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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Stephanie Convery and Mostafa Rachwani

Scott Morrison says defence force ‘not available on a moment’s notice’ to respond to disaster – as it happened

Scott Morrison Lismore New South Wales Queensland Sydney Australia SA NT Bureau of Meteorology Labor
Prime minister Scott Morrison
Prime minister Scott Morrison addresses the media at the emergency operations centre in Lismore on Wednesday. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

What we learned, Wednesday 9 March

And that’s a wrap for the blog. Here are just some of the things that unfolded today:

  • Scott Morrison visited flood-affected regions of NSW’s northern rivers but received the opposite of a hero’s welcome, with residents of flood-devastated Lismore protesting his visit and calling for meaningful action on climate change.
  • Lismore residents said they were “devastated” that the prime minister “snuck in through the back door” so he would not have to face the crowd.
  • Morrison was in town in the wake of the flood disaster to announce a suite of assistance measures for flood-affected areas, as well as his intention to declare a national emergency for those parts of Queensland and NSW, as the cleanup continues across those states.
  • The body of a man has been found in flood waters in Sydney’s south-west. It’s believed to be a delivery driver who was reported missing on Tuesday amid the city’s torrential rain after failing to make a delivery. It brings the death toll from the floods in the state to nine.
  • NSW has recorded its first death from Japanese encephalitis, with a man in his 70s who died in February having been found by post-mortem examination to have had the virus. It follows confirmation of cases of the disease in South Australia, and a death recorded from the virus in Victoria yesterday.
  • An Indigenous teenager is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot at by police in Palmerston near Darwin yesterday.
  • Victoria announced it will hold a state funeral for cricket great Shane Warne at the MCG on 30 March.
  • And Australia has recorded at least another 34 deaths from Covid-19 as case numbers tilt upward again in NSW.

Thanks for coming along with us today. Stay dry, if you can, and stay safe, and I’ll see you again tomorrow.

Updated

Scott Morrison’s announcement of extra disaster payments for people in the Richmond Valley, Lismore and Clarence Valley LGAs will be welcomed by residents, but locals are livid that three other northern rivers council areas – Ballina, Byron and Tweed – have been left off that list.

Scott Morrison stands behind a podium in Lismore in front of a crowd of local people and media
Prime minister Scott Morrison visited the emergency operations centre in Lismore today, after finishing a week in isolation following his Covid-19 diagnosis. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Morrison said the three listed LGAs were “the highest impacted areas” and “facing catastrophic conditions”. But the member for Richmond, Labor’s Justine Elliot, says she is “disgusted” that the other three were not included.

Elliot said:

People up here desperately need it. The rest of the package goes nowhere near what we need.

She said the town of Mullumbimby, in the Byron LGA, had been devastated by flooding and deserved more support. Elliot also said Ballina, Murwillumbah and Chinderah had been hit hard, leaving “thousands” of people currently homeless – including many people who had been living in caravan parks.

We have emergency housing needs, thousands of people have nowhere to live. The level of incompetence is overwhelming – where will these people live in the short and long term?

It’s astounding ... it’s just more rolling incompetence. They’re completely useless.

Updated

The Australian energy minister, Angus Taylor, has criticised “activists” for opposing new oil and gas development in the Beetaloo Basin, declaring European nations are now regretting not pursuing a “gas-fired recovery”, writes Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy.

Because of the climate risks associated with the development, last year more than 60 leading climate scientists issued a dire warning over the plan to frack the Beetaloo Basin, saying it must be halted if the Northern Territory government cannot meet a promise to fully offset emissions.

Read more here:

State funeral for Shane Warne to take place on 30 March

A man holding his hat stands next to the statue of Shane Warne near the Melbourne Cricket Ground, around which people have left tributes and flowers for the late cricketer
People have been leaving tributes and flowers for the late Shane Warne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has announced that the state will hold a funeral at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 30 March for the late cricketer Shane Warne, who died suddenly last week.

Andrews said on Twitter:

There’s nowhere in the world more appropriate to farewell Warnie than the ‘G.

Victorians will be able to pay tribute to Shane and his contribution our state, and his sport, at a memorial service at the MCG on the evening of March 30th. Info and tickets will be available soon.

Updated

A 50-year-old man became the first Victorian to face court for an exit trafficking offence today, after he allegedly deceived a woman into travelling to Sudan in order to cancel her visa and prevent her from returning to Australia.

According to a statement from the Australian Federal Police, the man was expected to appear in Melbourne magistrates court, charged over allegations he tried to cancel his then-wife’s Australian visa without her knowledge in 2014 and left her stranded overseas.

The statement says that AFP officers charged the man on 27 February with “organising or facilitating the exit of another person, from Australia, by deception” which is against the law and carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in jail.

The AFP acting commander, Ray Imbriano, said:

Exit trafficking is an insidious offence which is increasingly coming to the attention of the Australian Federal Police human trafficking team. Exit trafficking is not often discussed, or even considered to be an issue in Australian society, however it does happen here.

It is often unreported and victims in our communities are suffering in silence.

No one has the right to ‘cancel’ another person’s visa, including the visa sponsor. This type of behaviour is a commonwealth offence and carries a potential 12-year jail term.

Updated

Earlier today, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, privately visited a dairy farm in Lismore (media weren’t invited) that had been severely affected by the floods.

It turns out that farm that Morrison visited was owned by Paul Weir, who lost half of his 300 cows when they were washed away by the flood water – a deeply distressing incident that Weir captured on video. You can read more about that here:

Weir just spoke on ABC radio, saying the prime minister was “very empathetic” in his visit today.

Updated

This is pretty striking – images of Sydney before and after 17 straight days of rain.

Composite image of Mackellar Girls School before and after the floods
Flooding from a swollen Manly Creek inundated cars and the street at Campbell Parade in Manly Vale, north of Sydney, on Tuesday. Composite: Dan Himbrechts/Google Maps/AAP

Updated

It’s First Dog on the Moon time, everyone. Tag yourself, I’m “some other infuriating rubbish”.

Back on NSW’s Hawkesbury River flooding:

More on those bullying allegations made by Victorian MP Kaushaliya Vaghela, from AAP’s report:

Vaghela said she made repeated complaints to the Daniel Andrews’s office but no immediate action was taken. She has referred her claims to WorkSafe and intends to hand over relevant text messages and emails.

She said she had a “good relationship” with the premier before she left his socialist left faction but then his manner changed:

He was hostile. He would not speak or acknowledge me. He treated me as if I was invisible.

The premier would brush past me at events, and publicly embrace the bullies and their friends as if to reward and encourage their bullying behaviour.

Labor whip Nina Taylor said the government fundamentally refuted the allegations and reiterated a staffer alleged to have been involved in the bullying claims was dismissed following a complaints process:

These allegations are definitively rejected by our government because we believe in stopping violence and harassment against women, and our record puts that beyond doubt.

Outside parliament, Andrews refused to be drawn on the claims.

Vaghela resigned from the Labor party after crossing the floor last month to support a motion from Somyurek to refer Labor’s previous misuse of taxpayer funds for the 2014 election campaign to the ombudsman to be re-investigated.

Updated

A rebel MP has accused the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, as well as other Labor members and staff of participating in a “systematic bullying campaign” as part of a factional spat, AAP reports.

Kaushaliya Vaghela moved a motion in the upper house on Wednesday to claim she had been bullied by some in the party, including Andrews and the minister for women, Gabrielle Williams.

Under parliamentary privilege, she said she was “systematically targeted” after she decided to switch from the party’s Socialist Left to the right faction, then led by now disgraced powerbroker Adem Somyurek, before the 2018 state election.

Vaghela said Williams sent her an “angry” text after she changed factions, questioning her integrity and demanding an explanation. She told the chamber in a 20-minute speech:

Little did I know that the text message was [the] opening salvo to the worst period of my life.

She said a group of men, led by a “personal friend” of the premier and a staff member from his private office, ran an incessant harassment and intimidation campaign in retaliation:

At events, they would stand over me, and invade my space – pointing and laughing, mocking and sneering at me.

She said the premier’s friend sent her a threatening text message at 2am on 6 April 2019 and another member of the group called her a “circus monkey” on social media.

Cont. in following post.

Gold Coast company FuturePro Pty Ltd, trading as Inet Herbal, has pleaded guilty to seven breaches of the Therapeutic Goods Act for the unlawful import, export, manufacture, supply, and advertising of herbal medicines with claims relating to the prevention and treatment of illnesses including various types of cancers.

The director of FuturePro pleaded guilty to a further seven criminal charges, with a sentencing hearing set for 28 April at Southport courthouse in Queensland.

