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Australia news live: Forbes prepares for worst-ever flooding; Cannon-Brookes' AGL victory flips boardroom to pro-renewables – msnNOW

LIVE – Updated at 00:47

Follow the day’s news.

 

00:47 Benita Kolovos

The Victorian electoral commision has rejected the how-to-vote cards of at least four independent candidates who placed a “1” beside their names only.

Nomi Kaltmann in Caulfield, Kate Lardner in Mornington, Mellissa Lowe in Hawthorn and Sophie Torney in Kew have all told Guardian Australia the VEC rejected their how-to vote cards, which had the number one beside their names and blank preference boxes next to other candidates.

The same type of cards were distributed at the federal election in May by independents Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel.

Under Victoria’s Electoral Act, how-to-vote cards for election day must be registered with the commission and indicate the voting preference for all candidates listed on the card, or contain a statement that a number must be placed against the name of each candidate.

In 2018, independent MP for Shepparton, Suzanna Sheed, unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the rejection of her how-to-vote card due to blank boxes at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Kaltmann, Larder, Lowe and Torney, who are all being backed by Simon Holmes à Court’s Climate 200 outfit, are considering taking legal action.

Inquest into 2020 Canberra bushfires adjourned until next year

00:46

The ACT chief coroner, Lorraine Walker, has tested positive for Covid, resulting in the hearings for the inquest into Canberra’s 2020 summer bushfires being postponed until 2023, AAP reports.

The inquest was announced in July 2021, but the wait for information on how it took 45 minutes for an army helicopter’s crew to alert the ACT Emergency Service Agency they had started a fire will continue.

On Monday, the court heard the crew on board the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter were landing for a toilet break when they inadvertently ignited the monster blaze.

They were scouting remote helipads in preparation for bushfire season, when they landed with their searchlight still on and started the fire in the Orroral Valley.

An onboard recording heard one of the helicopter’s passengers yell “Come up, come up, we’ve started a fire, turn the searchlight off”.

The helicopter only stopped for about one minute before returning to Canberra airport, but neither the pilots nor their passengers contacted emergency services to let them know they had started a fire, which one pilot estimated was already “200m by 200m” when they evacuated.

The pilot said he was “concerned we were going to fall out of the sky” because of aircraft damage.

The fire, which burned for five weeks, was declared out of control after 6pm when more than 1000ha were alight and would eventually grow to burn 87,923ha throughout the ACT.

Walker opened proceedings by saying the inquest wasn’t about “crucifying any individual or decision made in the heat of the moment”.

“We’re here to explore how we can learn from it with a view to enhancing everyone’s safety in the future,” she said.

 

00:43 Josh Taylor

Acting eSafety commissioner in contact with local Twitter representatives

Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant wrote to Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk earlier this month expressing concern about the mass sackings at the company and what it might mean for the company’s ability to comply with Australian law when it comes to child protection and dealing with online harassment and abuse.

The acting commissioner Toby Dagg told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that Twitter had since been in contact with the commissioner’s office since the letter to confirm that people in the company are still contactable:

I’m pleased to say we’ve re-established those connections.

Dagg did not say who he was in contact with, but said it was local and regional representatives for Twitter.

Dagg said there had not been a marked increase in the number of reports made about Twitter since the takeover. In response to questions from Greens senator David Shoebridge about why eSafety had not taken a proactive approach in investigating problems on the service, Dagg said eSafety could not “police the internet” and Twitter was a huge website, so the organisation is reliant on complaints being made.

Pat Cummins to skip 2023 IPL season citing international schedule

00:41

For cricket followers, Pat Cummins has some news, as AAP reports:

Cummins’ decision to forego a $1.3m Indian Premier League (IPL) pay cheque has exposed cricket’s overloaded calendar, with Australia’s best players set for more than 100 days of international games in the next 12 months.

Cummins made the call on Tuesday morning to skip next year’s IPL tournament for the Kolkata Knight Riders, pointing to a heavy international workload.

Australia have a four-Test tour of India next February and March before the tournament, followed by an Ashes series in England and one-day World Cup in India.

Cummins’ decision comes just weeks after he was elevated to the captaincy of Australia’s one-day team, meaning he will probably feature in more white-ball series before next year’s global event.

He tweeted:

I’ve made the difficult decision to miss next years IPL.

The international schedule is packed with Tests and ODI’s for the next 12 months, so will take some rest ahead of an Ashes series and World Cup.”

When factoring in all Tests this summer as well as one-day and T20 series on the road in 2023, Australia’s players have up to 106 days of international cricket in the next 12 months.

That figure includes a possible World Test Championship final in London with Australia currently top of the table, as well as the semi-finals and final of next year’s ODI World Cup.

The problem is most significant for fast bowlers Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and allrounder Cameron Green who will each play against England in ODIs this week.

David Warner, Alex Carey, Steve Smith, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne also play across both red and white-ball formats, meaning nine of Australia’s top XI are now regulars in the Test and one-day teams.

 

00:38

If you haven’t read it as yet, this from Peter Lewis raises some interesting questions:

Related: Many Australians look at the world and see it heading the wrong way. Is democracy no longer the faction of choice? | Peter Lewis

 

00:36

ABC reports Australian navy was tracked by Chinese military last month

The ABC’s defence correspondent, Andrew Greene, has reported two Australian warships were “closely tracked” by the Chinese military last month, as they travelled in the South China Sea. That was part of naval exercises with the US and Japan.

Greene reports:

Officials with knowledge of the operation say destroyer HMAS Hobart and auxiliary tanker HMAS Stalwart sailed close to the Spratly Islands and were challenged by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in international waters claimed by China.

The interaction with the PLA occurred during a ‘regional presence deployment’, where the Australian navy was accompanied by the Japanese destroyer JS Kirisame and US navy destroyer USS Milius for a trilateral transit of the South China Sea.

One defence figure, speaking to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, said the Chinese military closely tracked the vessels and showed a ‘significant increase in tactical acumen and use of EM (electronic warfare) capabilities’.

AGL’s climate plan gets shareholder tick at AGM

00:30 Peter Hannam

Guardian Australia understands that AGL energy’s climate plan has been approved by shareholders.

The number voting in favour isn’t yet known, but the proposal has the numbers.

Mike Cannon-Brookes, via his Grok Ventures family company, had been pressing AGL to do more than was proposed. In short, he argued the decarbonisation approach taken by the company implied a path consistent with a world heating 1.8C v pre-industrial era levels

He wanted a plan consistent with a 1.5C path, but that meant exiting coal faster than AGL wanted.

In September, AGL announced it would bring forward the closure date of its Loy Yang A brown coal-fired power station in Victoria by a decade to 2035 while leaving its black-coal burning Bayswater power station in NSW running until between 2030 and 2033. AGL’s Liddell plant, also in NSW, shuts next April.

So, AGL thinks shareholders are satisfied with this plan. One question is whether Cannon-Brookes, with his 11.3% or so holding in AGL, will stay put – especially if he thinks he has a more supportive board.

 

00:29 Adeshola Ore

Victorian Labor pledges $71m for women’s health

The Andrews government has vowed to deliver a $71m women’s health funding package if it wins this months’ state election.

Healthcare is a key battleground in the state election. Under the funding, $58m would be delivered for 20 new women’s health clinics across the state. The state government has also pledged to almost double sexual and reproductive hubs across the state as part of a $6.4m package.

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said the funding was about “equity” and “funding.”

Victoria’s health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, said women’s health issues had been routinely ignored by the sector.

Thomas said the sexual health hubs would be a “one-stop shop” for women in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Mike Cannon-Brookes wins bid to install new AGL board directors

00:24 Peter Hannam

AGL Energy’s board will expand with all four of the candidates put up by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes winning support from shareholders ahead of today’s annual general meeting in Melbourne this morning.

AGL’s chair, Paticia McKenzie, has opening the meeting by stating:

Based on the proxies lodged ahead of the meeting, the election of Mark Twidell, Dr Kerry Schott, Christine Holman and John Pollaers as directors has been supported by our shareholders. The board welcomes these new directors to the board and will work constructively with them in the best of interests of shareholders.

MCB, as the Atlassian founder and climate activist is known, backed these four in September, claiming they would be independent. (Schott, a former head of the Energy Security Board, was reported in the AFR as saying she had never spoken to Cannon-Brookes.)

AGL’s board had only supported Twidell, a solar energy veteran, ahead of the vote.

Anyway, assuming Miles George, a wind energy specialist, is also of a like mind to MCB, it’s possible to count five of the nine board members as being particularly pro-renewables.

More to come, as the AGM rolls on.

 

00:23 Katharine Murphy

An update from Katharine Murphy at G20

Good morning from the G20 meeting in Bali. Events yesterday moved at a clip so readers might appreciate a short stock take of where things are up to.

After days of speculation about whether or not Australia’s prime minister would meet the Chinese president when both delegates arrived in Bali, Anthony Albanese confirmed the meeting was on minutes after disembarking his aircraft on Monday.

If you’ve been hanging on the daily news of the summit season, you’ll know Joe Biden met Xi Jinping face-to-face for the first time in the Biden presidency last night on the sidelines of the G20 in an effort to reset great power relations. So Albanese’s meeting with the president will be the focal point of the day but it will be this evening Australia time (around 7pm).

Meanwhile, the G20 has opened in Bali. I’m watching arrivals now. Australia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann, now head of the OECD, has just made a jaunty entrance along the red carpet.

Apart from tonight’s meeting, Albanese will participate in today’s summit events considering energy, food security and global health.

‘Planning for the worst’: Forbes’ small businesses lament lost turnover

00:09 Mostafa Rachwani

Small businesses in Forbes are preparing for their second major flood in two weeks, with many having to once again lift or remove their stock and close up, hoping the damage is minimal.

The Forbes CBD has completely shut down as flood waters rise, with many small business owners lamenting the lost business during what should be a busy period.

Business owner and head of the Forbes Business Chamber, Margaret Duggan, said some businesses could lose up to 50% of stock and trade.

This should be a positive and happy time, its a time of harvest, and its close to Christmas, but its deja-vu once again after the floods last week.

People are very anxious about what’s going to happen, we’re planning for the worst and hoping it doesn’t happen.

Duggan said that while residents had been keeping a positive mindset, and were resilient, there are concerns for the mental health of business owners in the town.

We had businesses lose 25% to 30% of turnover when the main highway into the town was closed due to flood waters. We’re mentally trying to prepare, but the repeat floods take their toll.

Lots of places are damaged already, water has gotten into places its never been before. We’ve never had this kind of ran before, and we’re on flat ground so its all water logged.

It’s just a waiting game now.

CSIRO chief Larry Marshall to leave science agency

00:06 Peter Hannam

The head of CSIRO for the past eight years, Larry Marshall, will exit the post when his third term ends in June 2023, Australia’s national science agency said this morning.

The chair of the CSIRO board, Kathryn Fagg, said:

Dr Marshall has led CSIRO to deliver significant scientific breakthroughs, translate its research into real world solutions and deliver a staggering benefit for our nation – eight times the investment.

Marshall thanked the 5,672 people from CSIRO “who bring their best every day for the nation”:

It is a rare privilege to work with people so driven to achieve for the benefit of a nation and its people. Over the past eight years, together we have reignited Australia’s ambition to solve our greatest challenges with science.

Marshall’s term, the longest in half a century, was not without its controversies, none bigger perhaps than his aborted effort to cull most of climate science at the agency. (As was reported here at the time.)

Lately, some of the wariness about CSIRO’s commitment to climate science surfaced when the agency scrapped its fully funded decadal climate research (and forgot to tell the World Meteorological Organization about it).

Hints that the Albanese government wasn’t entirely happy with CSIRO showed up with the science minister, Ed Husic, warning the agency about “renting out its brand”.

Similarly, the agency’s plan to accelerate the commercialisation of science at CSIRO – potentially at the expense of science that might have broader public benefit – raised fresh questions about the direction of the agency.

Something for Marshall’s successor to consider.

 

00:03

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg is still hopeful he will get his crypto bill up.

 

00:01

Queensland youth prison expansion does not address drivers of offending, expert says

Queensland has more children in detention than any other jurisdiction in the country, AAP reports.

