’s Ukraine Comprehensive Assistance Package Trust Fund; and $8.7m to assist Ukraine’s Border Guard Service to upgrade border management equipment, cybersecurity and border operations in the field.

Australia will impose new financial sanctions and travel bans on 16 further Russian ministers and oligarchs, as well as plan to will intervene at the international court of justice in support of Ukraine in its case against Russia.

The government will also allow duty-free access to Australia for Ukrainian imports, and prohibit the import of Russian gold.

Albanese said the new contributions bring Australia’s total military assistance to Ukraine to approximately A$388m:

I sincerely thank President Zelenskyy, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Australian Defence Force for ensuring the safety of my visit.

President Zelenskyy’s leadership has rallied the Ukrainian people to defend their country and inspired the world to support humanity and freedom. The road ahead is hard but I am confident Ukraine will prevail.

Updated

The mayor of Hawkesbury, Patrick Conolly, also spoke briefly on ABC Sydney.

I’m actually standing here at Windsor Bridge right now. They’re predicting a peak here of 13.3 metres, which places it slightly lower than March 22, but higher than March 21, but overall, a very similar event...

So much damage from March and April hadn’t been repaired yet. Or people are just started repairs just to have [them washed] out again now.

La Niña likely to continue into next summer

Watt is also pretty straight up in connecting the repeated floods with climate crisis – a relief, in some ways, to have politicians acknowledge the bleeding obvious, even just for discourse on this stuff:

It had been a very worrying pattern, and we’re reading even this morning in the papers but La Niña is likely to continue this year, and we could be facing another very wet summer ...

You know, the elephant in the room here is climate change. And you know, for all those people who’ve been denying that it’s happening, it’s right here now, it’s right before our eyes and that’s, again, why we’ve got to take serious action about climate change, to make sure that we can reduce the impact of events in the future.

Updated

Watt says there’s been “very good cooperation between state and federal agencies” so far:

I want to commend them for the proactive approach that they’ve taken in making sure that we do have resources on the ground at an early stage. I think we saw over the last couple of years frankly, the federal government in particular was quite slow to respond and sometimes things got bogged down in disputes between the federal government and the state government.

What we have done this time is try to get involved at an early stage in discussions with the New South Wales government to sort of try to preempt what might be needed so that and then get the paperwork moving. You know, we’ve made sure that the approvals have happened very quickly. Because the last thing we want to be doing is scrambling after the event to send resources in when it’s all to like, we’ve seen that happen in the past, and we want to avoid that going forward.

A children’s play area is inundated by flood waters in Camden in south-western Sydney on Sunday.
A children’s play area is inundated by flood waters in Camden in south-western Sydney on Sunday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Murray Watt, minister for emergency management, is speaking on ABC Sydney. The federal government has made another 100 ADF troops and another couple of helicopters available overnight to assist with the NSW floods. They haven’t been used yet, as far as he know, which he hopes “is a good sign”:

The major reason they were deployed was that while the New South Wales Government has a number of aircraft at its disposal, they don’t have nighttime capability. And the army helicopters obviously can be performing nighttime rescues and things like that. So I think it would probably be a good sign if they haven’t been used, but we’re waiting for an update on that myself.

SES focusing efforts on Hawkesbury-Nepean area

Ashley Sullivan, duty commander for the New South Wales SES, has just been speaking on ABC News Breakfast. He says they are focusing predominantly on the Hawkesbury-Nepean area, but there are warnings in place in the Blue Mountains and out to Bathurst, Wellington, the Hunter Valley, Central Coast.

Sullivan:

There’s all warnings, weather warnings or flood warnings current for those communities. Hawkesbury-Nepean is certainly a concern of ours, particularly with the weather predicted in the next 24 to 48 hours. If that rainfall does event out, that’s a real concern for the New South Wales SES. We are preparing. We’re mobilising as many emergency services as we can. We’ve got ADF in support. Our new capabilities in high-clearance vehicles are out there supporting our communities and keeping our own. We do ask those communities to really consider that travel. Prepare your home emergency plan, evacuate if you need to. Seek support of friends and emergency services if required.

Updated

Good morning

Thousands of people have been evacuated in greater Sydney and more than 130 rescues have taken place in the past 24 hours as an east coast low, which is expected to persist until Tuesday, brought widespread rainfall, thunderstorms and flash flooding across the state.

More than 60 evacuation orders are in place in the city. The Bureau of Meteorology says the heavy rain may lead to flash flooding in the Illawarra, Blue Mountains, Sydney metropolitan and parts of Hunter and Central Coast districts today.

Meanwhile the prime minister Anthony Albanese has visited Ukraine and pledged to increase Australia’s aid to the worn-torn country in a meeting with president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

We’re going to jump straight into it this morning. I’m Stephanie Convery and I’ll be with you until lunchtime today.

If you see something that you reckon ought to be in here, you can catch me by email at stephanie.convery@theguardian.com or on Twitter at @gingerandhoney.

Updated

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