The therapeutic products were illegally advertised as medicines and carried false claims, including that they helped with the prevention and treatment of various forms of cancers. They also claimed to treat and prevent other medical illnesses including some affecting the immune system, respiratory health, and heart health.

The illegally advertised therapeutic products included Zenith Salve containing a chemical known as dimethylsulfoxide [DMSO], a restricted prescription-only medicine. The product was also commonly known as bloodroot salve or black salve. Other products included Zenith Gentle Salve with DMSO, triple strength bloodroot (capsules), double strength bloodroot (capsules), Gumby Gumby (capsules) and Zen Pain Relief Drops.

Drugs regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration said in a statement:

Consumers are warned not to use dangerous black salve products.

Black salve is a corrosive topical paste and can burn and destroy layers of skin and surrounding tissue. Application can result in dead skin tissue and thick dark scarring. Bloodroot capsules may contain several of the same ingredients as black salve and must not be taken by mouth.

The black salve and bloodroot capsules contained banned substance Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot). This ingredient is of such danger to health it is prohibited from sale, supply and use in Australia.

There is no credible, scientific evidence to substantiate benefits of these products for the management of serious conditions including cancer.

The TGA said:

The illegal conduct was dangerous and posed a great risk to public health.

Updated

The latest insurance claims figures are in, and they have risen to 107,844 claims for the south-east Queensland and NSW floods.

That’s up 11% overall in a day, but NSW is up 25%. So far, Queensland amounts to two-thirds, and the rest are in NSW, the Insurance Council of Australia said.

The estimated cost so far is up to $1.62bn. S&P expects the tally to climb past $2bn, but that looks to be a conservative estimate since the bill for Sydney’s second east coast low in a week will take a while yet to count.

Updated

First death from Japanese encephalitis recorded in NSW

NSW Health has just reported that a man from the Griffith region in his 70s who died in a Sydney hospital on 13 February was confirmed today after a postmortem examination to have had Japanese encephalitis, or JEV.

There are now three known cases of JEV in NSW residents, including two cases announced previously, a man and child, who are currently being cared for in Victorian hospitals.

NSW Health said:

Several more people in NSW are undergoing further testing for JE, and more cases are expected to be confirmed over the coming days and weeks.

Locally acquired cases of JE have never previously been identified in NSW in animals or humans. Since late February 2022, the JE virus has been confirmed in samples from pig farms in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.

NSW Health is working closely with the NSW Department of Primary Industries, the Commonwealth Department of Health and other state and territory agencies to determine the extent to which the virus is circulating.

It follows the first recorded death from JEV in Victoria.

For more information about JEV, how it occurs and who is most at risk, read more here:

Updated

A man's body has been found in flood water in Sydney's west

NSW police have located the body of a man in flood waters in Sydney’s west.

The man, a delivery driver who had been out working on Tuesday in the catastrophic rain, was reported missing after he failed to make a delivery at 6am.

Here’s their official statement:

Officers attached to Liverpool City Police Area Command commenced an investigation into the whereabouts of a 50-year-old man, after a delivery truck he was driving was located submerged in water at Wolstenhome Avenue, Greendale, about 9pm yesterday (Tuesday 8 March 2022).

Police were told by his employer that he had left Greendale about 12am that morning (Tuesday 8 March 2022) and failed to make a delivery at 6am.

Following a large-scale search of the surrounding area involving specialist resources including Police Divers, PolAir and NSW SES, the body of a man was located in flood water.

The body is yet to be formally identified but is believed to be that of the missing man.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the man’s death is underway and a report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.

Updated

Australia’s economy was growing at its (equal) fastest rate since the March quarter of 1974 during the final three months of 2021.

What isn’t usually talked up by politicians is how much the debt binge by federal and state governments has been the propellant for much of the growth.

Last November, the federal midyear update showed how the commonwealth is on track for almost $1tn (that’s $1,000,000,000,000, or about $40,000 per Australian) by 2024-25.

Well S&P Global has an interesting report showing how debt by states and the ACT (they don’t rate the Northern Territory), and they project their debt will climb past the half-trillion dollar mark by the end of this fiscal year.

Note, that’s a 90% jump in three years. The medical and economic assistance to keep the economies from collapse during the Covid pandemic is of course the main reason for the debt mountain we’ve constructed.

NSW alone has had to tip in $45bn, treasurer Matt Kean says. (And the current floods are only going to add to that tab, with $200m alone earmarked to support small business announced today.)

And while Victoria leads other states in total debt – somewhat surprisingly since its economy is half of NSW’s – there seems to be a political pattern in which governments increased spending the most in the past fews. And it’s the outcome you might have expected.

Updated

The Victorian government will convene a working group to give advice on a possible trial of drug decriminalisation in the state.

The attorney general, Jacyln Symes, told parliament’s upper house on Wednesday the group will consist of police, health professionals, addiction specialists and youth workers, who will advise on possible options for a trial of infringement notices.

The commitment comes as Reason party MP Fiona Patten’s bill to decriminalise drugs is being debated.

Under Patten’s proposal, police would issue a compulsory notice and referral to drug education or treatment to people believed to have used or possessed a drug of dependence.

If they comply, there would be no finding of guilt and no recorded criminal outcome.

Patten has described the war on drugs as “one of the most disastrous public policy failures in modern history”, which has destroyed lives, wasted money and created a black market that has enriched organised criminals.

Here’s a story we put together on the issue yesterday:

Updated

Lawyers acting for Bayside City Council in the hearing over whether constituents can display signs for independent candidate for Goldstein Zoe Daniel have now argued that the law was intended to cover signs of any kind, regardless of the size of the sign.

The council has said people cannot put up signs in their yards for more than three months, and given the last date the House of Reps election can be held is 3 September, the signs cannot be put up until early June, or when the election is called.

The council’s legal representation said:

The purpose [of the law] is to ensure visual amenity and an orderly planning scheme for visual amenity, so signs have a particular capacity to change the visual landscape.

Lawyers for Daniel’s campaign director, Keith Badger, who brought the case, argued that interpretation of the rule favours the incumbent, given election campaigns will be well shorter than three months once called.

Updated

'He just slipped in the back door': Lismore residents express dismay at PM's visit

Lismore residents say they are “devastated” that Scott Morrison “snuck in through the back door” so he would not have to face protesters when he arrived at the flood-stricken community today.

“He at least could have had the decency to come and address the people affected. He just slipped in the back door,” said Lismore resident Kate Stroud, who lost everything in the flood.

Stroud said there were about 300 people there who wanted to hear directly from the PM.

He refused to come out. He didn’t hear first hand how it’s affected us and what we need. We know what we need.

She said the community were struggling and felt the response had been lacklustre from the government.

[The night we flooded] we were trying to call 000 with no luck, calling the SES with no luck when we needed to get a boat out. They were so overwhelmed.

And in the end, we got saved by a gentleman from Ballina on a jet ski who came to help. Today is the first day I saw any officials, it was the first day I saw the military. They Amy have been in the CBD but they have not been out helping people who live in the surrounding areas.

It’s disturbing. It feels like we are the forgotten people in the Northern Rivers, we need solid inspiring responsive leadership.

Updated

Australia can't fix climate change if other countries don't cut emissions, Morrison says

Now we’re getting into the nitty gritty of climate crisis debate. Morrison essentially returns to the line that it’s not really our problem to solve, it’s those pesky other countries overseas:

I made two points, climate change is having impact hearing Australia. That is why is a government we’ve committed, the first government to commit, [to] net zero by 2050.

I’ll tell you what’s not going to fix climate change. What’s not going to fix it is doing something in Australia and then in other developing countries their emissions continue to rise.

That won’t change the climate here. What changes the climate in the Northern Rivers is if the global climate is affected. And that’s what the technology work that we’re doing, which we’re doing with Indonesia, which we are doing with Vietnam, doing with India, with countries that have rising emissions profiles, we need to be able to give them the commercial technology that enables the country to get on a low emissions, net zero emissions profile over the next generation.

If you don’t achieve that, you can get a warm fuzzy feeling here in Australia and I think it’s great that we have reduced emissions by 20%, and I think it’s great we’ve got a commitment to get to net zero by 2050. But the real challenge of addressing climate change is ensuring that we’re working with other countries in the region and particularly developing countries to ensure we have the technology, the changes, how they’re able to grow their economies, and that’s what Australia is seeking to do and as a leader in the world is seeking to do. Thank you everyone.

And with that, the press conference is over.

Updated

Morrison defends speed of ADF response

Further to the point about the community response and the lack of resources provided quickly, particularly military resources, Morrison said:

There will always be a community response and disasters such as this because the community is already there. And the resources move and they come as you see them now. But they are not available on a moment’s notice. I think it is unrealistic to have that set as an expectation.