The state’s adult prison population also surged 68% over the past decade – the fastest pace of growth in the country, according to a Justice Reform Initiative report released on Tuesday.

Almost nine in 10 of all children in detention in the state are yet to be sentenced, while the number of youths in detention under the age of 17 has risen from 172 to 219 since 2014-15.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are also significantly over-represented in the figures, making up 35% of the adult prison population and nearly 63% of young people.

The rate of incarceration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is 33 times the rate for non-Indigenous children.

According to the report, the “revolving door” model costs Queensland taxpayers $716.9m a year in prison operating costs and this is set to grow further as the incarceration rate continues to climb.

The growth in incarceration has been driven “by political, policy and legislative choices”, it said.

The Justice Reform Initiative executive director, Dr Mindy Sotiri, said building more prisons, as the Queensland government was planning to do with its proposed $500m youth prison expansion, did not work to deter crime or rehabilitate offenders.

“This is a shortsighted and counterproductive policy that will make it more likely that vulnerable children will commit further offences and become trapped in the revolving prison door that has become a devastating feature of Queensland’s justice system,” she said.

Holding children in detention fails to address the underlying drivers of incarceration, she added.

Sotiri said taxpayers would be far better served by investment in early intervention, diversion and evidence-based alternatives outside the youth justice system.

‘We’re worried, but prepared’: Forbes prepares for worst flooding

14 Nov 2022 23:45 Mostafa Rachwani

In New South Wales, Forbes is preparing for what could be the worst flooding its ever seen, with the Lachlan River already rising higher than expected.

The town’s deputy mayor, Chris Roylance, said Forbes had been “cut in half” by the rising flood waters, and that the CBD had been emptied by evacuation orders.

My wife was one of the last cars through now, the town is about to be cut in half. The river was expected to get to 10.55 metres, and its already at 10.62. I’ve lived through many floods in my time here, but this will be the biggest we’ve ever seen.

The town has been cut off by the rising flood waters, with roads in and out currently blocked.

Roylance said the CBD looked like a “war zone”, but added that the community sentiment was still positive.

Everyone is prepared, we’re all sandbagged and set, we’re just sitting around waiting. We told people to get out and make sure they didn’t wait around, so the CBD has been emptied out.

It looks like a war zone down there, with plastic covers all over and sandbags everywhere. We’re worried, but prepared.

 

14 Nov 2022 23:42

CSIRO chief to leave science organisation after term ends

The CSIRO is about to receive (another) shake up. The science agency’s chief executive, Larry Marshall, will leave in June.

(As an aside, the CSIRO is an excellent Instagram follow, if you aren’t following already.)

 

14 Nov 2022 23:33

Australian physicians back Raise the Age campaign

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is part of the Raise the Age campaign, calling on governments to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14, which is in line with medical evidence and advice.

Children as young as 10 years old are being locked up in Australian detention centres, despite medical evidence showing they are too young to take responsibility for what they have done.

The RACP president and paediatrician, Dr Jacqueline Small, said children need help, not prisons.

The college has been campaigning for years for state and territories to raise the age of criminal responsibility.

Incarcerating children this young causes serious harms for them and their communities.

14 years old is the absolute youngest age a child should be held criminally responsible, and we’ve been very disappointed to see the NT government attempt this reform, only to miss the mark with an age of 12.

More must be done to ensure children are not incarcerated for behaviours that are a direct consequence of their young age, their disability or their earlier trauma and provide these children with the care, support and treatment that they need and that preserves their dignity and human rights.

Exposure to the criminal legal system has direct consequences on the education, development, mental and physical health, and adult incarceration rates, on these children.

 

14 Nov 2022 23:27

Tasmania flood advice warning for Tahune Bridge area

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a minor flood warning for the Huon River:

A “flood advice – monitor conditions” warning has been issued for Tahune Bridge and surrounds by Tasmania SES.

Locations likely to be affected are: Tahune Bridge and surrounds

During the next 12 to 24 hours:

  • Flooding in nearby streams and rivers is likely.

  • Some low-lying properties may become isolated by flood waters.

  • Property, livestock, equipment, and crops in low lying areas may be at risk from flood waters.

  • Driving conditions may be dangerous.

If you live in or are travelling near the Tahune Bridge and surrounds, SES advises:

  • If you have a flood emergency plan, check it now.

  • Monitor conditions and prepare now to go to a safer place if conditions become more dangerous.

  • For SES Flood Warning updates, visit TasALERT.com or listen to ABC local radio.

 

14 Nov 2022 23:25 Josh Taylor

Have your Medibank records been posted online? You can tell us your story

In the past week, we have seen a bit over 1,000 Medibank customer records being posted on the dark web by a Russian hacking group after the Australian health insurer refused to pay a ransom to the company.

If you are one of those people who were included in the records posted online, and feel comfortable telling your story to us (your name and details can be anonymised) please get in contact with reporter Josh Taylor by email at josh.taylor@theguardian.com.

Just noting that Medibank will have likely contacted you more directly to tell you what ended up online and have assigned you a case manager if that is the case.

If you’ve just received an email informing you that your data was taken – it doesn’t yet mean it has been posted online.

 

14 Nov 2022 23:23 Peter Hannam

Later this morning, we’ll get the Reserve Bank of Australia’s minutes from its 1 November meeting when it raised its cash rate for a record seventh time in as many meetings.

Ahead of that 11.30am (AEDT) release, it’s worth looking at how consumer sentiment has been holding up. According to the latest weekly survey from ANZ and Roy Morgan, confidence actually perked up a bit, with the 2.7% snapping six weeks of declines that lowered the index more than 10%.

We’re still down in the dumps, apparently, although still spending like we’re emerging from lockdowns all cashed-up.

While many sub-indices have lately improved, the “good time to buy a major household item” gauge has retreated further – and is the lowest since the April 2020 Covid wave.

As the ANZ’s top Australian economist, David Plank, notes there’s a paradox in that “household spending has held up despite the weakness in sentiment”.

Whether this disconnect can continue is a central issue for policymakers.

(By which he mostly has the RBA in mind.)

In fact, inflation expectations have also eased in the past week, and are steady on a rolling four-week average:

That’s interesting since fuel prices have continued to nudge towards the $2 a litre mark, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.

Speaking of energy, more than a few people will be watching AGL Energy‘s annual general meeting that kicks off in Melbourne at 10.30am AEDT. (You can follow it here.)

It’s something of a clash of the titans, with Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes effectively trying to change the board of AGL and potentially upend the remaining leaders on Australia’s largest electricity generator.

We published this primer on Sunday to set the scene at the Melbourne Recital Centre here:

Related: AGL shareholders will speak this week – and Australia’s energy market will be listening

Cyclone season lining up to add to strains for emergency services

14 Nov 2022 23:19 Peter Hannam

As bad as the floods are for New South Wales and Victoria of late, it’s worth keeping in mind that the tropical cyclone season is also under way.

Now, it worth noting that in an average year, we should get about 11 tropical cyclones in the Australian region for the November-April period. During La Niña years, odds tend to favour a busier than usual season, and that’s what the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting – that there’s a 75% chance this season will get more than 11.

As it happens, the number of tropical cyclones has been of decline in the past couple of decades even as waters have warmed. But a new science paper out recently suggested the decline may be natural variability, and conditions may snap back to longer-run averages.

We have written about the paper here today:

Related: Climate crisis will bring more and worse tropical cyclones to Australia’s east coast, study predicts

A couple of key take-aways include that cyclones are likely to get more intense and keep that intensity longer (in large part because of those warming waters).

Also of worry is the prospect that these tempests will travel further south (or north, in the northern hemisphere). We got a taste for that last year when tropical cyclone Seroja crossed much further south on the Western Australia coast than is usual for a cyclone (let alone one that was of category three severity):

As noted by Andrew Watkins, a senior BoM scientist, we saw a Gold Coast cyclone in the 1950s.

But, of course, we have a lot more people in south-east Queensland and northern NSW now than we did seven decades ago (more than 3 million).

Australia’s biggest insurer, IAG, supported that cyclone research. They think it’s time to consider strengthening our building codes to limit future damage – and step up retrofitting efforts.

Anyway, a reminder that a hotter world, with a more energetic atmosphere, is something we need to both work against (limiting emissions) and prepare for.

 

14 Nov 2022 23:14

Nobody pretending issues raised ‘will be solved overnight’: Chalmers

Albanese has said there are no preconditions ahead of the meeting with Xi but Karvelas is pressing Chalmers on what could be on the table. He’s staying pretty tight-lipped but here are some of his answers.

On whether the meeting between Xi and Albanese will see trade sanctions wound back, Chalmers says:

We’ve made it really clear for some time … that these trade sanctions are not in Australia’s interests, and we want to see them lifted.

Beijing has made its own demands of Australia, Chalmers is asked what concessions Australia will be willing to make:

I don’t think anybody pretends some of the issues China has raised, certainly some we have raised will be solved overnight, but again we give ourselves a much better chance where there is engagement and dialogue.

On whether the prime minister would bring up the treatment of two Australians including journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Hengjun, Chalmers says:

Australia’s made its views clear over a long period of time when it comes to the detention of these two people.

 

14 Nov 2022 23:13

The BoM spokesperson moves on to other river systems beyond the Lachlan:

Turning to the Macquarie River and specifically Bathurst, we have major flooding occurring at Bathurst. The river at Bathurst peaked at 6.64 metres around yesterday afternoon. It is currently falling and that level is very similar to the flooding that they had in 1998 at 6.69 metres. It’s currently at four and a bit metres and it’s falling but it’s still in the major flood category for Bathurst.

Turning to the Bulubula and Mendageri Creek which feed into the Lachlan we had major flooding at Canowindra and Eugowra, of course. For Canowindra, upstream, that has peaked at 7.79 metres yesterday morning. And that is the highest peak it’s had in 70 years according to hydrologists this morning. So that’s a significant flood for the town of Canowindra. In Eugowra, of course, it’s peaked and it is falling but it’s had significant impacts. The levels are around the 9-metre mark.

In Tamworth, moderate flooding is occurring. The Tamworth Road Bridge peaked at 5.35 metres last night. It’s currently falling but it’s in the moderate flood range.

For the Tumut and Murrumbidgee Rivers, we have major flooding higher than the September 1974 flood occurring at Hay. I’ll point to Hay specifically as that’s the most significant one in that area. It’s 9m and it’s rising with major flooding. And it may stay that way right through till Wednesday.

And just a brief touch on the Murray and the Edwards River. Major flooding higher than the 1975 flooding occurring at Yacool Junction there and possibly at Boundary Bend, Euston, Mildura and Wentworth as flood waters move further south.

A flooded green at the Molong Bowling Club in the town of Molong, yesterday, in the NSW central west. Molong is on the Bell River, a tributary of the Macquarie. Photograph: Murray Mccloskey/AAP © Provided by The Guardian A flooded green at the Molong Bowling Club in the town of Molong, yesterday, in the NSW central west. Molong is on the Bell River, a tributary of the Macquarie. Photograph: Murray Mccloskey/AAP

Eight major flood warnings in NSW

14 Nov 2022 23:12

The Bureau of Meterology spokesperson moves onto floods:

For the floods, the focus is on the fact that we still have 17 flood warnings issued for the state. Eight of those are in a major category and they’re the focus of today. They’re affecting about 25 locations.

Moving through some of these catchments, probably in order of significance right now, for the Lachlan River and Lachlan catchment, we have major flooding occurring at Forbes and we have a reach mark of 10.8 metres possible this afternoon. That’s similar to the June 1952 flood.

We have major flooding at Cowra, Nanami, Cottons Weir and Jemalong Weir. I’ll focus on this particular catchment for some details. For Cowra in particular we have a peak of 14.3 metres. It’s steady at the moment. In November, it peaked at 13.5 metres, so it’s a metre above the early November peak. If you’re wondering how that peak arrived, Cowra from a rainfall event over the weekend had 121mm and according to records this morning, that’s the highest daily rainfall at the Cowra ag station in 118 years.

For the Lachlan and the Namoi, the town of Namoi it may reach 13.6 metres this afternoon. Earlier this November, it was 13.4.

In Forbes, the Ironbridge may reach 10.8 metres this afternoon – for context, the flood in Forbes in earlier November was 10.67 metres.

