RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY
Sydney has been spared the worst of the “rain bomb”, but the Mid North Coast and the Hunter should brace for severe thunderstorms today, the Bureau of Meteorology says, with a risk of flash flooding. Severe weather warnings have been cancelled for Sydney, the Northern Rivers, Central Tablelands, Snowy Mountains and Lower Western regions, the SMH reports. There’s still major flooding possible on the city’s fringe — the water peaked at 12.2 metres at Windsor last night — and there’ll still be lots of rain, possibly thunderstorms in the area.
In Queensland today, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s message is simple: stay home (but don’t return to flooded homes) and stay off the roads, The Brisbane Times reports. As many Queenslanders battle a fresh round of wild weather, Palaszczuk admitted she has never seen storms and floods like this in Brisbane. The metro centre was smashed with 48mm of rain yesterday, The Australian ($) reports, while wind got up to 93km/h and 6cm hail pelted down. The SES has a great after-flood guide for those among the 500,000 evacuated who are permitted to return home today. So why is this happening? The ABC has a great explainer this morning that delves into the “highly unusual” combo of weather events.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said the flood damage could cost “billions” — it’s actually shaping up to be the largest insurance flood claims event in Australian history, with more than 60,000 claims already lodged according to KPMG, and some are questioning this morning whether we even should rebuild in the aftermath. The head of the federal government’s disaster relief agency told the SMH Australians need to “have an honest conversation about where and how people build homes”, considering around 18% of all homes in Australia are in either flood-prone or flood-susceptible areas.
RUSSIA V UKRAINE
Overnight Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for one-to-one talks, saying it is the only way to reach peace. Putin says the war is “going to plan” as Russians took control of Kherson, the first major city to fall — and a strategically advantageous one at that, as Kherson is located at the mouth of the Black Sea, as Al Jazeera writes. In a televised speech overnight, Putin says he would “destroy this ‘anti-Russia’ created by the West”. Russia is facing a war crimes investigation from the International Criminal Court after 39 nations called for it. Zelenskyy has asked NATO to send more planes in a news conference, saying “Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia will be next”. These are all highlights from the BBC’s live blog.
Back home our second-largest super fund has dumped $130 million of Russian assets, AFR reports, as Treasurer Josh Frydenberg urged the $3.5 trillion sector to cut ties with Russia. Australian Retirement Trust (which is a new merged fund, formerly Sunsuper and QSuper) followed Aware Super, state governments, the $200 billion Future Fund, and oil giant BP in divesting from Russian assets. It comes as ABC’s Q&A host Stan Grant booted an audience member from the show last night for saying he supported Putin, The Age reports. He claimed 14,000 ethnic Russians had died since 2014 when Crimea was annexed, but Grant returned serve that there was no evidence that suggested they were Russians. Grant asked him to leave the studio, saying he’d advocated violence. Monash University’s Louise Adler tweeted in disagreement with Grant’s move, asking “Is there only one view permitted now on our ABC?”
STAYING ON TRACK
Transport Minister David Elliott says he had no idea the Sydney train system would go down on Monday, February 21 causing a major headache across the country’s most populous city — but senior bureaucrats have the receipts. Text messages and emails between public servants have been given to the upper house, including a note from Transport Secretary Rob Sharp that says Elliott’s office was told the day before that the trains would be suspended (a reaction — some say overreaction — to industrial action), as SMH reports. Better get your story straight Elliott — you’ll face scrutiny in budget estimates today.
Speaking of budgets — the AFR reports a major upgrade of the NBN in regional and rural Australia will be part of the pre-election budget hitting the headlines on March 29. It’s part of a deal between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce over the government’s 2050 net-zero emissions policy, and should see faster network speeds, better bandwidth, and reduced congestion. And the conflict in Ukraine could see demand for Australian energy skyrocket, with double the thermal coal exports adding “billions” to the budget’s bottom line, The Australian ($) reports. A tonne of coal from the Port of Newcastle now costs US$440 — a 40% increase since Friday.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Folks, here are some wonderful pricks of light amid the stormy news cycle. Western Australia opened their border yesterday, with resident Judy Booth among those crossing the border. She told ABC, “my face is aching that much I’m just so excited to get through, it’s like winning the lotto”. New Zealand also threw open their doors, and the airport was filled with tears, hugs, laughter and the shouts of children. A New Zealander named Steve, 72, told The Guardian he cleaned his motor home from top to bottom for the arrival of his fiancée, Karin. “I’ve been waiting six months for this moment. I’m over the moon. I feel a bit shaky,” he says.
In Lismore, there were incredulous tears when a couple, sorting through the flood wreckage, found their beloved guinea pig, Prince, alive and well. “We don’t understand how but there were a lot of tears. And then we heard the chickens,” Eddie Lloyd tweeted, along with an adorable photo of the fuzzy pet. Then there’s Major Singh, a Gympie shop owner who gave away an incredible $10,000 in supplies to help drivers who are stranded by the floods, as ABC reports. And volunteers on the Mid North Coast have been working round the clock to nurse and set free soggy birds, bandicoots, echidnas, goats, turtles — and even a litter of Chihuahua puppies, SMH says, who are happy and safe at home now. “I am so proud of all of the rescuers and carers who are doing this work,” WIRES volunteer Leoni Byron–Jackson says.