What has occurred as a flood event which, even on the Sunday before this occurred, was still not being forecast to dip above what was the highest level flood ever in the Northern Rivers.

It has taken everybody including the community by surprise, no one expected to get to those levels. And what we’re dealing with here is an extraordinary event. Australia’s becoming a harder country to live in because of these natural disasters.

And that’s why we’ve established agencies like the recovery and resilience agency. That’s why Resilience NSW has been established and that’s why the lessons from all of these disasters have been applied.

And so it will always be a joint response from community, from governments and other agencies to ensure Australians get through.

Australian defence force personnel assist with the cleanup in Lismore.
Australian defence force personnel assist with the cleanup in Lismore. Photograph: Jason O’Brien/EPA

Updated

'We are dealing with a different climate': Morrison

Just dialling back slightly because before the last exchange Morrison was asked a very pertinent question about the climate crisis. He says “we are dealing with a different climate” and “Australia is getting harder to live in”.

Reporter:

[You said you] understood climate change, that it’s real and it’s happening now and you said that you met with the national security committee about this. We’ve seen all sorts of issues raised about deployment of defence resources. Do you consider disasters a national security issue?

Morrison:

I’ve said as much in the past, we are dealing with a different climate to the one we were dealing with before. I think is just an obvious fact – Australia is getting hard to live in because of these disasters.

This is why we’ve put in a $10bn reinsurance bill to ensure that we can ensure livelihoods and businesses at homes in the north of Australia.

We are already taking action on all of this, the practical consequences of what you’re talking about are the policies the government has been [enacting]. And so we do recognise that. The things that will actually help save people here and flood events like this, the medication in other words, it hasn’t been done.

Updated

Morrison is also being challenged quite passionately about the lack of official response to the disaster, with the speaker (they are not visible) saying that the locals were essentially conducting rescues themselves, people couldn’t get through on 000. A reporter follows up:

Reporter:

Is it not unreasonable that a community who have been through high have gone such a burden on the rescue and coordination in this response as the ABC mentioned, people can’t get through on a 000, there was a local Lismore woman who set up a database of people urgently waiting to be rescued from the homes – is it not unreasonable, that they had to do so much?

Morrison:

All of the services, in an event like this, which has put unprecedented strain on local and state resources in particular and federal resources when it comes to responding to an event like this scale are unprecedented, unforeseen. It’s obviously going to have an impact and it doesn’t matter whether you’re the most advanced economy in the world or a developing country, natural disasters of the scale have a brittle and terrible impact than what you do as you get in, you work together and you seek to restore the situation as quickly as compassionately as you can. You work with local communities to achieve that and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

We spoke today about every government, or the agencies doing their jobs, doing the job they’re responsible for, focusing on getting the job done that’s exactly what happened.

Another reporter follows this by saying people feel like they’ve been abandoned by the government. “Do you understand why they feel that way?”

Morrison:

Yes, I do. It is very common in natural disasters that their frustration and the anger and the sense of abandonment, this happens in every natural disaster. Because of the scale... I feel deeply and empathise absolutely with how people feel when they find themselves in this situation. As the rain comes pouring down and places are cut off, and the inability of getting help to be a Defence Force acids and tracks on vehicles, this is a very complete and very challenging environment.

A reporter challenges this state of emergency declaration process:

Reporter:

Is it not flawed plan that the premiers have to write you in writing to get a disaster declared? Anyone could see last week it was going to be a disaster.

Morrison:

That is the requirement of the legislation.

Reporter:

Doesn’t it need be overhauled?

Morrison:

I will make two comments. We have moved from a major flood event to a natural disaster, that is what has occurred over the last few days and at this stage a state of emergency has not been declared ... in NSW to the best of my knowledge. And Queensland. It will be the commonwealth the first to move on that. All this does is effectively remove some red tape when it comes to how commonwealth agencies are able to perform the duties in relation to this disaster.

It doesn’t impact ADF resources, doesn’t trigger any payments – those arrangements under the law have already been made.

Lismore residents protest today before the arrival of Scott Morrison.
Lismore residents protest today before the arrival of Scott Morrison. Photograph: Dave Hunt/EPA

Updated

Morrison is now explaining the formal process required of the government to declare a National Emergency in the flooded regions of NSW and Queensland (tldr, it’s not as simple as just proclaiming that it is one):

The other thing I should have mentioned that has been flagged earlier today – the national state of emergency declaration, which was established after the black summer bushfires, and the royal commission that was held, I announced my intention to recommend to the governor general a national emergency declaration for severe weather and flooding events across NSW and Queensland to make sure all emergency power is available and we cut through red tape that might be faced. Yhat’s the principal purpose of that declaration.

That declaration requires me to consult the NSW premier and the Queensland premier. I’ve spoken to the NSW premier today. The way this occurs is they both write to me, requesting that be put in place.

I’ve had that positive discussion with the NSW premier ... and meeting with the Queensland premier tomorrow when in Brisbane, [and will] meet with the governor general on Friday in Canberra to complete those formalities.

That would be the first time a national emergency declaration has been put in place for national disaster since those powers were put in place after the black summer bushfires.

Updated

Senator Bridget McKenzie speaks briefly about the mental health assistance that the government has promised along with the financial support.

She’s followed by Major General David Thomae from the ADF, speaking about the defence force response in Lismore:

The Australian defence force is ramping up its presence in the Northern Rivers. As of today we will be 1,800 people, building up to 4,000 in coming days, a combination of engineers, general duties people to support the community. And I have nine aircraft, ADF helicopters to get round and push people into those most needed communities as we move forward.

Our engineers have been on the streets of Lismore conducting assessment, across into those remote communities to find out where the need is, we are conducting eardrops of food and water and supporting indigenous communities south of Lismore. And we will continue to do so.

Updated

Morrison on flood mitigation: 'We need to get this sorted ... enough of the talk'

Morrison:

We also have to give people hope about the future of the northern rivers. These issues have been debated in and around Lismore for a very long time.

I have spoken to the mayor and minister and premiers. We need to get this sorted. We need to ensure that once we can finalise works that need to be done, as part of managing the flood mitigation impacts here in the Northern Rivers, get done.

Enough of the talk. People have known what needs to be done for a long time, that needs to be driven by local decisions here, by the council.

If further hydrology work is required we will support that with additional funding to get that completed.

The emergency response fund of the commonwealth will be used to support and lift those works, I’m talking more than tens of millions, those costings will be between the state and premier government and local government to the extent they can contribute because we have to get this done.

An aerial image of Lismore after the floods.
An aerial image of Lismore after the floods. Photograph: Yaya Stempler/The Guardian

Updated

Morrison on the specific business supports announced:

I’m also announcing today that we will provide together with the NSW government ... support for Norco and northern New South Wales on a bespoke business support package.

We’ve done this before in other parts of the country, most notably in the north Queensland floods back in 2019 and late 2018. That was an area that was devastated by floods. They lost almost their entire cattle herd. They were looking at the future not unlike I know people in the northern rivers are looking at their future today. Wondering whether there will be one.

Piles of flood-damaged goods line a main street on March 04, 2022 in central Lismore, Australia.
Piles of flood-damaged goods line a main street on March 04, 2022 in central Lismore, Australia. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images

I want to tell them there is a future for you. Just as there was a future for those in North Queensland, they are now back on their feet, farming again, exporting again, towns are alive again and they push through with support from the commonwealth government, local government and state government in Queensland. That’s what will happen here in the northern rivers.

Updated

Now Morrison is discussing the payments that we reported about an hour ago, which were essentially announced by press release.

But we must go further. Commonwealth payments we have paid around the country now total some $385m, money already paid by the commonwealth, 100%, directly into people’s bank accounts and that’s some 330,000 claims, done in one week. That will continue as the claims continued to come forward.

But in the first instance, in the council areas of Richmond Valley, Lismore and Clarence Valley, we will be extending those commonwealth disaster payments for a further two payments so those who received the $1,000 payment or $400 for their children for each child, automatically from the 15th and 22nd of this month, they will receive exactly the same payment again into their bank accounts.

Updated

Morrison continues, thanking the local mayors of Lismore and Richmond Valley, noting the last time he was there speaking to them was during the Black Summer bushfires.

He recaps the flood relief the state and federal governments have already committed, which he says together is about $1b, and includes grants for small businesses. But, he says:

That won’t be enough here in the northern rivers. As we assessed this in National Security Committee over the past week, and in particular as we came together as a budget committee ... we know very clearly that what we’re seeing here particularly in Clarence Valley, Richmond Valley and Lismore is on a whole other scale.