Further downstream for Cottons Weir, it may reach 7.3 metres today. Potential for further rise is possible as more water is coming down.

Downstream of the Lachlan, I want to point to Condoblin. Condoblin Bridge is currently at 7.35 metres and steady. It does have major flooding and it’s likely that it may remain around 7.4 metres through to Thursday. So it’s a significant lag in the way it moves away from the bridge there.

In Euabalong, it may reach 7.4 metres around 20 November, as the flood peaks move further south or further along the river. And it’s slightly below the 1952 flood.

 

14 Nov 2022 23:10

Good morning everyone and very big thank you to Tash for taking us through a very busy morning.

If you are in the New South Wales central-west, we are thinking of you and we will keep you updated with any new information as it comes to hand.

 

14 Nov 2022 23:04

I am bidding you farewell for now. It’s a surprise treat as we have Amy Remeikis back on the blog outside parliament sitting!

 

14 Nov 2022 22:53

Condobolin entirely isolated by flooding, as schools all along Lachlan River closed

NSW minister for emergency services and flood recovery Steph Cooke at the media conference this morning. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP © Provided by The Guardian NSW minister for emergency services and flood recovery Steph Cooke at the media conference this morning. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Cooke:

We are also turning our attention to downstream of Forbes. Once the peak passes through Forbes, we know the lower Lachlan area has been in major flood now for 12 months and, again.

Our heart goes out to the communities of Condobolin which are entirely isolated at this point.

We have schools all along the lower Lachlan who are closed at present. We have children learning from home and assisting their families on properties as required.

 

14 Nov 2022 22:52

One hundred ADF personnel to assist NSW flood efforts

Perrottet thanks the defence minister, and acting prime minister, Richard Marles, for the support that Australian defence personnel have provided flood affected communities.

I want to thank the acting prime minister, Richard Marles. I spoke to him yesterday in relation to getting additional ADF support. We’ll have more boots on the ground today, an additional 100 ADF personnel. The cooperation between the federal government, the state government and local councils in those areas has been incredibly important in making sure that care and support is there.

Perrottet said there are also more than 14 aircraft from the SES, ADF, police and Surf Life Saving that have been rescuing many people in the Eugowra area.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet at the media conference this morning. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP © Provided by The Guardian NSW premier Dominic Perrottet at the media conference this morning. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

 

14 Nov 2022 22:46

Significant cooling of conditions in NSW, as more November snow predicted: BoM

A representative from the NSW Bureau of Meteorology is up next – they’re providing a general update of weather conditions before giving flood-specific info.

The good news is the rain and thunderstorm risk we experienced over the weekend has eased and abated. There is still a slight chance of thunderstorms around the Hunter to the mid north coast today. But largely you’ll see settled conditions across much of the state.

Conditions are cooling off today in the southern districts and they’ll be the first to feel a fairly significant cold snap. The rest of the state into tomorrow, Wednesday, will start to see temperatures drop to eight or 10 degrees below average, which is a significant cooling of conditions for this time of year.

That is likely to lead to frost for the tablelands, very unseasonable for November, and we will likely see some snow on the Alps this week. That said, it is generally settled. The next front that is lining up in the west of the state or over in the Bight is scheduled around the weekend.

 

14 Nov 2022 22:42

Power outages and communication problems due to flooding in Eugowra

York goes on to say flooding has also seen power outages which has caused people to become concerned for loved ones they are unable to reach:

So there are a number of power outages and communication problems around the Eugowra area and the broader geographical area of Eugowra.

A number of people have obviously heeded our warnings and evacuated early, but, because of the communication problems, sometimes you can’t reach your friends and loved ones, and family are concerned.

I’d remind you of the benefit of registering at the Red Cross’s Register Find Reunite. It’s important if you have not gone to an evacuation centre but have left your home, that you registered on the site – Register, Find, Reunite – so we aren’t sending out resources to search for you when you are safe and well at other premises.

York also reminded farmers to keep their animals dry:

There are many rural properties severely affected by these floods and, again, particularly downstream of Forbes we’re asking those farmers to ensure their livestock are put to higher ground so they are safe as well.

York has reiterated that “the flood risk remains high for weeks and months to come”.

Biggest flood response operation in NSW history: SES

14 Nov 2022 22:40

Carlene York, NSW SES commissioner takes the mic saying this flood event has required the biggest operations in the state’s history.

The New South Wales SES are leading what would be the biggest operations in relation to flood response across New South Wales in its history. And I thank our emergency services partners to be able to go out and meet the community’s needs and respond to their requests for assistance.

Our main area of focus today is Eugowra and as mentioned, at Forbes, so what we’re seeing is a number of creeks and rivers flowing into that Lachlan river area, flowing down into Forbes and then expected to flood further downstream from Forbes.

York says rivers are now rising more quickly than expected in the central west:

Yesterday, we had an immense amount of requests by communities for our assistance in flood rescues in the Eugowra area and it did rise much quicker than we had expected, as is Forbes today, rising quicker than we had expected. It was incredibly serious and significant. We saw river heights double in size through to 8am on Monday morning, where it peaked at 9.75 metres and the emergency warning was issued at 6.14am.

We received 180 requests for assistance and 159 flood rescues, many off roofs of houses and businesses. We’ve been able to preposition resources there but when calls for assistance came, we moved many more resources and helicopters to assist in those flood rescues.

We had over 140 emergency service personnel assisting that community. We had 14 helicopters and we have four that are helping us move our resources around that can’t get down the roads because of flooded waters down those roads so today not only are we helping to respond downstream from Forbes but we’re starting rapid damage assessments. We have 100 additional ADF personnel coming in to assist us today and we have 12 personnel from New Zealand fire and emergency services come and help us.

Seventy local government areas affected by NSW floods now in 63rd day

14 Nov 2022 22:37

Cooke:

Everyone across New South Wales today is thinking of the communities right across the central west, where we’ve seen inundation in many communities, including Canowindra, Eugowra and Molong. We are deploying as many resources as we possibly can to get into those communities as quickly as that flood water recedes, so that we can do those rapid damage assessments and get people back into their homes.

We now have 70 local government areas that are the subject of a natural disaster declaration as a result of this event, which is now in its 63rd day.

And so our focus at this time is really two-pronged. We are still in the emergency response in many communities and that includes as the premier has mentioned, Forbes and Eugowra, and we are in the early stages of recovery in places like Molong and Canowindra.

 

14 Nov 2022 22:28

Australia spearheads online safety push

Australia’s eSafety Commission will team with online regulators from the UK, Ireland and Fiji to create new laws combating abuse, harmful content and illegal material on social networks.

Representatives for the four countries announced their partnership at a conference in Washington DC on Tuesday, revealing the global online safety regulators network would collaborate on an “international approach to online safety regulation”.

The news comes after Australia introduced a world-first adult cyber abuse scheme and Online Safety Act in January, and follows major cutbacks to online safety and moderation teams at Twitter and Facebook this month.

The collaboration received early praise from social media experts who said the fight against online abuse and trolls needed “all the firepower” it could get.

The group will be made of Australia’s eSafety Commission, UK communications regulator Ofcom, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, and Fiji’s Online Safety Commission.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said teaming up would allow the agencies to share information and develop consistent laws, avoiding a “splinternet” of rules for social networks and their users across different countries. She said:

I’ve always believed the future of effective online safety regulation would involve a network of global regulators working together to make the online world a safer place for everyone.

Ofcom chief executive Melanie Dawes said sharing experiences and research across countries would help to ensure the safety of “everyone from Melbourne to Manchester”.

– from AAP

SES perform 222 flood rescues in NSW

14 Nov 2022 22:24

A press conference is happening at the NSW emergency operations centre.

Premier Dominic Perrottet is up first:

Over the last 24 hours, we’ve had over 900 requests for assistance. There have been 222 flood rescues.

There’s obviously concerns for our communities in Eugowra and Forbes, particularly Forbes this morning, where evacuation orders are in in place. Those evacuation orders affect properties, impacting hundreds of people.

I say to the community in Forbes we will be with you every step of the way. We were only there two weeks ago. They have gone through flood event after flood event after flood event. We do expect a difficult period of time over the next couple of days …

We know for many communities in the central west, there is a lot of pain and hurt. We’ve got through these challenges in the past and will get through them again.

 

14 Nov 2022 22:18

Up to 600 homes and businesses to be inundated in Forbes

NSW emergency services minister, Steph Cooke, is up next:

Overnight we’ve seen the river levels at Forbes increase faster than expected which has led forward to the bring forward of the evacuation order from 9:00am to 7:00am this morning.

We’ve got around 1,000 properties covered about by that order, hundreds of people, and we are expecting that 500 to 600 homes and businesses will experience inundation from the flooding that we anticipate to come through Forbes because we’re anticipating similar river levels there, around 10.88m over the days ahead, similar to what that community experienced just two weeks ago.

It’s devestating for the Forbes community that they are experiencing this once again and particularly in such a short period of time. Many of those residents have not been able to return to their home from the flooding two weeks ago and are now facing a situation where their home is likely to be inundated again. This is not just people’s houses. This is their homes. It’s their belongings, their memories, their livelihoods and futures.

 

14 Nov 2022 22:02

Steggall calls for MPs to speak up on koalas and native forest protection

Federal and state politicians as well as advocates have welcomed the news that the NSW government has pulled its contentious forestry bill which would have threatened koala habitat, but say more needs to be done to protect natural resources and species.

Independent MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, has called on more members of parliament to “speak up and cross the floor”.

Related: ‘Koala wars’: NSW government scraps contentious native forestry bill to head off revolt

 

14 Nov 2022 21:50 Tory Shepherd

Australians can help Somalia, World Vision chief urges not to be overwhelmed

With famine looming over Somalia, World Vision Australia’s chief says it’s not too late to help those in the “hungriest place on Earth”.

Daniel Wordsworth talked to Guardian Australia from a town called Doolow, where a camp for displaced people has been set up. He said people are travelling for weeks to get there, walking at night to avoid the heat, searching for food and clean water. He said:

I talked to one grandma who’s in her 90s. She travelled for 20 days. I talked to a young mother, who had five children … they’re all under the age of 10. I talked to another family whose kids are all under 10 and they lost one of their bubbas on the way there.

It’s hard to imagine as a parent making that decision [to leave home in search of aid] because you are fully realising that if you stay, it may be too late. We get too weak, we’ve gone without for too long and we can’t make the journey. We go now, when we have some strength, you realise you may lose someone on the way. That’s a dreadful decision.

Wordsworth said once they get to the camp, people are triaged, with medical help for the most urgent cases, while the others set up basic camps. He said he worries that Australians might feel overwhelmed by the scale of the catastrophe unfolding, but that they should be reassured they can help. He said:

There’s always a danger that you can feel like there’s nothing you can do. You feel like you’re just one small thing, how, in the face of something like global famine, can you actually do anything?

But you can … we are here on the ground, we can translate within days, donations into life-saving assistance. It’s real. It actually happens. So you don’t have to worry that alone you can do nothing.

Because you’re not alone.

Read more about the crisis in Somalia here:

Related: Dispatches from Somalia: farmers and families describe struggle as drought deepens

 

14 Nov 2022 21:48 Paul Karp

Australia needs more ‘impactful projection’ and lethality: Marles

The acting prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, last night spoke at the Sydney Institute, revealing some of his thinking after receiving the interim advice from the defence strategic review.

Marles said:

Gone are the days of simply paying the entry price to obtain our guarantee from our security guarantor. The world and our region is far too precarious for that. We will have to be willing – and capable – to act on our own terms, when we have to. Crucially, for my portfolio, this will mean ensuring that the military arm of national power is match fit.

Australia’s defence capabilities cannot match those of major powers. Australian statecraft is only viable if it is underpinned by the ability to project force and power: to deter military threats, and defend Australia’s national interests within our immediate region. And so I believe the cornerstone of future Australian strategic thought will be impactful projection. We must invest in targeted capabilities that enable us to hold potential adversaries’ forces at risk at a distance and increase the calculated cost of aggression against Australia and its interests. And we must be able to do this through the full spectrum of proportionate response.