Everything is going to be OK. Have a restful weekend ahead.
SAY WHAT?
They wanted to destroy us … They failed … We’ve been through so much. And if anyone thinks that, having overcome all this, Ukrainians will be frightened, broken, or surrender, they know nothing about Ukraine … We will restore every house, every street, every city and we say to Russia: learn the word ‘reparations’. You will reimburse us for everything you did against our state, against every Ukrainian, in full.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In a national address, the Ukrainian president said not only will Russia fail in their bid to take control of Ukraine, but they’ll also pay for every skerrick of damage they have done to the smaller nation in the process.
CRIKEY RECAP
Victim Putin is surrounded by the evil West in the bizarre world of John Pilger
“Spare a thought for John Pilger, the platonic ideal of the left-wing journalist. Pilger has been relatively quiet during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tweeting only a handful of times.
“Perhaps that’s because Pilger has not once, not twice, not three times, not four times but five times mocked the idea that Russia would invade Ukraine in recent months — as well as spelling out in an article two weeks ago that claims of an imminent invasion were pure hysteria.”
Teflon Don no longer: the Trump empire could be on the verge of collapse
“This is not normal. Accountants do not typically abandon their clients so bluntly. Mazars’ comment that a ‘non-waivable conflict of interest’ prohibited further work for Trump’s firm also raises multiple possibilities, none of them good for Trump.
“Why does this matter? The Trump Organization is propped up by debt. After Trump’s repeated business collapses, and questionable practices, most major banks refused to finance his schemes.”
Has Zelenskyy’s drive towards Europe led his people to disaster?
“Yet now, it appears that nothing less than utter capitulation and exile (at best) for Zelenskyy and numerous others will suffice to stop the war. Will it simply be normalised, like the slowly turning meat grinder of Afghanistan or the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s?
“And, let’s be frank about what would stun most: one involving Christian white people. That disastrous prospect may be the fulcrum on which history turns.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
How realistic is Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threat? (Al Jazeera)
Jan. 6 committee lays out potential criminal charges against Trump (The New York Times)
Russian ETF soars as some see bargain in ‘uninvestable’ market (Al Jazeera)
Former king Juan Carlos may return to Spain after inquiries dropped (The Guardian)
Stocks turn lower; oil briefly tops [US]$116 (The Wall Street Journal) ($)
Canada prepared to welcome an ‘unlimited number’ of Ukrainians fleeing war, minister says (CBC)
Another life-saving COVID drug identified (BBC)
Here’s what we know about the 40-mile-long Russian convoy outside Ukraine’s capital (CNN)
ICC launches war crimes investigation over Russian invasion of Ukraine (The Guardian)
Haiti’s president’s murder suspect was his guard (BBC)
Sean Penn leaves car behind and flees to Poland on foot (Stuff)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Outlier India needs kid glove strategy — Greg Sheridan (The Australian) ($): “India’s position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been perplexing to its Quad partners — the US, Japan and Australia. India is both the swing nation in the Quad and a good part of the raison d’etre of the Quad’s existence. The government of Narendra Modi has not remotely supported Moscow’s shocking aggression against Ukraine, but nor has it condemned it, as most other nations have. New Delhi abstained from a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia’s actions. This resolution was vetoed by Russia, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
“New Delhi then also abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution, which was based on the vetoed Security Council resolution. India did not vote with Russia — only Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea did that — but nor did it condemn Russia’s actions publicly. Despite the warming of US-India ties over the past 15 years, New Delhi still gets an enormous amount of its hi-tech military gear from Russia. It has, for example, leased a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia as it develops the capability to produce its own nuclear-powered sub. As the recent AUKUS agreement demonstrates, for a nation to share nuclear submarine propulsion technology indicates a very high degree of military intimacy.”
Feeling overwhelmed by world events? Treat yourself the way you would a friend — Georgie Harman (Guardian Australia): “Limiting your exposure to bad news and turning off notifications doesn’t mean you don’t care about people’s suffering. In fact, taking time away from screens to do something restorative like spending time in nature, talking to a friend or playing with a pet, can be a vital act of self-replenishment that gives you the energy to be of service to others. If you’re in a position to offer assistance, connecting to your community’s volunteer network or donating to the relief effort can make you feel more hopeful and ease the sense of helplessness.
“The basic foundations for good mental health may sound simple, even trite, but they’re grounded in evidence, they work and they’re more important than ever when the world feels overwhelming: try to eat well, get enough sleep, stick to a routine, stay connected to others, move your body in a way that feels nourishing for you, limit your alcohol consumption and practice deep breathing or meditation to calm your nervous system. Self-compassion is also crucial. Don’t beat yourself up if you’re not as productive as you once were. Treat yourself the way you would a friend — be kind, patient and forgiving and acknowledge that you’re doing your best in challenging circumstances.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Online
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Conservationist Jane Goodall will speak at the UN Women Australia event ahead of International Women’s Day.
Kulin Nation Country (also known as Melbourne)
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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will deliver a “State of the State” address at the Sofitel Melbourne.
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Musician Eliza Hull, writer Shakira Hussein, activist Jax Jacki Brown, and ABC podcast creator Mandy McCracken will talk about their experiences of parenting while living with disability at the Wheeler Centre. You can also catch this one online.