Updated

Scott Morrison:

Over a week ago I was in Brisbane and I was there at the start of that major, what was described by the premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as the weather bomb. It had fallen on Brisbane at that time but it was moving fast towards the northern rivers, and while I was still there, in Brisbane, that event was already unfolding, and ... the rain was pouring down particularly from that Sunday night. It was the most devastating [thing] the northern rivers has ever been seen when it comes to a flood event.

There is no flood event that’s occurred in this part of Australia like this in ... living or recorded memory, and that is a profound statement. You don’t make those things lightly.

In the northern rivers people prepared for a flood event. On this occasion, whether it was where they moved the dairy herd to, how they shifted their stock and supplies up to a higher shelf or move things from downstairs up to upstairs, expecting what the flood heights might be. It overwhelmed everything. It did it in an alarming and disturbing pace. So that is the catastrophe, the national catastrophe that we are now dealing with here.

Scott Morrison speaks to reporters in Lismore this afternoon.
Scott Morrison speaks to reporters in Lismore this afternoon alongside Bridget McKenzie. Photograph: ABC

Updated

Scott Morrison speaks to media in Lismore

The prime minister has finally emerged in Lismore, where floods have caused tremendous amounts of damage and the locals are angry. They’ve been protesting Morrison’s visit today, saying they feel like they’ve been abandoned.

Updated

A Perth man has been charged with allegedly showing a fake vaccine certificate to get into pubs in the Western Australian capital.

The 38-year-old man allegedly showed a fake electronic vaccine certificate to the staff on the door of a pub in Fremantle yesterday, a WA police spokesperson.

The spokesperson said:

It will be further alleged the man posted photographs on his social media account showing his deliberate breach of entry conditions.

Police charged the man with failing to comply with a public health direction as well as fraud and drug offences, after searching his Tuart Hill home.

He’s scheduled to appear in Fremantle magistrates court on 5 April.

Updated

At risk of sounding like a broken record, we are still waiting for Scott Morrison’s official press conference in Lismore today. He was scheduled to speak at 1.15pm – more than two hours ago.

Updated

South Australia confirms cases of Japanese encephalitis

Four suspected cases of Japanese encephalitis, or JEV, have been confirmed in South Australia, SA Health said on Wednesday, AAP reports.

There are now 14 human cases of the mosquito-borne virus in Australia, including seven in Victoria, one in Queensland and two in NSW.

All four cases in SA required hospitalisation and three acquired the infection locally.

Also included in the national tally is a Victorian man in his 60s who died on February 28, with autopsy results later revealing JEV as the cause.

The disease, which spreads to humans through mosquito bites, has infected at least 20 piggeries across the country.

Victoria’s deputy chief health officer Deborah Friedman said JEV had now been found at piggeries in the local government areas of Loddon, Campaspe, Gannawarra, Bendigo. Shepparton and Wangaratta.

She said authorities were several weeks to months behind detecting the virus, with pigs likely first exposed between September and November.

The federal government is working closely with states and territories to support the distribution of vaccine doses to at-risk population groups.

Vaccination is recommended for people who work with or around pigs, including transport workers, vets and those who cull or hunt the animals.

Updated

More from Scott Morrison speaking to emergency services:

The need is acute. The feelings are raw. The emotions are understandably real. And we must continue to work as we have been, as quickly as we possibly can to help people regather that confidence, to get that sense of competence about the future and start rebuilding and recovering their lives.

There is a lot to do and I thank you for everything you have done up until now. My sympathies to all those who have direct loss suffered through these terrible floods. Yet, here you are, that is one of the great things about this country. I thank you for your selflessness and service. With that we will get down to business.

Updated

Scott Morrison speaks to emergency services in Lismore

We’ve now got footage of the prime minister Scott Morrison speaking to emergency services in Lismore. This is not set up like a traditional press conference – that is still to come.

Morrison:

This is not just a flood event ... And had this been a flood event, then I don’t suspect we would be looking at anything like the impact we are now looking at here.

This is a major catastrophe. A natural disaster of national proportions. Like other such catastrophic natural disasters I have seen as prime minister in many places around this country over the last 3.5 years.

What I have seen in every room like this I have walked into in those situations is the dedication, selflessness, resolve, a calmness, as you just work methodically through the things you are trying to do, you understand how to do. You do it with great compassion at the same time we do it with a real professionalism.

Updated

Continued from previous post:

A critical incident investigation had been launched into why the man was armed, and into the response of police. All oversight bodies have been briefed.

The investigation will examine the use of force by officers including what other options were considered or deployed.

Investigators will liaise with the injured man’s family and the wider Indigenous community. “At least” 45 detectives were currently working on the investigation.

White:

What occurred yesterday was a critical event where police used potentially lethal force to subdue a person. Clearly that can cause angst in the community and we’re doing everything we can to ensure officer safety, the safety of our families and the community more broadly.

Updated

Indigenous teenager fights for his life after being shot by NT police

An Indigenous teenager is fighting for his life in a Darwin hospital after allegedly being shot at by a police officer six times during an incident in the Northern Territory city of Palmerston.

Two officers attended a park in the suburb of Gray around 9am on Tuesday morning where they found the man allegedly armed with a spear, police said.

NT assistant commissioner Michael White said the 19-year-old male from Palmerston attempted to throw the weapon at police officers.

He said the officers called on the man to drop the weapon, after which time one officer pulled out a taser and the other fired six rounds of bullets. Both were wearing body cameras at the time of the incident:

At this stage we’re not sure how many shots struck the person in hospital … it will form a major part of the investigation as would the distance between the man and the officer at the time the shots were fired.

The man was conveyed to Darwin hospital where he remained in a critical condition this afternoon following surgery on Tuesday, a hospital spokesperson confirmed.

White said his condition had improved from yesterday and the hospital was providing “exceptional” care. More in the next post ...

Updated

The Victorian supreme court is currently hearing a case on whether Goldstein constituents can put up signs supporting political candidates before June, despite the election not yet being called.

The case has been brought by Keith Badger, the campaign director for independent candidate Zoe Daniel, after Bayside city council warned people displaying the signs could be fined under bylaws that state signs can only be displayed 14 days after the event or over three months in total.

The last possible date an election for the House of Representatives can be held is 3 September. The incumbent member, Liberal MP Tim Wilson, had encouraged his supporters to dob in Daniel’s supporters who displayed signs before early June, resulting in the council reaffirming its existing understanding of the law, and warning people they could be fined.

Lawyers acting for Badger are arguing that the council has no power to regulate the signs because the signs are small and can be fixed to a tree or a fence. There is no construction of beams and other changes to the land itself required for the signs that would engage council powers.

They have argued it is “absurd” because if the council does have the right to regulate the signs it would mean a child protesting climate change or the war in Ukraine would also be covered.

The lawyers are also arguing about the implied freedom of political communication in Australia.

Wilson earlier tweeted he welcomed the outcome of the case either way.

Keith Badger arrives at the Victorian supreme court on Wednesday.
Keith Badger arrives at the Victorian supreme court on Wednesday. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Updated

Police search for a man feared missing in Sydney flood waters

NSW police are searching for a man believed to be missing in flood water in Sydney’s west.

A truck was found submerged in Greendale last night and the vehicle’s owner told police that Xianbin Liu failed to make a delivery yesterday morning.

Police said in a statement.

Officers attached to Liverpool City Police Area Command were alerted after an Isuzu Pantech truck was located submerged in water at Wolstenhome Avenue, Greendale about 9pm yesterday (Tuesday 8 March 2022).

The vehicle was located by the owner, who told police that one of his delivery drivers – Xianbin Liu, aged 50 – had left Greendale about 12am that morning (Tuesday 8 March 2022) and failed to make a delivery at 6am.

Inquiries are currently underway to locate Mr Liu, including a large-scale search of the area.

Police entered the water and searched the submerged vehicle and surrounds; however, the man was not located.

Mr Liu, who is from Beverly Hills, is described as being of Asian appearance, 175cm – 180cm tall, of thin build, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, with a green pattern, and navy pants.

Updated

More on those severe thunderstorms in south-east Queensland:

Morrison announces more funding for flood-hit parts of NSW and Queensland

As we wait for Scott Morrison to surface in Lismore, his office has sent out information about what he’s about to announce.

The press release begins with “more support is on the way”, confirming Morrison will recommend to the governor general that a national emergency be declared for the flood zones in northern NSW and southern Queensland. The PM says:

[This will] ensure all our emergency powers are available and that we cut through any red tape we might face in delivering services and support on the ground.