This will require the Australian defence force to recalibrate its military capabilities, force structure and posture. Our approach must strengthen the lethality, resilience and readiness of the ADF. We must ensure we accord adequate priority to high-end military capabilities to do this. The ADF must augment its self-reliance to deploy and deliver combat power through impactful materiel, enhanced strike capability – including over longer distances – and better logistics and supply chain support, including through a vibrant and innovative partnership with industry.

But Marles also flagged the need for cuts elsewhere:

If we are to grow the defence budget, then in the same breath we must also open up defence spending to scrutiny. The defence strategic review will inevitably foreshadow some difficult decisions. As we think about how we reconfigure our defence force for a very different strategic environment inevitably we will have to make some hard choices. But the very process of exposing the defence budget to scrutiny and criticism is exactly what will provide the licence for the defence budget to grow in the way it must.

He warned of a defence personnel crisis:

Today, the reality is defence faces greater challenges to recruit, retain and grow its workforce than we have for decades. The ADF is almost 3,000 below its allocated force strength. The Department of Defence is more than 1,000 below its budgeted size. In part the defence establishment is simply experiencing the demand for labour which is being felt right around the country. But it also has to do with ensuring that defence’s recruitment reflects the way young Australians approach their careers and that within this context the defence offering is competitive. What is completely clear is that urgent action is required if we are to respond to our more challenging strategic environment. Because right now we have a defence personnel crisis.

Record first day of early voting in Victoria sees 52% increase

14 Nov 2022 21:47

Early voting yesterday opened for the Victorian state election which saw a record 115,065 votes cast.

The Victorian Electoral Commission said the figure represented a 52% increase on the figures recorded on the first day of the last state election.

The surge might be explained that Victorians don’t have to give a reason for voting early at the state level, unlike the federal election. Nevertheless, the result comes despite the fact printing delays and wet weather did delay 21 centres from opening on time.

Of course, votes will not be counted before election day.

 

14 Nov 2022 21:44

Up to a week to clear derailed rail wagons near Geelong

It could take up to a week to reopen the rail corridor between Melbourne and Adelaide as authorities work out how to remove more than a dozen derailed train carriages near Geelong, in Victoria’s west.

Shipping containers were sent tumbling when a 1.7 kilometre-long train with 55 carriages derailed near Inverleigh early on Monday.

Sixteen of the carriages went off the tracks, blocking the rail corridor between Adelaide and Melbourne.

No one was injured and the cause is under investigation.

The Victorian State Emergency Service chief officer, Tim Wiebusch, told reporters on Monday:

We know there was heavy rainfall and some flash flooding in that area but at this stage it’s too early to know what the cause was of the train derailment.

We are lucky we weren’t dealing with a passenger train in this instance and that the crew on board that freight train were also unscathed.

Wiebusch said authorities were working out how to get heavy machinery to the rural area and it could take more than a week for the debris to be cleared.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has taken control of the site. Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said:

Investigators will survey the site and collect any relevant components for further examination and analysis.

They will also obtain and review any recorded data, weather information, witness reports, and relevant train and track operator records.

– From AAP

Svitzer to lock out 590 workers

14 Nov 2022 21:41 Paul Karp

The workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, has said that he’s “devastated” at the way the industrial dispute at Svitzer has unfolded.

Danish tug boat company Svitzer has said it will lock out about 590 workers from 17 metropolitan and regional ports from midday on Friday, and will keep them shut out indefinitely.

Svitzer and the unions have been working to finalise a new enterprise agreement for workers at the 17 ports for the last three years, however increasing agitation from the union has begun to harm their operations, the company says.

Burke told 2GB Radio that it was long-running disputes such as this one that had led Labor to propose giving the Fair Work Commission the power to arbitrate “intractable” disputes. He noted under the current law, the “umpire can only blow the whistle” when both sides agree to arbitration.

He said:

I want the umpire to be able to make decisions on protracted disputes. This is not the only long running dispute that has been driving people spare, particularly across NSW over the last 12 months or so. You’ll often get in a negotiation brief disputes that go back and forth … compared to other countries, we don’t have a lot. But these long protracted ones – you need to have a system where the umpire can step in and say ‘OK we’re going to sort this out’. I’m hopeful we’re only two or three weeks away from that being law. I wish the company could just pause and take breath and wait for those laws to be in place.

 

14 Nov 2022 21:28

Break in rain coming

Our resident weather connoisseur Peter Hannam has good news for (most of) you.

 

14 Nov 2022 21:18

Torrents of water spill from Wyangala Dam

We mentioned on the blog earlier that Wyangala Dam across the Lachlan River is spilling over record megalitres of water and increasing the risk of flooding for those surrounding central west communities, including Forbes.

The Wyangala Dam ais at at 104.1% capacity, with WaterNSW saying the 230,000 megalitre outflow from the dam was a record surpassing the 205,000 megalitres during flooding in 1990.

To understand how big those numbers are, just take a look for yourself.

‘Chaos in energy markets … the defining challenge in the global economy’: Chalmers

14 Nov 2022 21:04

Chalmers says the war in Ukraine hangs over the G20 meeting, with Russia’s invasion making it “difficult to get outcomes”.

Chalmers says:

The chaos in energy markets, brought about by Russia’s war in Ukraine is the defining challenge in the global economy.

On domestic gas prices, the treasurer says when it comes to mechanisms:

Our first preference is to find a regulatory solution here, rather than a tax solution here, I think we’ve said that in different days over the course of the last couple of weeks and see if we can find a temporary, meaningful, sensible and responsible intervention in this market.

Karvelas asks Chalmers, once a decision on the intervention is made, how long until it starts to lower prices?

We’ll do it in a calm and considered way, but we’ll do it as urgently as we can.

There’s a lot of complexity in these policy areas and I don’t want to pretend to your listeners there’s an easy lever to pull.

You can’t click your fingers and make a war in Ukraine go away.

Karvelas challenges Chalmers that you can make the “glut of greed” of gas producers go away, as the industry minister Ed Husic has pointed out.

 

14 Nov 2022 21:03

Lachlan River reaching major flood level at Forbes

Shortly after residents of Forbes were told to evacuate or risk being cut off, data from the Bureau of Meteorology shows that the Lachlan River at Forbes is reaching major flood levels.

 

14 Nov 2022 20:47

PM’s meeting with President Xi seeking to stabilise relationship with China, treasurer says

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking with ABC Radio following the big news yesterday that the country’s leader Anthony Albanese had secured a meeting with his Chinese counterpart for the first time since 2016.

Chalmers has just gotten back from the G20 meeting in Bali where he was with the prime minister yesterday.

RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas:

What’s Australia’s ambition here?

Chalmers:

We seek a more stable relationship with China.

We will speak up for our national interest where necessary, but we believe engagement is important to give ourselves the chance to work through some of these issues if we’re talking to each other.

Related: Australian business hails Albanese’s meeting with Xi as ‘tremendous reset’

 

14 Nov 2022 20:47 Paul Karp

Equality Australia asks ‘what’s next’ on five-year anniversary of yes vote

Five years ago the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the results of the marriage law postal survey: 61.6% of Australians voted yes to allow two people, regardless of sex, to be able to marry.

Three weeks later, marriage equality became law. Since then, almost 18,000 same sex couples have married in Australia, according to the ABS. Including 6,538 in the year following the yes vote (5.5% of all marriages).

On Tuesday peak LGBTIQ+ body Equality Australia will use the anniversary to launch the YES, What’s Next? campaign, calling for an end to gender and sexuality discrimination in religious schools and organisations, ending “conversion therapy” practices and ensuring trans people are fully equal.

Equality Australia chief executive, Anna Brown, said:

Five years ago, Australians said YES to marriage equality. They said yes to love, fairness and acceptance. It’s a bittersweet day for our communities – both a landmark moment in our national history that has brought great happiness to 36,000 people and their families, and a reminder of a divisive and unnecessary public debate about our lives and our families … We’ve come a long way as a society in the last five years, but there’s so much more to do. Still today, many of us face discrimination at school, in our workplace or when accessing services. Violence against people in our communities still happens and the opponents who lobbied against marriage equality have shifted focus, doubling down on their attacks on trans and gender diverse people in Australia.

Ian Thorpe, five time Olympic gold medal swimmer and prominent marriage equality campaigner, said:

The YES vote meant more than simply saying yes to same sex marriage, it was also saying yes to all the LGBTQ+ kids out there that they are just as much a part of society as everyone else, and that all of us are equal no matter who we love. Australia is at its best when we embrace all of our differences. We are better and stronger together. And that’s what the YES vote did, it brought us all together – not only in spirit but also in law …

The YES, What’s Next? pledge is a rallying cry to political leaders across the country to build a more fair, equal and just society by ending conversion practices, ensuring trans people are fully equal, protecting LGBTIQ+ students and staff from discrimination in religious school, and protecting intersex people from harm.

 

14 Nov 2022 20:44

Tasmanians warned of heavy rainfall in south east corner

Tasmania’s south east corner is getting drenched. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall.

Forbes warned to evacuate

14 Nov 2022 20:23

Natasha May now on deck with you.

Residents of Forbes were warned to evacuate before 7am or risk being cut off this morning as the SES say the Lachlan River is rising faster than originally forecast.

The central west town in NSW has had several major floods over the past 12 months, the last only two weeks ago coming in just under the level reached in the June 1952 flood.

This time, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts water levels will peak around 10.8 metres on Wednesday – similar to the 1952 level.

The flooding in Forbes comes as the Wyangala Dam across the Lachlan River is spilling over at at 104.1% capacity.

A WaterNSW spokesman told the Sydney Morning Herald that the 230,000 megalitre outflow from the dam was a record surpassing the 205,000 megalitres during flooding in 1990.

Good morning

14 Nov 2022 20:17 Martin Farrer

Welcome to our live blog where the day will be dominated by the run up to Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Bali tonight. My colleague Natasha May will be here soon to guide you through the day but in the meantime, let’s see what’s coming up.

  • The Business Council of Australia has hailed the prime minister’s meeting with Xi as a “tremendous reset” and an opportunity to rebuild relations with our biggest trading partner after trade wars and spats about the pandemic and human rights. Our political editor, Katharine Murphy, is in Bali and will keep us informed every step of the way. She has this take on the comments by BCA chief Jennifer Westacott.

  • Another summit, another country, and climate minister Chris Bowen is in Egypt for the Cop27 climate talks. He plans to give a speech later today criticising the World Bank for failing to offer a rigorous enough response to the climate emergency, and also suggesting that the architecture of the global financial system needs to be reworked to create better solutions to the problem. Our environment editor, Adam Morton, is in Sharm el-Sheikh and has filed this take on Bowen.

  • Severe flooding continues to pose a serious risk to communities in the central west of New South Wales with major flooding expected in towns including Forbes and Bathurst. In addition, there are emergency orders in place for areas from the Queensland border to Victoria as far south as Geelong.

Australia still lags developed countries in climate performance

14 Nov 2022 20:17 Martin Farrer

A new report published overnight shows that Australia still lags most developed countries in the climate performance index despite the Labor government’s attempts to improve the country’s standing.

Australia is ranked 55th out of 63 in the index, a slight improvement on its 59th place last year as a lack of national plan to phase out fossil fuel mining contin ues to hold the country back.

Nicki Hutley, an economist with the Climate Council, said Australia had “gone from dead last to a pass”. “Despite the nation’s recent progress, there is no escaping just how far behind we are and how much catching up we’ve got to do,” she said.

Adam Morton has the full story here.

Related: Australia still trails most developed countries in climate performance ranking

 

14 Nov 2022 20:17 Martin Farrer

NSW flood warnings for Lachlan and Macquarie rivers

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued more flood warnings for central west New South Wales as the state continues to feel the impact of massive rainfall over recent days and the Wyangala Dam continues to spill.

Flooding at Larras Lee near Molong in central west NSW yesterday. Photograph: William Lee © Provided by The Guardian Flooding at Larras Lee near Molong in central west NSW yesterday. Photograph: William Lee

“With all the rain over the weekend we are still seeing significant flooding for large parts of the country – particularly for Bathurst and Forbes,” Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How told Australian Associated Press.

The BoM released a warning for the Lachlan River in the early hours of this morning:

Moderate to heavy rainfall observed across the Lachlan River catchment has resulted in renewed river level rises and areas of flooding. Major flooding is occurring at Cowra and Nanami. Major flooding is likely at Forbes from early Tuesday morning. Major flooding is occurring at Cottons Weir.

It also said major flooding was occurring at Bathurst but the Macquarie River was now falling.

Further south-west, the town of Eugowra has been cut off and residents had to be rescued by helicopter and taken to Orange.

Our reporter Cait Kelly filed this story last night, including this quote from emergency services minister, Steph Cooke.

“With a population of 700, one in five residents have been rescued in the last few hours, by helicopter or by boat. This [severe weather] event is now in its 62nd day, and every day it throws up new challenges.”

And that’s it from me this morning, my colleague Natasha May will keep you up to date on everything you need to know.

Follow the day’s news.
The Victorian electoral commision has rejected the how-to-vote cards of at least four independent candidates who placed a “1” beside their names only.
Nomi Kaltmann in Caulfield, Kate Lardner in Mornington, Mellissa Lowe in Hawthorn and Sophie Torney in Kew have all told Guardian Australia the VEC rejected their how-to vote cards, which had the number one beside their names and blank preference boxes next to other candidates.
Today, early voting begins.
This is our chance to create real change in our community.
Mornington, I’m asking you to Vote 1 Kate Lardner, and then number every other box in order of your own preferences.#morningtonvotes #springst #auspol pic.twitter.com/xyLIJUCnP2
The same type of cards were distributed at the federal election in May by independents Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel.
Under Victoria’s Electoral Act, how-to-vote cards for election day must be registered with the commission and indicate the voting preference for all candidates listed on the card, or contain a statement that a number must be placed against the name of each candidate.
In 2018, independent MP for Shepparton, Suzanna Sheed, unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the rejection of her how-to-vote card due to blank boxes at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Kaltmann, Larder, Lowe and Torney, who are all being backed by Simon Holmes à Court’s Climate 200 outfit, are considering taking legal action.
The ACT chief coroner, Lorraine Walker, has tested positive for Covid, resulting in the hearings for the inquest into Canberra’s 2020 summer bushfires being postponed until 2023, AAP reports.
The inquest was announced in July 2021, but the wait for information on how it took 45 minutes for an army helicopter’s crew to alert the ACT Emergency Service Agency they had started a fire will continue.
On Monday, the court heard the crew on board the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter were landing for a toilet break when they inadvertently ignited the monster blaze.
They were scouting remote helipads in preparation for bushfire season, when they landed with their searchlight still on and started the fire in the Orroral Valley.
An onboard recording heard one of the helicopter’s passengers yell “Come up, come up, we’ve started a fire, turn the searchlight off”.
The helicopter only stopped for about one minute before returning to Canberra airport, but neither the pilots nor their passengers contacted emergency services to let them know they had started a fire, which one pilot estimated was already “200m by 200m” when they evacuated.
The pilot said he was “concerned we were going to fall out of the sky” because of aircraft damage.
The fire, which burned for five weeks, was declared out of control after 6pm when more than 1000ha were alight and would eventually grow to burn 87,923ha throughout the ACT.
Walker opened proceedings by saying the inquest wasn’t about “crucifying any individual or decision made in the heat of the moment”.
“We’re here to explore how we can learn from it with a view to enhancing everyone’s safety in the future,” she said.
Acting eSafety commissioner in contact with local Twitter representatives
Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant wrote to Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk earlier this month expressing concern about the mass sackings at the company and what it might mean for the company’s ability to comply with Australian law when it comes to child protection and dealing with online harassment and abuse.
The acting commissioner Toby Dagg told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that Twitter had since been in contact with the commissioner’s office since the letter to confirm that people in the company are still contactable:
I’m pleased to say we’ve re-established those connections.
Dagg did not say who he was in contact with, but said it was local and regional representatives for Twitter.
Dagg said there had not been a marked increase in the number of reports made about Twitter since the takeover. In response to questions from Greens senator David Shoebridge about why eSafety had not taken a proactive approach in investigating problems on the service, Dagg said eSafety could not “police the internet” and Twitter was a huge website, so the organisation is reliant on complaints being made.
For cricket followers, Pat Cummins has some news, as AAP reports:
Cummins’ decision to forego a $1.3m Indian Premier League (IPL) pay cheque has exposed cricket’s overloaded calendar, with Australia’s best players set for more than 100 days of international games in the next 12 months.
Cummins made the call on Tuesday morning to skip next year’s IPL tournament for the Kolkata Knight Riders, pointing to a heavy international workload.
Australia have a four-Test tour of India next February and March before the tournament, followed by an Ashes series in England and one-day World Cup in India.
Cummins’ decision comes just weeks after he was elevated to the captaincy of Australia’s one-day team, meaning he will probably feature in more white-ball series before next year’s global event.
He tweeted:

I’ve made the difficult decision to miss next years IPL.

The international schedule is packed with Tests and ODI’s for the next 12 months, so will take some rest ahead of an Ashes series and World Cup.”


I’ve made the difficult decision to miss next years IPL.
The international schedule is packed with Tests and ODI’s for the next 12 months, so will take some rest ahead of an Ashes series and World Cup.”
When factoring in all Tests this summer as well as one-day and T20 series on the road in 2023, Australia’s players have up to 106 days of international cricket in the next 12 months.
That figure includes a possible World Test Championship final in London with Australia currently top of the table, as well as the semi-finals and final of next year’s ODI World Cup.
The problem is most significant for fast bowlers Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and allrounder Cameron Green who will each play against England in ODIs this week.
David Warner, Alex Carey, Steve Smith, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne also play across both red and white-ball formats, meaning nine of Australia’s top XI are now regulars in the Test and one-day teams.
If you haven’t read it as yet, this from Peter Lewis raises some interesting questions:
Related: Many Australians look at the world and see it heading the wrong way. Is democracy no longer the faction of choice? | Peter Lewis
ABC reports Australian navy was tracked by Chinese military last month
The ABC’s defence correspondent, Andrew Greene, has reported two Australian warships were “closely tracked” by the Chinese military last month, as they travelled in the South China Sea. That was part of naval exercises with the US and Japan.
Greene reports:

Officials with knowledge of the operation say destroyer HMAS Hobart and auxiliary tanker HMAS Stalwart sailed close to the Spratly Islands and were challenged by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in international waters claimed by China.

The interaction with the PLA occurred during a ‘regional presence deployment’, where the Australian navy was accompanied by the Japanese destroyer JS Kirisame and US navy destroyer USS Milius for a trilateral transit of the South China Sea.

One defence figure, speaking to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, said the Chinese military closely tracked the vessels and showed a ‘significant increase in tactical acumen and use of EM (electronic warfare) capabilities’.


Officials with knowledge of the operation say destroyer HMAS Hobart and auxiliary tanker HMAS Stalwart sailed close to the Spratly Islands and were challenged by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in international waters claimed by China.
The interaction with the PLA occurred during a ‘regional presence deployment’, where the Australian navy was accompanied by the Japanese destroyer JS Kirisame and US navy destroyer USS Milius for a trilateral transit of the South China Sea.
One defence figure, speaking to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, said the Chinese military closely tracked the vessels and showed a ‘significant increase in tactical acumen and use of EM (electronic warfare) capabilities’.
Guardian Australia understands that AGL energy’s climate plan has been approved by shareholders.
The number voting in favour isn’t yet known, but the proposal has the numbers.
Mike Cannon-Brookes, via his Grok Ventures family company, had been pressing AGL to do more than was proposed. In short, he argued the decarbonisation approach taken by the company implied a path consistent with a world heating 1.8C v pre-industrial era levels
He wanted a plan consistent with a 1.5C path, but that meant exiting coal faster than AGL wanted.
In September, AGL announced it would bring forward the closure date of its Loy Yang A brown coal-fired power station in Victoria by a decade to 2035 while leaving its black-coal burning Bayswater power station in NSW running until between 2030 and 2033. AGL’s Liddell plant, also in NSW, shuts next April.
So, AGL thinks shareholders are satisfied with this plan. One question is whether Cannon-Brookes, with his 11.3% or so holding in AGL, will stay put – especially if he thinks he has a more supportive board.
Victorian Labor pledges $71m for women’s health
The Andrews government has vowed to deliver a $71m women’s health funding package if it wins this months’ state election.
Healthcare is a key battleground in the state election. Under the funding, $58m would be delivered for 20 new women’s health clinics across the state. The state government has also pledged to almost double sexual and reproductive hubs across the state as part of a $6.4m package.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said the funding was about “equity” and “funding.”
Victoria’s health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, said women’s health issues had been routinely ignored by the sector.
Thomas said the sexual health hubs would be a “one-stop shop” for women in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.
AGL Energy’s board will expand with all four of the candidates put up by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes winning support from shareholders ahead of today’s annual general meeting in Melbourne this morning.
AGL’s chair, Paticia McKenzie, has opening the meeting by stating:
Based on the proxies lodged ahead of the meeting, the election of Mark Twidell, Dr Kerry Schott, Christine Holman and John Pollaers as directors has been supported by our shareholders. The board welcomes these new directors to the board and will work constructively with them in the best of interests of shareholders.
MCB, as the Atlassian founder and climate activist is known, backed these four in September, claiming they would be independent. (Schott, a former head of the Energy Security Board, was reported in the AFR as saying she had never spoken to Cannon-Brookes.)
AGL’s board had only supported Twidell, a solar energy veteran, ahead of the vote.
Anyway, assuming Miles George, a wind energy specialist, is also of a like mind to MCB, it’s possible to count five of the nine board members as being particularly pro-renewables.
More to come, as the AGM rolls on.
An update from Katharine Murphy at G20
Good morning from the G20 meeting in Bali. Events yesterday moved at a clip so readers might appreciate a short stock take of where things are up to.
After days of speculation about whether or not Australia’s prime minister would meet the Chinese president when both delegates arrived in Bali, Anthony Albanese confirmed the meeting was on minutes after disembarking his aircraft on Monday.
If you’ve been hanging on the daily news of the summit season, you’ll know Joe Biden met Xi Jinping face-to-face for the first time in the Biden presidency last night on the sidelines of the G20 in an effort to reset great power relations. So Albanese’s meeting with the president will be the focal point of the day but it will be this evening Australia time (around 7pm).
Meanwhile, the G20 has opened in Bali. I’m watching arrivals now. Australia’s former finance minister Mathias Cormann, now head of the OECD, has just made a jaunty entrance along the red carpet.
Apart from tonight’s meeting, Albanese will participate in today’s summit events considering energy, food security and global health.
Small businesses in Forbes are preparing for their second major flood in two weeks, with many having to once again lift or remove their stock and close up, hoping the damage is minimal.
The Forbes CBD has completely shut down as flood waters rise, with many small business owners lamenting the lost business during what should be a busy period.
Business owner and head of the Forbes Business Chamber, Margaret Duggan, said some businesses could lose up to 50% of stock and trade.

This should be a positive and happy time, its a time of harvest, and its close to Christmas, but its deja-vu once again after the floods last week.

People are very anxious about what’s going to happen, we’re planning for the worst and hoping it doesn’t happen.


This should be a positive and happy time, its a time of harvest, and its close to Christmas, but its deja-vu once again after the floods last week.
People are very anxious about what’s going to happen, we’re planning for the worst and hoping it doesn’t happen.
Duggan said that while residents had been keeping a positive mindset, and were resilient, there are concerns for the mental health of business owners in the town.

We had businesses lose 25% to 30% of turnover when the main highway into the town was closed due to flood waters. We’re mentally trying to prepare, but the repeat floods take their toll.

Lots of places are damaged already, water has gotten into places its never been before. We’ve never had this kind of ran before, and we’re on flat ground so its all water logged.

It’s just a waiting game now.