Morrison said the Richmond Valley, Lismore and Clarence Valley local government areas faced “catastrophic conditions”. The government will make people in those LGAs eligible for two more weeks of the $1,000 disaster recovery payment, available from 15 March.

Other supports to be announced include:

  • $10m for children’s’ mental health in the Northern Rivers under the “resilient kids” program;
  • $800,000 to extend the regional small business support program to include small businesses impacted by the recent flood events;
  • $5.4m to boost existing legal assistance services operating within affected communities;
  • $25m for emergency relief, food relief and financial counselling services;
  • $6.9m in support payments of $10,000 to assist early childhood education and care (ECEC) services;
  • $7m to expand the commonwealth’s business recovery and resilience service, “strengthening business”;
  • $31.2m to deliver immediate and longer term local mental health support services
  • $4.7m for primary health care services for flood-impacted Australians

Morrison is also facing flak for not bringing media along to some visits he made this morning in Lismore. The PM is still to surface publicly in Lismore.

But there was this photo captured by a Queensland sports radio show, with Morrison snapped alongside former rugby league star Scott Sattler.

Updated

Scott Morrison still hasn’t appeared, but the official media release has gone out regarding the announcements he’ll make this afternoon, including increased support for flood-affected communities.

Confusion over photographs of Scott Morrison's Lismore visit

First, journalists were not invited on Scott Morrison’s visits around flood-affected Lismore. Then we heard that the PM’s own photographer would be taking pictures, but nobody else was allowed to come along and take some.

Then the question was raised: should those official pictures be used by the media? Now we’re hearing those pictures will not be published – or perhaps they don’t exist? From here, it’s unclear.

Updated

More from Lismore, where reporters and the public are (still!) waiting for the prime minister to speak. He’s about an hour late to the microphone now, I believe.

Updated

Damage from the floods on Wattamolla Rd near Berry, which is south of Sydney.

Scott Morrison arrives in Lismore, avoiding protesters

Scott Morrison has just arrived in Lismore. My colleague Christopher Knaus, who is on the ground there, says:

Morrison was driven round the back of the council chambers, avoiding protesters, who were still shouting ‘the water is rising, no more compromising!’

Updated

Queenslanders, there’s now hail on the horizon. Please check the BoM’s warnings for your area.

When it comes to climate-induced disasters, Scott Morrison and the Coalition think we need to save for a rainy day. The problem is that it’s already pouring, writes Richard Denniss in his opinion piece this afternoon.

Read the full article here:

Updated

Queensland records 13 Covid deaths with 19 people in ICU

Queensland has recorded 4,801 new Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths. There are 262 people with the virus in hospital and 19 in ICU.

Updated

Consumer confidence in Australia falls amid floods and Ukraine war

A few weeks back, the economics guessing game was to assess the scale of the disruption from the Omicron Covid strain.

Now the uncertainty is fuelled by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and even more lately the Big Wet that started in Queensland almost two weeks ago and is still going on in parts of NSW.

Well, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment is out and it fell by 4.2% to 96.6 in March from 100.8 in February.

That’s the lowest level since September 2020, which is also the last time the index was below the 100-level, indicating that pessimists outnumber optimists.

The survey was conducted in the week of 28 February to 4 March, and so missed most of the disaster around Sydney.

Confidence in Brisbane plummeted by 11.2%, contrasting with Melbourne, which has been unaffected by the floods and where confidence was down by only 3.4%. Westpac and the Melbourne Institute said:

The war in Ukraine, the floods in south-east Queensland and Northern NSW, ongoing concerns about inflation and higher interest rates were all likely to impact confidence.

Here’s a bit more on what the Russian invasion might mean for the Australian economy:

And the RBA Governor Phil Lowe chimed in with a note that higher interest rates are “plausible” this year.

Updated

While we wait for Scott Morrison’s arrival in Lismore, here’s the view from above the flooded Hawkesbury River in NSW today.

Mandy Nolan, who lives in Mullumbimby, is outside waiting for Scott Morrison’s imminent arrival in Lismore. He’s now slightly late for his scheduled 1.15pm arrival.

Nolan says the floods, for the first time, have linked two of the most pressing issues facing the region: housing and climate change. She says:

This has been the first time we’ve seen the two issues people care most about. When you go door to door and ask people what they care about, they just intersected on the 28th of February. They became a super-powered issue.

Nolan is running for the seat of Richmond for the Greens. She tells the Guardian her home is safe, luckily, but her campaign manager’s house was inundated.

Updated

Protesters in Lismore are chanting simply “we need help” and “where were you” ahead of Scott Morrison’s arrival in the Northern Rivers.

He’s due here in about five minutes.

One of those who spoke ahead of his arrival was Hanabeth Luke. She’s an independent candidate for Page, the eighth poorest electorate in the country.

“We already have half the community on less than $500 per week. Who can afford $27,000 a week in flood insurance?”

Further to that ...

Updated

If you remember what happened when Scott Morrison visited bushfire-ravaged Cobargo two years ago, this appears to be an attempt to avoid a repeat of the same thing.

ACT records 838 Covid cases with 37 in hospital

The ACT has recorded 838 new Covid-19 cases and no deaths in the past 24 hours. There are 37 people with Covid in hospital, two of whom are in ICU.

Updated

More from Chris Knaus on the ground in Lismore.

National Covid summary

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 34 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 838
  • In hospital: 37 (with 2 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 9
  • Cases: 13,179
  • In hospital: 1,038 (with 39 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 205
  • In hospital: 33 (with 1 person in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 13
  • Cases: 4,801
  • In hospital: 262 (with 19 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 3
  • Cases: 2,560
  • In hospital: 90 (with 15 people in ICU)

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 1,109
  • In hospital: 14 (with 4 people in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 9
  • Cases: 7,081
  • In hospital: 196 (with 32 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 3,594
  • In hospital: 67 (with 0 people in ICU)

Updated

Tasmania records 1,109 new Covid cases

Tasmania has recorded 1,109 new Covid-19 cases, with no new deaths recorded there in the past 24 hours. There are 14 people with Covid in hospital with four in ICU.

Updated

Guardian reporter Christopher Knaus is in Lismore, talking to the flood-stricken community.

According to NBN, there are still a little over 3,900 homes and businesses affected by outages on its network in Northern New South Wales, an improvement from about 5,800 yesterday afternoon.

An NBN spokesperson said:

While we are making progress with restorations, some of the repairs required are quite complex and access is still an issue in some areas.

Areas still affected include Tweed Heads, Nimbin, Ballina, Murwillumbah, Coraki, Lismore, and parts of Woodburn, as well as some smaller communities where access due to landslides and road closures is still a problem, NBN said.

And the BoM has also just updated its storm warnings for Queensland.

Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for damaging winds and heavy rainfall in Capricornia and Wide Bay and Burnett districts, including Gympie, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton and more.

Thunderstorms also forecast to continue in the east and south-east, including Brisbane and the Gold Coast area. Again, please check the forecast for your specific location.

Updated

The NSW Bureau of Meteorology has updated its flood warning for the Hawkesbury-Nepean River in NSW. River levels have peaked at Windsor and flooding is continuing in some areas – please check the advice for your area.

Updated

Good afternoon. Thank you so much to the lovely Mostafa Rachwani for holding the fort this morning. I’ll be taking you through the afternoon and evening.

If you’ve just joined us, we’re expecting to hear from the prime minister in flood-stricken Lismore at some point this afternoon. We’ll keep an eye on the weather, and of course all the Covid news.

Updated

And with that I will handover the blog to my always brilliant colleague, Stephanie Convery. Thanks for reading.

'This is desperation': Lismore residents feel abandoned ahead of Morrison's visit

I’ve just arrived in flood-ravaged Lismore, ahead of Scott Morrison’s visit.

There is a lot of anger here. Residents feel abandoned.

I visited the home of Kym Strow and Sarah Jones. It is a scene of devastation.

Their belongings, like most here, are piled out on the street. Parts of the floors are dangerous to walk on. They warp and give way underfoot. Paint is peeling off the walls.

Strow and Jones also lost the cafe they’ve owned for nine years, Flock. It was completely inundated. Even the possessions they’d moved to the mezzanine went under.

Asked about Morrison’s visit, Strow says anger isn’t helpful right now.

This is desperation. We’re living in a fucking garage.

You need a leader who is going to stand up and say ‘I’m coming’ or ‘this is coming, you’re not alone’, and give hope.

People sure as fuck shouldn’t have to ask for it, or it wasn’t even asking, it was begging.

Morrison is due to arrive in less than an hour.

Strow and Jones are staying away from the circus in town. The pair say the community will be civil. But they say there’s going to be some who will be furious at his presence.

The people of Lismore face a huge cleanup after floods devastated the town.
The people of Lismore face a huge cleanup after floods devastated the town. Photograph: Yaya Stempler/The Guardian

Updated

It has been an intense day (and week), so some reprieve is always welcome.

Enter, Auslan interpreter Mikey Webb’s unfortunate luck:

Updated

872mm of rain has fallen in Sydney this year in wettest start on record

Narramore has continued, saying a record 872mm or rain has fallen on Sydney so far this year, the wettest start to the year so far for any year.

It’s been a very wet couple of months and that’s not far away from almost our annual, which is approaching just over the metre mark for the year. That’s our average and we’re almost 900mm so far.

He said there was some good news heading into tomorrow, with the sun expected to return for the first time in some time, before showers return over the weekend.

As we move into Friday and the weekend, we may see coastal showers return, but the good news is there is no major rainfall events, at least in the short term and even into early next week. We’ll just see a few coastal showers continuing.

An uprooted tree after heavy rain in Sydney’s CBD.
An uprooted tree after heavy rain in Sydney’s CBD. Photograph: Muhammad Farooq/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

NSW flood threat has not eased, says BoM

The Bureau of Meteorology has been providing an update on the NSW flooding situation, saying that for many communities, the flood threat has not eased.

Dean Narramore from the BoM warned that many locations, particularly around the Hawkesbury River, will see flood waters rise again today:

For many locations, particularly on the Hawkesbury River, we’re experiencing major flood levels greater than we saw in March ‘21, last year. Further north around the Hunter area, we’re seeing major flooding on the Wollombi Brook River, moving through the communities of Bulga and also later today through the Singleton area. Further downstream, we’re likely to see moderate flooding into the Maitland area later tonight, into tomorrow.

There is also many minor to moderate flood warnings extending from the Queensland border down to theVictorian border. So if you’re in the South Coast, Illawarra and continuing up around the Northern Rivers area, stay up to date with the latest warnings there.

Narramore added that rain had eased, but that concern remained for Hawkesbury-Nepean today, tonight and tomorrow.

Updated

In anticipation of the PM’s announcement of a state of emergency, the organiser of a petition calling for greater funding for northern rivers communities has called it “too little, too late”.

Over 45,000 people have signed northern rivers local Jess Scott Hayes’s petition, which was started five days ago and had actually called for a state of emergency to be declared, as well as saying that locals are in desperate need of emergency funding.

But Hayes says the coming announcement is too late and is seen as “cynical” by locals:

Too little too late, PM.

People I’ve spoken to are furious about this cynical announcement. Why has it taken Morrison so long to announce this? So he could be here in person, really?

We are sick of the federal government playing politics with our lives. Give us a state of emergency so we can have faith and confidence that this isn’t just politics.

The PM will be gone tomorrow but we will still be here. We are real people with real lives.

Updated

As Scott Morrison heads to Lismore to announce new flood funding, the government says it has already processed more than 330,000 claims for disaster recovery payments – with lots more on the way.

Government services minister, Linda Reynolds, said the federal government had paid out more than $385.2m in $1,000 disaster recovery payments and 13-week disaster recovery allowances to people affected by flooding. Some 330,900 claims have been processed in the last nine days – a significant increase on the 241,000 claims processed as of yesterday.

That includes 125,000 claims in Queensland and 205,700 in NSW. Reynolds said Service Australia staff were working “tirelessly” to process claims.

“The sheer scale of this disaster and the huge number of communities impacted is the largest in recent Australian history,” she said.

Reynolds said people can access support “online via myGov, by calling 180 22 66, face to face at service centres, and increasingly at evacuation and recovery centres”.

“Where applications are complete and eligible, payments are usually made within one day.”

Updated

Lismore councillor says town in 'desperate need' of structural engineers

Lismore City councillor and coordinator for Resilient Lismore Elly Bird has told Guardian Australia the town is in “desperate need” of structural engineers.

Bird said many residents have had to move back into their “badly damaged” homes because they have no alternative, but the homes and the damage have not been properly assessed.

She said residents needed “professional assurance” that their homes were safe to return and live in.

With the PM due in Lismore today, Bird said she hoped he would listen to the needs of residents right now:

With the prime minister in Lismore today, we really need him to hear this message about one of our most urgent and pressing needs. We are in desperate need of structural engineers, who can provide a professional assessment on whether houses are safe to live in or not.

At the moment, we have a lot of residents who have moved back into their badly damaged homes because they have nowhere else to go. These houses have not been adequately assessed for safety and it is a serious hazard.

These houses have power, no cooking facilities and have been severely damaged by the flood. Residents returning need professional assurance on whether it is safe for them to be there.

We need the federal government to rapidly deploy structural engineers to the Northern Rivers region so we can safely move people back into their homes, if they choose to return.

Mr Morrison must hear this important message as he tours our devastated city today.

Updated

At that same update, deputy police commissioner, Shane Chelepy, said a man is still missing after he fell from a boat in the Brisbane River on 26 February.

Chelepy warned that severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and potential hail were forecast for south-east Queensland, with warnings roads could be flooded again.

We have lost 13 lives during this event and we are now seeing forecasts for severe storms this afternoon, they are already starting to see them build out in the west.

The deputy premier, Steven Miles, also announced that the government would waive its waste levy, which is imposed on councils for flood debris, in the hope it would “get footpaths, homes and businesses cleaned up”.

What we saw yesterday was [that] simply clearing out the waste is an ongoing challenge in many areas.

Updated

Damage assessments carried out on 17,384 properties in Queensland

Queensland authorities have given an update on the flood-affected communities, with the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, saying 12 councils will be waiving levies for all flood-related waste in an effort to get rubbish off the streets quickly.

Local councils … have a big job to get the rubbish off thousands of streets and what we’re doing today is that we are announcing that we are going to be waiving waste levies for all flood-related waste. Households don’t pay these levies but businesses and industries do.

Twelve councils have exemptions, Fraser Coast, Gympie, Noosa, Moreton Bay, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Lockyer Val Valley, Toowoomba and North Burnett. Hopefully that will make things go faster.

Vehicles are seen stuck along a street as flood waters surround Gympie on 27 February, 2022 on the Sunshine Coast
Vehicles are seen stuck along a street as flood waters surround Gympie on 27 February, 2022 on the Sunshine Coast. Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Palaszczuk suggested NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, might like to announce a similar support.

We’ll see what the New South Wales premier says, but some of the rubbish is also coming up from northern New South Wales, from businesses and everything, so perhaps the New South Wales premier can look at something similar there.

The deputy premier, Steven Miles, said 2,534 homes and businesses were moderately damaged, while 1,797 properties were severely damaged by the floods. Almost 18,000 properties have been assessed.

Asked why the prime minister has declared a flood emergency in NSW but not Queensland, Palaszczuk said the following:

Look, that’s a matter for the federal government, I understand the prime minister’s in town tomorrow and he’ll get to see firsthand the impact.

Updated

Health authorities 'concerned' at Japanese encephalitis outbreak

Victorian health authorities are “quite concerned” at the outbreak of Japanese encephalitis in the state’s north.

The rare tropical virus spreads via mosquitoes and can be found in piggeries, with the state’s health minister, Martin Foley, telling reporters its spread has come as a result of climate change.

It’s a significant illness and it can kill.

Previously in Australia [Japanese encephalitis] has only been reported in the Tiwi Islands and in the far north of Cape York, so clearly with so much climate change-induced weather pattern change, we’re now seeing it move around.

Foley said the government sends its deepest sympathies to the family of the man who died from the virus, the first such death in the state’s history.

Updated

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds across parts of the east coast of NSW, including parts of Hunter, Metropolitan and South Coast forecast districts.

BOM says wind gusts in excess of 90km/h are possible along the coast, with the risk of damaging gusts running throughout the rest of the day, easing in the afternoon and evening.

Of note is the reduced warning area, with damaging winds no longer expected about the northern Hunter or southern Mid North Coast.

Updated

Flood-affected Lismore residents prepare to protest during PM's visit

Scott Morrison could face uncomfortable scenes when he visits Lismore later today, as locals prepare to protest his response to the floods.

Across the decimated community, some are preparing to put up banners that read “climate action now”, while others say they will “line the streets so he can’t look away”.

Other suggestions, such as locals rocking up to his press conference wearing Hawaiian shirts or a hose to offer him to hold, have been thrown around by some community members who feel the PM has handled this crisis in the same way he did the 2019 bushfires when he went on holiday.

On Tuesday, Morrison, who has not visited the area yet because he has had Covid, announced he would declare a national emergency in response to the floods and more disaster funding when he travelled to the Northern River region.