We had businesses lose 25% to 30% of turnover when the main highway into the town was closed due to flood waters. We’re mentally trying to prepare, but the repeat floods take their toll.
Lots of places are damaged already, water has gotten into places its never been before. We’ve never had this kind of ran before, and we’re on flat ground so its all water logged.
It’s just a waiting game now.
The head of CSIRO for the past eight years, Larry Marshall, will exit the post when his third term ends in June 2023, Australia’s national science agency said this morning.
The chair of the CSIRO board, Kathryn Fagg, said:
Dr Marshall has led CSIRO to deliver significant scientific breakthroughs, translate its research into real world solutions and deliver a staggering benefit for our nation – eight times the investment.
Marshall thanked the 5,672 people from CSIRO “who bring their best every day for the nation”:
It is a rare privilege to work with people so driven to achieve for the benefit of a nation and its people. Over the past eight years, together we have reignited Australia’s ambition to solve our greatest challenges with science.
Marshall’s term, the longest in half a century, was not without its controversies, none bigger perhaps than his aborted effort to cull most of climate science at the agency. (As was reported here at the time.)
Lately, some of the wariness about CSIRO’s commitment to climate science surfaced when the agency scrapped its fully funded decadal climate research (and forgot to tell the World Meteorological Organization about it).
Hints that the Albanese government wasn’t entirely happy with CSIRO showed up with the science minister, Ed Husic, warning the agency about “renting out its brand”.
Similarly, the agency’s plan to accelerate the commercialisation of science at CSIRO – potentially at the expense of science that might have broader public benefit – raised fresh questions about the direction of the agency.
Something for Marshall’s successor to consider.
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg is still hopeful he will get his crypto bill up.
If our crypto laws were enacted, the FTX collapse could not happen in Australia because:
1. Capital requirements which compel market licensees to hold a risk weighted capital base in $AUD
2. Segregation of customer funds to ensure that customer money isn’t tied up with corporate funds in the event that a digital currency exchange or custody service declares bankruptcy
Queensland youth prison expansion does not address drivers of offending, expert says
Queensland has more children in detention than any other jurisdiction in the country, AAP reports.
The state’s adult prison population also surged 68% over the past decade – the fastest pace of growth in the country, according to a Justice Reform Initiative report released on Tuesday.
Almost nine in 10 of all children in detention in the state are yet to be sentenced, while the number of youths in detention under the age of 17 has risen from 172 to 219 since 2014-15.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are also significantly over-represented in the figures, making up 35% of the adult prison population and nearly 63% of young people.
The rate of incarceration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is 33 times the rate for non-Indigenous children.
According to the report, the “revolving door” model costs Queensland taxpayers $716.9m a year in prison operating costs and this is set to grow further as the incarceration rate continues to climb.
The growth in incarceration has been driven “by political, policy and legislative choices”, it said.
The Justice Reform Initiative executive director, Dr Mindy Sotiri, said building more prisons, as the Queensland government was planning to do with its proposed $500m youth prison expansion, did not work to deter crime or rehabilitate offenders.
“This is a shortsighted and counterproductive policy that will make it more likely that vulnerable children will commit further offences and become trapped in the revolving prison door that has become a devastating feature of Queensland’s justice system,” she said.
Holding children in detention fails to address the underlying drivers of incarceration, she added.
Sotiri said taxpayers would be far better served by investment in early intervention, diversion and evidence-based alternatives outside the youth justice system.
In New South Wales, Forbes is preparing for what could be the worst flooding its ever seen, with the Lachlan River already rising higher than expected.
The town’s deputy mayor, Chris Roylance, said Forbes had been “cut in half” by the rising flood waters, and that the CBD had been emptied by evacuation orders.
My wife was one of the last cars through now, the town is about to be cut in half. The river was expected to get to 10.55 metres, and its already at 10.62. I’ve lived through many floods in my time here, but this will be the biggest we’ve ever seen.
The town has been cut off by the rising flood waters, with roads in and out currently blocked.
Roylance said the CBD looked like a “war zone”, but added that the community sentiment was still positive.

Everyone is prepared, we’re all sandbagged and set, we’re just sitting around waiting. We told people to get out and make sure they didn’t wait around, so the CBD has been emptied out.

It looks like a war zone down there, with plastic covers all over and sandbags everywhere. We’re worried, but prepared.


Everyone is prepared, we’re all sandbagged and set, we’re just sitting around waiting. We told people to get out and make sure they didn’t wait around, so the CBD has been emptied out.
It looks like a war zone down there, with plastic covers all over and sandbags everywhere. We’re worried, but prepared.
CSIRO chief to leave science organisation after term ends
The CSIRO is about to receive (another) shake up. The science agency’s chief executive, Larry Marshall, will leave in June.
Breaking: Larry Marshall to leave @CSIRO when it terms comes to an end next June. His track record will be debated for years to come… #auspolhttps://t.co/8Xnytpt5Un
(As an aside, the CSIRO is an excellent Instagram follow, if you aren’t following already.)
Australian physicians back Raise the Age campaign
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is part of the Raise the Age campaign, calling on governments to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14, which is in line with medical evidence and advice.
Children as young as 10 years old are being locked up in Australian detention centres, despite medical evidence showing they are too young to take responsibility for what they have done.
The RACP president and paediatrician, Dr Jacqueline Small, said children need help, not prisons.

The college has been campaigning for years for state and territories to raise the age of criminal responsibility.

Incarcerating children this young causes serious harms for them and their communities.

14 years old is the absolute youngest age a child should be held criminally responsible, and we’ve been very disappointed to see the NT government attempt this reform, only to miss the mark with an age of 12.

More must be done to ensure children are not incarcerated for behaviours that are a direct consequence of their young age, their disability or their earlier trauma and provide these children with the care, support and treatment that they need and that preserves their dignity and human rights.

Exposure to the criminal legal system has direct consequences on the education, development, mental and physical health, and adult incarceration rates, on these children.


The college has been campaigning for years for state and territories to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
Incarcerating children this young causes serious harms for them and their communities.
14 years old is the absolute youngest age a child should be held criminally responsible, and we’ve been very disappointed to see the NT government attempt this reform, only to miss the mark with an age of 12.
More must be done to ensure children are not incarcerated for behaviours that are a direct consequence of their young age, their disability or their earlier trauma and provide these children with the care, support and treatment that they need and that preserves their dignity and human rights.
Exposure to the criminal legal system has direct consequences on the education, development, mental and physical health, and adult incarceration rates, on these children.
Tasmania flood advice warning for Tahune Bridge area
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a minor flood warning for the Huon River:
A “flood advice – monitor conditions” warning has been issued for Tahune Bridge and surrounds by Tasmania SES.
Locations likely to be affected are: Tahune Bridge and surrounds
During the next 12 to 24 hours:
Flooding in nearby streams and rivers is likely.
Some low-lying properties may become isolated by flood waters.
Property, livestock, equipment, and crops in low lying areas may be at risk from flood waters.
Driving conditions may be dangerous.
If you live in or are travelling near the Tahune Bridge and surrounds, SES advises:
If you have a flood emergency plan, check it now.
Monitor conditions and prepare now to go to a safer place if conditions become more dangerous.
For SES Flood Warning updates, visit TasALERT.com or listen to ABC local radio.
Have your Medibank records been posted online? You can tell us your story
In the past week, we have seen a bit over 1,000 Medibank customer records being posted on the dark web by a Russian hacking group after the Australian health insurer refused to pay a ransom to the company.
If you are one of those people who were included in the records posted online, and feel comfortable telling your story to us (your name and details can be anonymised) please get in contact with reporter Josh Taylor by email at josh.taylor@theguardian.com.
Just noting that Medibank will have likely contacted you more directly to tell you what ended up online and have assigned you a case manager if that is the case.
If you’ve just received an email informing you that your data was taken – it doesn’t yet mean it has been posted online.
Later this morning, we’ll get the Reserve Bank of Australia’s minutes from its 1 November meeting when it raised its cash rate for a record seventh time in as many meetings.
Ahead of that 11.30am (AEDT) release, it’s worth looking at how consumer sentiment has been holding up. According to the latest weekly survey from ANZ and Roy Morgan, confidence actually perked up a bit, with the 2.7% snapping six weeks of declines that lowered the index more than 10%.
Consumer sentiment improved in the past week, for the first time in seven weeks, @ANZ_Research and @RoyMorganAus say in their latest survey. “Time to buy a major household item”, though, has dropped to its lowest since April 2020. pic.twitter.com/Pz8oP06gk8
We’re still down in the dumps, apparently, although still spending like we’re emerging from lockdowns all cashed-up.
While many sub-indices have lately improved, the “good time to buy a major household item” gauge has retreated further – and is the lowest since the April 2020 Covid wave.
As the ANZ’s top Australian economist, David Plank, notes there’s a paradox in that “household spending has held up despite the weakness in sentiment”.
Whether this disconnect can continue is a central issue for policymakers.
(By which he mostly has the RBA in mind.)
In fact, inflation expectations have also eased in the past week, and are steady on a rolling four-week average:
Inflation expectations, meanwhile, have eased back in the past week (but remain high on a monthly average). (Source: @ANZ_Research, @RoyMorganAus ) pic.twitter.com/bcBnNMHrCu
That’s interesting since fuel prices have continued to nudge towards the $2 a litre mark, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.
Petroleum prices were averaging just under $2/litre (at 198.9 cents) across Australia last week – but at least the margin from retailers shrank closer to normal. pic.twitter.com/LzTD1fYdiE
Speaking of energy, more than a few people will be watching AGL Energy‘s annual general meeting that kicks off in Melbourne at 10.30am AEDT. (You can follow it here.)
It’s something of a clash of the titans, with Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes effectively trying to change the board of AGL and potentially upend the remaining leaders on Australia’s largest electricity generator.
We published this primer on Sunday to set the scene at the Melbourne Recital Centre here:
Related: AGL shareholders will speak this week – and Australia’s energy market will be listening
As bad as the floods are for New South Wales and Victoria of late, it’s worth keeping in mind that the tropical cyclone season is also under way.
Now, it worth noting that in an average year, we should get about 11 tropical cyclones in the Australian region for the November-April period. During La Niña years, odds tend to favour a busier than usual season, and that’s what the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting – that there’s a 75% chance this season will get more than 11.
As it happens, the number of tropical cyclones has been of decline in the past couple of decades even as waters have warmed. But a new science paper out recently suggested the decline may be natural variability, and conditions may snap back to longer-run averages.
We have written about the paper here today:
Related: Climate crisis will bring more and worse tropical cyclones to Australia’s east coast, study predicts
A couple of key take-aways include that cyclones are likely to get more intense and keep that intensity longer (in large part because of those warming waters).
Also of worry is the prospect that these tempests will travel further south (or north, in the northern hemisphere). We got a taste for that last year when tropical cyclone Seroja crossed much further south on the Western Australia coast than is usual for a cyclone (let alone one that was of category three severity):
The region around Brisbane has building standards for wind-loads reaching 57m/second. That’s similar to the region where TC Seroja crossed as a Cat-3 tempest in April 2021 (right). Better hope we don’t get one like that on the more populated east. pic.twitter.com/2GsoZeockf
As noted by Andrew Watkins, a senior BoM scientist, we saw a Gold Coast cyclone in the 1950s.
You mean like the 1954 cyclone that hit the Great Gold Coast Cyclone… much smaller population yet significant impacts, with possibly 30 lives losthttps://t.co/11SAdq79iB pic.twitter.com/n85Nmkrjez
But, of course, we have a lot more people in south-east Queensland and northern NSW now than we did seven decades ago (more than 3 million).
Australia’s biggest insurer, IAG, supported that cyclone research. They think it’s time to consider strengthening our building codes to limit future damage – and step up retrofitting efforts.
Anyway, a reminder that a hotter world, with a more energetic atmosphere, is something we need to both work against (limiting emissions) and prepare for.
Nobody pretending issues raised ‘will be solved overnight’: Chalmers
Albanese has said there are no preconditions ahead of the meeting with Xi but Karvelas is pressing Chalmers on what could be on the table. He’s staying pretty tight-lipped but here are some of his answers.
On whether the meeting between Xi and Albanese will see trade sanctions wound back, Chalmers says:
We’ve made it really clear for some time … that these trade sanctions are not in Australia’s interests, and we want to see them lifted.
Beijing has made its own demands of Australia, Chalmers is asked what concessions Australia will be willing to make:
I don’t think anybody pretends some of the issues China has raised, certainly some we have raised will be solved overnight, but again we give ourselves a much better chance where there is engagement and dialogue.
On whether the prime minister would bring up the treatment of two Australians including journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Hengjun, Chalmers says:
Australia’s made its views clear over a long period of time when it comes to the detention of these two people.
What do you regard as a success?
“our objective is a more stable relationship.. if this meeting is conducted in a calm, considered way, then I think that is a really, really important start”
@JEChalmers
The BoM spokesperson moves on to other river systems beyond the Lachlan:

Turning to the Macquarie River and specifically Bathurst, we have major flooding occurring at Bathurst. The river at Bathurst peaked at 6.64 metres around yesterday afternoon. It is currently falling and that level is very similar to the flooding that they had in 1998 at 6.69 metres. It’s currently at four and a bit metres and it’s falling but it’s still in the major flood category for Bathurst.