“I’ll be there this week, as soon as I can come out of isolation, to see this firsthand and talk to the community,” Morrison said.

“It is just mind-boggling; the scale of the flood in and around Lismore. I’ve been in constant contact with the [NSW] premier about this.”

The federal government has been widely criticised for its response to the natural disaster and the anger in the community is palpable.

“Should there be a convoy of people throwing eggs at him?!” one resident wrote on a Facebook post discussing his arrival. Another answered: “Don’t waste the eggs. Just use the mud that’s at hand.”

Another suggested they should “line the streets, covered in mud and tears. Don’t give him a chance to look away.”

Some are debating if the community should take a more diplomatic approach to garner support, in the hope of getting more funds and assistance for their recovery.

“Be smart people and treat him with respect and he will do much more for us,” one person said, adding: “don’t forget it’s an election year so he has to look as good as he can.”

A lot of residents are questioning whether he will visit north and south of Lismore, where most of the devastation is, or stick to “more controlled” areas where he won’t meet as many community members.

“He would have learnt from the experience of the bushfires to make sure he has a more sanitised visit,” one local said.

Updated

The NSW minister for metropolitan roads, Natalie Ward, and Transport for NSW executive director of customer journey management, Craig Moran, have been giving a transport update in NSW, beginning by urging motorists not to drive around barriers.

Ward also addressed the issue of potholes, saying there will be no “quick fix” to the growing number of holes on the road:

Not only do we have the existing maintenance program of potholes exacerbated by the weather, we will have additional potholes as a result of the extraordinary weather from yesterday.

I’ve asked transport this morning to do an audit of all metropolitan roads and potholes and provide it to me as a priority, so we can look at exactly what we’re dealing with on the roads and get that back to me. I’ve asked that we prioritise those areas of critical safety and the motorways first. There will be a lot of them out there. It is going to take a long time to get them fixed.

Moran added that Pittwater Road in north Manly has reopened, but noted many of the main roads that closed yesterday have remained closed.

Updated

Toxic blue-green algae detected at two northern NSW dams

Emergency services are concerned after blue-green algae was detected at Toonumbar Dam station and Clarrie Hall Dam.

The algae can be toxic to people and livestock, with a red alert issued at Toonumbar, meaning the algae is in “bloom conditions”.

The “blooms” mean the water is too toxic to be consumed without being treated, presenting another challenge to flood-affected communities.

The algae detected at Clarrie Hall is not at that level of toxicity yet, with emergency services issuing a “green alert” for the dam.

Updated

The high court this morning has pronounced orders in the Liberal Democrats challenge against an electoral law allowing older registered political parties to block newer parties from using words in their name that they have in common.

A majority of the justices held that none of the provisions were invalid – meaning the Liberal Democrats will be unable to use the word “Liberal” on the 2022 election ballot.

The Liberal Democrats had argued the provisions breached the implied freedom of political communication, and the constitutional guarantee that MPs are “directly chosen” by electors. Since the case was urgent, we’ve only got a result without written judgments.

On Friday the Australian Electoral Commission moved to deregister the Democratic Labour party, finding there were reasonable grounds to believe the party does not have the required 1,500 members.

Last year, Labor voted with the Coalition to pass the law raising the threshold to 1,500 and allowing older parties to block common words in a bid to prevent voter confusion.

Updated

We have some reactions to the incoming declaration of a state of emergency by the PM, with some questioning why (or whether or not) the NSW government had requested the declaration.

The annoucement is due this afternoon, we’ll bring you all the reactions as they come in.

Also making the rounds this morning is head of Resilience NSW, Shane Fitzsimmons, who has been defending the agency’s response to the floods in northern NSW.

Fitzsimmons said it had been “disappointing” to see the response to the disaster dominating headlines this week, telling Sky News he also supported NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s decision to appoint Mal Lanyon as northern NSW recovery coordinator:

It’s really disappointing, some of the confusion of who’s leading the recovery versus the response, which has featured as some of the central debate this week.

When it comes to recovery, and when we transition to recovery, we absolutely take charge and lead the very long, extensive and complex effort that is around recovery from disasters.

Fitzsimmons was also on the Today show this morning, saying bureauracy won’t “stand in the way” of recovery programs:

You can’t put a bucket of money in the ground up there and say anyone help themselves. It just doesn’t work that way. I can assure you the bureaucracy will not stand in the way of getting critical programs out and I am happy to go on the record and have it challenged.

Updated

Lismore’s mayor, Steve Krieg, was just on Sky News saying he didn’t know exactly what the anticipated national emergency declaration would include, but hoped it would help people with their insurance claims.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is set to announce a “national emergency” around the flooding crisis when he visits Lismore today, as well as reportedly pledging some new recovery funding.

But the declaration isn’t really about insurance claims.

The federal powers to declare a national emergency were enacted in December 2020, in response to recommendations from the royal commission into the Black Summer bushfires.

Following criticisms of the speed and power of the federal response, the commission said the federal government should have stronger declaration powers in order to “signal to communities the severity of a disaster early, act as a marshalling call for the early provision of Australian government assistance when requested”, and better coordinate with state and territory governments.

Questions will be asked as to why it took so long for the government to declare a national emergency, considering the royal commission’s specific mention of “early” intervention. But the relevant legislation says the declaration powers are largely about cutting “red tape”, to get support out faster to disaster victims and affected communities.

The government said at the time of the 2020 laws that it would allow “ministers to suspend, vary or substitute ‘red tape’ requirements in legislation that they administer where this would benefit the public, or a section of the public, during or following a national emergency”.

The explanatory memorandum of the bill listed examples like “requirements to produce particular kinds of identification, or have their signature witnessed.”

We’ll see what Morrison outlines when he speaks in Lismore, which is expected to be early this afternoon.

Updated

Scott Morrison is expected to declare the NSW floods a national emergency. What will this actually mean for the flood-affected areas of the country?

The prime minister’s power to declare a national emergency is a relatively new measure that would allow the government to access more resources, including help from defence, for affected communities.

The declaration was established after the 2019 bushfires, and gives the PM the power to draw on all of the commonwealth’s resources and stockpiled assets to respond to a crisis.

Morrison will be joined by emergency management minister, Bridget McKenzie, in Lismore this afternoon, where the announcement is expected to happen.

Updated

The Reserve Bank says a rise in the official cash rate this year is “plausible” and it may have to act decisively if supply shocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other shortages start to lift inflationary expectations in Australia – but we aren’t there yet.

In a speech to an AFR summit this morning, the RBA governor, Philip Lowe, said Australia’s economy was relatively well-placed to ride out the war-related supply issues because the country exports “many of the commodities whose prices are rising”.

“This means that our terms of trade will rise over the months ahead, which will provide a boost to our national income,” Lowe said. Still, rising oil prices “will eat into household budgets, push up costs for many businesses and crimp spending in some areas”.

“Given this, I expect that most of this extra national income will be saved, rather than flow through into higher spending,” Lowe said.

However, his comments on inflation will be probably scrutinised most closely.

“The recent lift in inflation has brought us closer to the point where inflation is sustainably in the target range [of 2-3%]. So too have recent global developments,” Lowe said. “But we are not yet at that point.”

“In these circumstances, we have scope to wait and assess incoming information and see how some of the uncertainties are resolved. We can be patient in a way that countries with substantially higher rates of inflation cannot.”

Updated

PM expected to declare national emergency during Lismore visit

Scott Morrison is expected to declare a “national emergency” when he lands in flood-devastated Lismore today. He’s en route to the disaster zone today, where he will reportedly announce new flood funding.

Labor’s Murray Watt has been demanding Morrison “declare a national emergency” around the crisis on the NSW north coast and Queensland’s south, using new powers enacted in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires – which would make it easier for different agencies to work together, and better mobilise resources like the ADF.

Watt, Labor’s emergency management spokesman, has been across the media this morning to call for the government to make this declaration. Guardian Australia understands Morrison will do so in Lismore today.

Watt has been on the ground in flood zones for days. He’s been scathing of the government response, claiming not enough is being done.

“When Scott Morrison visits Lismore today, he needs to explain to flood victims why he’s used his $4.8 billion Emergency Response Fund to earn interest for his government, instead of building flood levees, drainage improvements and other flood mitigation measures,” Watt tweeted this morning.

He pointed out that in November 2020, in response to the royal commission into natural disasters following the Black Summer bushfires, Morrison himself announced the federal government would pass new laws giving the commonwealth the power to declare a national emergency “to help mobilise commonwealth resources and help tackle the challenges states and local communities may face.”

Watt is asking why that hasn’t happened.