Turning to the Bulubula and Mendageri Creek which feed into the Lachlan we had major flooding at Canowindra and Eugowra, of course. For Canowindra, upstream, that has peaked at 7.79 metres yesterday morning. And that is the highest peak it’s had in 70 years according to hydrologists this morning. So that’s a significant flood for the town of Canowindra. In Eugowra, of course, it’s peaked and it is falling but it’s had significant impacts. The levels are around the 9-metre mark.

In Tamworth, moderate flooding is occurring. The Tamworth Road Bridge peaked at 5.35 metres last night. It’s currently falling but it’s in the moderate flood range.

For the Tumut and Murrumbidgee Rivers, we have major flooding higher than the September 1974 flood occurring at Hay. I’ll point to Hay specifically as that’s the most significant one in that area. It’s 9m and it’s rising with major flooding. And it may stay that way right through till Wednesday.

And just a brief touch on the Murray and the Edwards River. Major flooding higher than the 1975 flooding occurring at Yacool Junction there and possibly at Boundary Bend, Euston, Mildura and Wentworth as flood waters move further south.


Turning to the Macquarie River and specifically Bathurst, we have major flooding occurring at Bathurst. The river at Bathurst peaked at 6.64 metres around yesterday afternoon. It is currently falling and that level is very similar to the flooding that they had in 1998 at 6.69 metres. It’s currently at four and a bit metres and it’s falling but it’s still in the major flood category for Bathurst.
Turning to the Bulubula and Mendageri Creek which feed into the Lachlan we had major flooding at Canowindra and Eugowra, of course. For Canowindra, upstream, that has peaked at 7.79 metres yesterday morning. And that is the highest peak it’s had in 70 years according to hydrologists this morning. So that’s a significant flood for the town of Canowindra. In Eugowra, of course, it’s peaked and it is falling but it’s had significant impacts. The levels are around the 9-metre mark.
In Tamworth, moderate flooding is occurring. The Tamworth Road Bridge peaked at 5.35 metres last night. It’s currently falling but it’s in the moderate flood range.
For the Tumut and Murrumbidgee Rivers, we have major flooding higher than the September 1974 flood occurring at Hay. I’ll point to Hay specifically as that’s the most significant one in that area. It’s 9m and it’s rising with major flooding. And it may stay that way right through till Wednesday.
And just a brief touch on the Murray and the Edwards River. Major flooding higher than the 1975 flooding occurring at Yacool Junction there and possibly at Boundary Bend, Euston, Mildura and Wentworth as flood waters move further south.
The Bureau of Meterology spokesperson moves onto floods:

For the floods, the focus is on the fact that we still have 17 flood warnings issued for the state. Eight of those are in a major category and they’re the focus of today. They’re affecting about 25 locations.

Moving through some of these catchments, probably in order of significance right now, for the Lachlan River and Lachlan catchment, we have major flooding occurring at Forbes and we have a reach mark of 10.8 metres possible this afternoon. That’s similar to the June 1952 flood.

We have major flooding at Cowra, Nanami, Cottons Weir and Jemalong Weir. I’ll focus on this particular catchment for some details. For Cowra in particular we have a peak of 14.3 metres. It’s steady at the moment. In November, it peaked at 13.5 metres, so it’s a metre above the early November peak. If you’re wondering how that peak arrived, Cowra from a rainfall event over the weekend had 121mm and according to records this morning, that’s the highest daily rainfall at the Cowra ag station in 118 years.

For the Lachlan and the Namoi, the town of Namoi it may reach 13.6 metres this afternoon. Earlier this November, it was 13.4.

In Forbes, the Ironbridge may reach 10.8 metres this afternoon – for context, the flood in Forbes in earlier November was 10.67 metres.

Further downstream for Cottons Weir, it may reach 7.3 metres today. Potential for further rise is possible as more water is coming down.

Downstream of the Lachlan, I want to point to Condoblin. Condoblin Bridge is currently at 7.35 metres and steady. It does have major flooding and it’s likely that it may remain around 7.4 metres through to Thursday. So it’s a significant lag in the way it moves away from the bridge there.

In Euabalong, it may reach 7.4 metres around 20 November, as the flood peaks move further south or further along the river. And it’s slightly below the 1952 flood.


For the floods, the focus is on the fact that we still have 17 flood warnings issued for the state. Eight of those are in a major category and they’re the focus of today. They’re affecting about 25 locations.
Moving through some of these catchments, probably in order of significance right now, for the Lachlan River and Lachlan catchment, we have major flooding occurring at Forbes and we have a reach mark of 10.8 metres possible this afternoon. That’s similar to the June 1952 flood.
We have major flooding at Cowra, Nanami, Cottons Weir and Jemalong Weir. I’ll focus on this particular catchment for some details. For Cowra in particular we have a peak of 14.3 metres. It’s steady at the moment. In November, it peaked at 13.5 metres, so it’s a metre above the early November peak. If you’re wondering how that peak arrived, Cowra from a rainfall event over the weekend had 121mm and according to records this morning, that’s the highest daily rainfall at the Cowra ag station in 118 years.
For the Lachlan and the Namoi, the town of Namoi it may reach 13.6 metres this afternoon. Earlier this November, it was 13.4.
In Forbes, the Ironbridge may reach 10.8 metres this afternoon – for context, the flood in Forbes in earlier November was 10.67 metres.
Further downstream for Cottons Weir, it may reach 7.3 metres today. Potential for further rise is possible as more water is coming down.
Downstream of the Lachlan, I want to point to Condoblin. Condoblin Bridge is currently at 7.35 metres and steady. It does have major flooding and it’s likely that it may remain around 7.4 metres through to Thursday. So it’s a significant lag in the way it moves away from the bridge there.
In Euabalong, it may reach 7.4 metres around 20 November, as the flood peaks move further south or further along the river. And it’s slightly below the 1952 flood.
Good morning everyone and very big thank you to Tash for taking us through a very busy morning.
If you are in the New South Wales central-west, we are thinking of you and we will keep you updated with any new information as it comes to hand.
I am bidding you farewell for now. It’s a surprise treat as we have Amy Remeikis back on the blog outside parliament sitting!
Condobolin entirely isolated by flooding, as schools all along Lachlan River closed
Cooke:

We are also turning our attention to downstream of Forbes. Once the peak passes through Forbes, we know the lower Lachlan area has been in major flood now for 12 months and, again.

Our heart goes out to the communities of Condobolin which are entirely isolated at this point.

We have schools all along the lower Lachlan who are closed at present. We have children learning from home and assisting their families on properties as required.


We are also turning our attention to downstream of Forbes. Once the peak passes through Forbes, we know the lower Lachlan area has been in major flood now for 12 months and, again.
Our heart goes out to the communities of Condobolin which are entirely isolated at this point.
We have schools all along the lower Lachlan who are closed at present. We have children learning from home and assisting their families on properties as required.
One hundred ADF personnel to assist NSW flood efforts
Perrottet thanks the defence minister, and acting prime minister, Richard Marles, for the support that Australian defence personnel have provided flood affected communities.
I want to thank the acting prime minister, Richard Marles. I spoke to him yesterday in relation to getting additional ADF support. We’ll have more boots on the ground today, an additional 100 ADF personnel. The cooperation between the federal government, the state government and local councils in those areas has been incredibly important in making sure that care and support is there.
Perrottet said there are also more than 14 aircraft from the SES, ADF, police and Surf Life Saving that have been rescuing many people in the Eugowra area.
Significant cooling of conditions in NSW, as more November snow predicted: BoM
A representative from the NSW Bureau of Meteorology is up next – they’re providing a general update of weather conditions before giving flood-specific info.

The good news is the rain and thunderstorm risk we experienced over the weekend has eased and abated. There is still a slight chance of thunderstorms around the Hunter to the mid north coast today. But largely you’ll see settled conditions across much of the state.

Conditions are cooling off today in the southern districts and they’ll be the first to feel a fairly significant cold snap. The rest of the state into tomorrow, Wednesday, will start to see temperatures drop to eight or 10 degrees below average, which is a significant cooling of conditions for this time of year.

That is likely to lead to frost for the tablelands, very unseasonable for November, and we will likely see some snow on the Alps this week. That said, it is generally settled. The next front that is lining up in the west of the state or over in the Bight is scheduled around the weekend.


The good news is the rain and thunderstorm risk we experienced over the weekend has eased and abated. There is still a slight chance of thunderstorms around the Hunter to the mid north coast today. But largely you’ll see settled conditions across much of the state.
Conditions are cooling off today in the southern districts and they’ll be the first to feel a fairly significant cold snap. The rest of the state into tomorrow, Wednesday, will start to see temperatures drop to eight or 10 degrees below average, which is a significant cooling of conditions for this time of year.
That is likely to lead to frost for the tablelands, very unseasonable for November, and we will likely see some snow on the Alps this week. That said, it is generally settled. The next front that is lining up in the west of the state or over in the Bight is scheduled around the weekend.
Power outages and communication problems due to flooding in Eugowra
York goes on to say flooding has also seen power outages which has caused people to become concerned for loved ones they are unable to reach:

So there are a number of power outages and communication problems around the Eugowra area and the broader geographical area of Eugowra.

A number of people have obviously heeded our warnings and evacuated early, but, because of the communication problems, sometimes you can’t reach your friends and loved ones, and family are concerned.

I’d remind you of the benefit of registering at the Red Cross’s Register Find Reunite. It’s important if you have not gone to an evacuation centre but have left your home, that you registered on the site – Register, Find, Reunite – so we aren’t sending out resources to search for you when you are safe and well at other premises.


So there are a number of power outages and communication problems around the Eugowra area and the broader geographical area of Eugowra.
A number of people have obviously heeded our warnings and evacuated early, but, because of the communication problems, sometimes you can’t reach your friends and loved ones, and family are concerned.
I’d remind you of the benefit of registering at the Red Cross’s Register Find Reunite. It’s important if you have not gone to an evacuation centre but have left your home, that you registered on the site – Register, Find, Reunite – so we aren’t sending out resources to search for you when you are safe and well at other premises.
York also reminded farmers to keep their animals dry:
There are many rural properties severely affected by these floods and, again, particularly downstream of Forbes we’re asking those farmers to ensure their livestock are put to higher ground so they are safe as well.
York has reiterated that “the flood risk remains high for weeks and months to come”.
Carlene York, NSW SES commissioner takes the mic saying this flood event has required the biggest operations in the state’s history.

The New South Wales SES are leading what would be the biggest operations in relation to flood response across New South Wales in its history. And I thank our emergency services partners to be able to go out and meet the community’s needs and respond to their requests for assistance.

Our main area of focus today is Eugowra and as mentioned, at Forbes, so what we’re seeing is a number of creeks and rivers flowing into that Lachlan river area, flowing down into Forbes and then expected to flood further downstream from Forbes.


The New South Wales SES are leading what would be the biggest operations in relation to flood response across New South Wales in its history. And I thank our emergency services partners to be able to go out and meet the community’s needs and respond to their requests for assistance.
Our main area of focus today is Eugowra and as mentioned, at Forbes, so what we’re seeing is a number of creeks and rivers flowing into that Lachlan river area, flowing down into Forbes and then expected to flood further downstream from Forbes.
York says rivers are now rising more quickly than expected in the central west:

Yesterday, we had an immense amount of requests by communities for our assistance in flood rescues in the Eugowra area and it did rise much quicker than we had expected, as is Forbes today, rising quicker than we had expected. It was incredibly serious and significant. We saw river heights double in size through to 8am on Monday morning, where it peaked at 9.75 metres and the emergency warning was issued at 6.14am.

We received 180 requests for assistance and 159 flood rescues, many off roofs of houses and businesses. We’ve been able to preposition resources there but when calls for assistance came, we moved many more resources and helicopters to assist in those flood rescues.