“After the Black Summer debacle, when Scott Morrison blamed the states for ADF deployment delays, the PM gave himself new powers to ‘declare a national emergency’. He said it would cut red tape and help mobilise resources post-disaster. Why hasn’t he declared one now?” he said.

Morrison will receive emergency briefings and visit local businesses on his Lismore trip. Barnaby Joyce, speaking to Sky News, earlier said Morrison probably wouldn’t expect a warm welcome from locals.

Updated

Victoria reports 7,081 new Covid cases and nine deaths

And Victoria has reported 7,081 new cases and nine deaths from Covid-19.

Updated

NSW records 13,179 new Covid cases, nine deaths

NSW has reported 13,179 new cases overnight and nine deaths from Covid-19.

Updated

Labor senator says PM should expect 'frosty reception' in Lismore, echoing Barnaby Joyce

The PM is expected in Lismore sometime today and all eyes will be on the reception he receives, with Labor’s shadow minister for disaster and emergency management, Murray Watt, saying he should expect a “frosty reception”.

Echoing what Barnaby Joyce said earlier, Watt told ABC’s RN Breakfast that every person he has spoken to in Lismore has asked where the government support has been:

This is my third day in Lismore ... and every single person I speak to, the first thing they say to me is, where is the government?

They have felt completely abandoned during the crisis itself. And now they feel completely abandoned in the job of cleaning up and recovering. I haven’t seen a single federal minister on the ground while I’ve been here. I haven’t seen a single federal official on the ground to coordinate things.

And of course, while people are grateful for the assistance they’ve had from the army, there’s just nowhere near enough of it.

Updated

The latest figures from WaterNSW will give some comfort to those in the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain, where flood levels are approaching 1978 heights in places.

As of 5am Wednesday, the spill rate over the Warragamba Dam wall is 215 gigalitres a day, or about half the peak rate reached yesterday.

Inflows into the dam have slowed too, to a daily rate of 140GL/day. Overnight rain was described as “moderate” and inflows are expected to recede across all dams today. Mind you, Sydney’s network of dams are 100% full, so most inflows just end up as spill.

While the Sydney metro is one focus, we shouldn’t forget northern NSW, which is struggling to recover from record floods in some areas. The SES says there’s the chance of afternoon thunderstorms up that way ... which is not the ideal weather for mopping up.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is due to visit there – and the response might get a bit stormy, too, we hear.

Updated

So, some good news now for residents in south-west Sydney, where it appears flood waters from the Nepean River around Camden and Picton have begun receding.

SES assistant commissioner, Sean Kearns, was on 2GB earlier and said the Nepean had begun to fall in the region after peaking yesterday. Kearns said residents may be able to return home today:

The good news is that we have seen the river is falling there. The plan today is that the team will be reviewing what’s happening.

They’re making sure it’s safe to return, and we are hoping during the day we might be able to issue that people can return, with caution … We just need to make sure – we need to check things like electricity, sewerage and the like to make sure it’s safe to return.

Updated

Northern Beaches mayor says flooding was 'biblical'

Northern Beaches mayor, Michael Regan, has described yesterday’s flooding in Sydney’s north as “biblical”, as clean-up efforts begin.

Speaking to Channel Nine’s Today, Regan said there were around 20 landslips in the area overnight, caused by the flash flooding and deluge. He said debris remained on the roads, creating dangerous conditions:

This morning there’s still a bit of drizzle around.

Here in the northern beaches, people are out doing clean-up – people at Manly are doing exercise.

Yesterday was bizarre. It was intense. It was biblical.

Updated

So we are expecting the PM in Lismore today, and deputy PM, Barnaby Joyce, says he should expect a frosty reception.

Speaking to Sky News this morning, Joyce said he would be “incredibly surprised” if Morrison was welcomed in the flood-ravaged north coast.

Joyce added that the federal government couldn’t “completely fix” the effects of floods on residents.

I would be incredibly surprised [if people gave] a happy reception. They’re not happy. They’re not in a happy place.

This is an issue that we completely understand. But every natural disaster, you try your best to mitigate the effects on the people [but] you can’t completely fix. It’s jus not financially possible.

Updated

Work from home if possible, NSW transport minister says amid transport delays

I just wanted to highlight those comments from the NSW minister for transport, David Elliot, on the transport delays across Sydney and the state.

In a statement, the minister urged people to work from home where possible, saying people should “rethink” their plans this morning and all “non-essential” travel should be shelved.

With bad weather likely to continue and the extent of damage still unclear, we need to act to ensure the safety of commuters while also providing as many services as we safely can to keep freight and passengers moving.

Rainfall is set to ease, however a severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued, with southerly winds 70-90km and gusts exceeding 100km/h expected in the Illawarra, the coast, and Sydney Metro.

Trains are running to altered frequency and stopping patterns and we’re asking commuters to delay their travel. If you do need to use the network, please plan ahead and leave plenty of extra travel time.

We have replacement buses at key locations across the network including on the Western Line, Olympic Park Line, North Shore Line, Blue Mountains Line, South Coast and Southern Highlands lines.

Updated

The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, was just on ABC Sydney, discussing the effects the weather has had on traffic and on schools.

Perrottet was asked how schools could remain open when people in Sydney are being urged to stay home (earlier today, transport minister, David Elliot, said exactly that), and he said the situation was “pretty similar to the dark days of the pandemic”:

It’s probably pretty similar to some some of the darker days of the pandemic where the government provides instruction to people that given the dangerous weather, if you can work from home or you don’t need to go out then don’t go out.

And that will alleviate pressure on our road and public transport systems.

I see schools, particularly, as essential, as premier. Unless we receive advice it is dangerous for kids to be in the classroom, then we need our children at school.

Updated

40,000 remain under evacuation orders in NSW

About 40,000 in eastern NSW remain under evacuation orders on Wednesday morning as a dangerous weather system stirs damaging winds before drifting off into the Tasman Sea.

The NSW State Emergency Service has 60 evacuation orders in place and another 27 areas under warnings. The last of the orders was issued late on Tuesday as heavy rain from an east coast low pelted Sydney and regions further south to Shoalhaven and beyond.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds for a coastal strip from north of Newcastle south to Bega near the Victorian border.

The strongest recorded winds were recorded before 10pm on Tuesday, including an 111 km/h wind gust at Molineux Point on Sydney’s east and 100 km/h wind gust at Kurnell on the city’s south.

The bureau said the low was situated well off the Illawarra coast and will continue to move south to southeast away from the NSW coast during Wednesday.

“Damaging wind gusts associated with this low are occurring across the central and southern coast and hinterland, with conditions gradually easing during today,” it said, adding gusts could exceed 90 km/h.

Hazardous surf is also likely from the Hunter coast, and Sydney coast down to the Eden coast near the Victorian border.

In its 56th flood warning for the Hawkesbury-Nepean River on Sydney’s north and western edge, the bureau said river levels were still at major flood levels.

At Windsor, flood levels could approach the 1978 heights by the middle of Wednesday, making it the biggest flood at that site in 44 years.

The river was higher than the March 2021 event at places including North Richmond, Wisemans Ferry, Sackville and Lower Portland.

Sydney’s Warragamba Dam has been spilling into the Hawkesbury-River floodplain for a week.

Inflows into Lake Burragorang behind the dam peaked at a daily rate of 340 gigalitres early on Tuesday after heavy rains over the catchment.

The spill rate peaked at around 400GL a day on Tuesday morning, and levels remain steady on Wednesday morning.

The SES said it had conducted a further 91 flood rescues in the past 24 hours and attended to almost 2,600 calls for assistance.

Updated

Good morning

Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you this morning, taking you through the day’s news.

We begin in New South Wales, where yesterday’s deluge caused evacuations and rivers to rise both in Sydney and across the north coast.

Flood warnings remain in place for the Bellinger, Macleay, Manning, Hunter, Georges, Paterson and Williams Rivers and the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley across the state.

It does appear the low that has battered the east coast is finally moving on, but damaging wind is still expected along the east coast, with gusts of up to 90 km/h forecast.

There are multiple major roads closed due to flooding in Sydney across the north and the west, with traffic chaos expected today.

The NSW minister for transport, David Elliott, has urged residents to “rethink” their travel today in light of the weather and the road closures, with the rail network also affected by flooding, landslips and trees on tracks.

Recovery efforts, hampered by the continuing rain, can resume across towns on the north coast, with frustrations continuing to grow at the lack of support from state or federal governments.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, will travel to some of the flood-ravaged towns in the state’s north today, with expectations he will announce new funding support for flood recovery.

We will keep an eye on the reactions and the developments today; there is still much going on, so let’s dive in.

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