We had over 140 emergency service personnel assisting that community. We had 14 helicopters and we have four that are helping us move our resources around that can’t get down the roads because of flooded waters down those roads so today not only are we helping to respond downstream from Forbes but we’re starting rapid damage assessments. We have 100 additional ADF personnel coming in to assist us today and we have 12 personnel from New Zealand fire and emergency services come and help us.


Yesterday, we had an immense amount of requests by communities for our assistance in flood rescues in the Eugowra area and it did rise much quicker than we had expected, as is Forbes today, rising quicker than we had expected. It was incredibly serious and significant. We saw river heights double in size through to 8am on Monday morning, where it peaked at 9.75 metres and the emergency warning was issued at 6.14am.
We received 180 requests for assistance and 159 flood rescues, many off roofs of houses and businesses. We’ve been able to preposition resources there but when calls for assistance came, we moved many more resources and helicopters to assist in those flood rescues.
We had over 140 emergency service personnel assisting that community. We had 14 helicopters and we have four that are helping us move our resources around that can’t get down the roads because of flooded waters down those roads so today not only are we helping to respond downstream from Forbes but we’re starting rapid damage assessments. We have 100 additional ADF personnel coming in to assist us today and we have 12 personnel from New Zealand fire and emergency services come and help us.
Cooke:

Everyone across New South Wales today is thinking of the communities right across the central west, where we’ve seen inundation in many communities, including Canowindra, Eugowra and Molong. We are deploying as many resources as we possibly can to get into those communities as quickly as that flood water recedes, so that we can do those rapid damage assessments and get people back into their homes.

We now have 70 local government areas that are the subject of a natural disaster declaration as a result of this event, which is now in its 63rd day.

And so our focus at this time is really two-pronged. We are still in the emergency response in many communities and that includes as the premier has mentioned, Forbes and Eugowra, and we are in the early stages of recovery in places like Molong and Canowindra.


Everyone across New South Wales today is thinking of the communities right across the central west, where we’ve seen inundation in many communities, including Canowindra, Eugowra and Molong. We are deploying as many resources as we possibly can to get into those communities as quickly as that flood water recedes, so that we can do those rapid damage assessments and get people back into their homes.
We now have 70 local government areas that are the subject of a natural disaster declaration as a result of this event, which is now in its 63rd day.
And so our focus at this time is really two-pronged. We are still in the emergency response in many communities and that includes as the premier has mentioned, Forbes and Eugowra, and we are in the early stages of recovery in places like Molong and Canowindra.
Australia spearheads online safety push
Australia’s eSafety Commission will team with online regulators from the UK, Ireland and Fiji to create new laws combating abuse, harmful content and illegal material on social networks.
Representatives for the four countries announced their partnership at a conference in Washington DC on Tuesday, revealing the global online safety regulators network would collaborate on an “international approach to online safety regulation”.
The news comes after Australia introduced a world-first adult cyber abuse scheme and Online Safety Act in January, and follows major cutbacks to online safety and moderation teams at Twitter and Facebook this month.
The collaboration received early praise from social media experts who said the fight against online abuse and trolls needed “all the firepower” it could get.
The group will be made of Australia’s eSafety Commission, UK communications regulator Ofcom, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, and Fiji’s Online Safety Commission.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said teaming up would allow the agencies to share information and develop consistent laws, avoiding a “splinternet” of rules for social networks and their users across different countries. She said:
I’ve always believed the future of effective online safety regulation would involve a network of global regulators working together to make the online world a safer place for everyone.
Ofcom chief executive Melanie Dawes said sharing experiences and research across countries would help to ensure the safety of “everyone from Melbourne to Manchester”.
– from AAP
A press conference is happening at the NSW emergency operations centre.
Premier Dominic Perrottet is up first:

Over the last 24 hours, we’ve had over 900 requests for assistance. There have been 222 flood rescues.

There’s obviously concerns for our communities in Eugowra and Forbes, particularly Forbes this morning, where evacuation orders are in in place. Those evacuation orders affect properties, impacting hundreds of people.

I say to the community in Forbes we will be with you every step of the way. We were only there two weeks ago. They have gone through flood event after flood event after flood event. We do expect a difficult period of time over the next couple of days …

We know for many communities in the central west, there is a lot of pain and hurt. We’ve got through these challenges in the past and will get through them again.


Over the last 24 hours, we’ve had over 900 requests for assistance. There have been 222 flood rescues.
There’s obviously concerns for our communities in Eugowra and Forbes, particularly Forbes this morning, where evacuation orders are in in place. Those evacuation orders affect properties, impacting hundreds of people.
I say to the community in Forbes we will be with you every step of the way. We were only there two weeks ago. They have gone through flood event after flood event after flood event. We do expect a difficult period of time over the next couple of days …
We know for many communities in the central west, there is a lot of pain and hurt. We’ve got through these challenges in the past and will get through them again.
Up to 600 homes and businesses to be inundated in Forbes
NSW emergency services minister, Steph Cooke, is up next:

Overnight we’ve seen the river levels at Forbes increase faster than expected which has led forward to the bring forward of the evacuation order from 9:00am to 7:00am this morning.

We’ve got around 1,000 properties covered about by that order, hundreds of people, and we are expecting that 500 to 600 homes and businesses will experience inundation from the flooding that we anticipate to come through Forbes because we’re anticipating similar river levels there, around 10.88m over the days ahead, similar to what that community experienced just two weeks ago.

It’s devestating for the Forbes community that they are experiencing this once again and particularly in such a short period of time. Many of those residents have not been able to return to their home from the flooding two weeks ago and are now facing a situation where their home is likely to be inundated again. This is not just people’s houses. This is their homes. It’s their belongings, their memories, their livelihoods and futures.


Overnight we’ve seen the river levels at Forbes increase faster than expected which has led forward to the bring forward of the evacuation order from 9:00am to 7:00am this morning.
We’ve got around 1,000 properties covered about by that order, hundreds of people, and we are expecting that 500 to 600 homes and businesses will experience inundation from the flooding that we anticipate to come through Forbes because we’re anticipating similar river levels there, around 10.88m over the days ahead, similar to what that community experienced just two weeks ago.
It’s devestating for the Forbes community that they are experiencing this once again and particularly in such a short period of time. Many of those residents have not been able to return to their home from the flooding two weeks ago and are now facing a situation where their home is likely to be inundated again. This is not just people’s houses. This is their homes. It’s their belongings, their memories, their livelihoods and futures.
Steggall calls for MPs to speak up on koalas and native forest protection
Federal and state politicians as well as advocates have welcomed the news that the NSW government has pulled its contentious forestry bill which would have threatened koala habitat, but say more needs to be done to protect natural resources and species.
Independent MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, has called on more members of parliament to “speak up and cross the floor”.
Destruction of koala habitat and native forest logging must stop. Australia has a terrible record of native species facing extinction. Native forests are our best source of carbon sequestration. MPs need to speak up and cross the floor. #koalas #auspol https://t.co/DqjMQHiGe2
Update: NSW Gov have pulled the forestry bill. You know that they’ll try it again but it is gone for now. 🐨🐨🐨. Here is their statement. 👇🏾👇👇🏼 #nswpol pic.twitter.com/hhx3rYFAxf
While welcome news, it raises the question “what were they thinking,” when considering introducing the now-shelved legislation. Are the NSW Coalition that tin-eared that they thought they could get away with this? What other horrors are up their sleeves? https://t.co/pmeYCtzBSM
Related: ‘Koala wars’: NSW government scraps contentious native forestry bill to head off revolt
Australians can help Somalia, World Vision chief urges not to be overwhelmed
With famine looming over Somalia, World Vision Australia’s chief says it’s not too late to help those in the “hungriest place on Earth”.
Daniel Wordsworth talked to Guardian Australia from a town called Doolow, where a camp for displaced people has been set up. He said people are travelling for weeks to get there, walking at night to avoid the heat, searching for food and clean water. He said:

I talked to one grandma who’s in her 90s. She travelled for 20 days. I talked to a young mother, who had five children … they’re all under the age of 10. I talked to another family whose kids are all under 10 and they lost one of their bubbas on the way there.

It’s hard to imagine as a parent making that decision [to leave home in search of aid] because you are fully realising that if you stay, it may be too late. We get too weak, we’ve gone without for too long and we can’t make the journey. We go now, when we have some strength, you realise you may lose someone on the way. That’s a dreadful decision.


I talked to one grandma who’s in her 90s. She travelled for 20 days. I talked to a young mother, who had five children … they’re all under the age of 10. I talked to another family whose kids are all under 10 and they lost one of their bubbas on the way there.
It’s hard to imagine as a parent making that decision [to leave home in search of aid] because you are fully realising that if you stay, it may be too late. We get too weak, we’ve gone without for too long and we can’t make the journey. We go now, when we have some strength, you realise you may lose someone on the way. That’s a dreadful decision.
Wordsworth said once they get to the camp, people are triaged, with medical help for the most urgent cases, while the others set up basic camps. He said he worries that Australians might feel overwhelmed by the scale of the catastrophe unfolding, but that they should be reassured they can help. He said:

There’s always a danger that you can feel like there’s nothing you can do. You feel like you’re just one small thing, how, in the face of something like global famine, can you actually do anything?

But you can … we are here on the ground, we can translate within days, donations into life-saving assistance. It’s real. It actually happens. So you don’t have to worry that alone you can do nothing.

Because you’re not alone.


There’s always a danger that you can feel like there’s nothing you can do. You feel like you’re just one small thing, how, in the face of something like global famine, can you actually do anything?
But you can … we are here on the ground, we can translate within days, donations into life-saving assistance. It’s real. It actually happens. So you don’t have to worry that alone you can do nothing.
Because you’re not alone.
Read more about the crisis in Somalia here:
Related: Dispatches from Somalia: farmers and families describe struggle as drought deepens
Australia needs more ‘impactful projection’ and lethality: Marles
The acting prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, last night spoke at the Sydney Institute, revealing some of his thinking after receiving the interim advice from the defence strategic review.
Marles said:

Gone are the days of simply paying the entry price to obtain our guarantee from our security guarantor. The world and our region is far too precarious for that. We will have to be willing – and capable – to act on our own terms, when we have to. Crucially, for my portfolio, this will mean ensuring that the military arm of national power is match fit.

Australia’s defence capabilities cannot match those of major powers. Australian statecraft is only viable if it is underpinned by the ability to project force and power: to deter military threats, and defend Australia’s national interests within our immediate region. And so I believe the cornerstone of future Australian strategic thought will be impactful projection. We must invest in targeted capabilities that enable us to hold potential adversaries’ forces at risk at a distance and increase the calculated cost of aggression against Australia and its interests. And we must be able to do this through the full spectrum of proportionate response.

This will require the Australian defence force to recalibrate its military capabilities, force structure and posture. Our approach must strengthen the lethality, resilience and readiness of the ADF. We must ensure we accord adequate priority to high-end military capabilities to do this. The ADF must augment its self-reliance to deploy and deliver combat power through impactful materiel, enhanced strike capability – including over longer distances – and better logistics and supply chain support, including through a vibrant and innovative partnership with industry.


Gone are the days of simply paying the entry price to obtain our guarantee from our security guarantor. The world and our region is far too precarious for that. We will have to be willing – and capable – to act on our own terms, when we have to. Crucially, for my portfolio, this will mean ensuring that the military arm of national power is match fit.
Australia’s defence capabilities cannot match those of major powers. Australian statecraft is only viable if it is underpinned by the ability to project force and power: to deter military threats, and defend Australia’s national interests within our immediate region. And so I believe the cornerstone of future Australian strategic thought will be impactful projection. We must invest in targeted capabilities that enable us to hold potential adversaries’ forces at risk at a distance and increase the calculated cost of aggression against Australia and its interests. And we must be able to do this through the full spectrum of proportionate response.
This will require the Australian defence force to recalibrate its military capabilities, force structure and posture. Our approach must strengthen the lethality, resilience and readiness of the ADF. We must ensure we accord adequate priority to high-end military capabilities to do this. The ADF must augment its self-reliance to deploy and deliver combat power through impactful materiel, enhanced strike capability – including over longer distances – and better logistics and supply chain support, including through a vibrant and innovative partnership with industry.
But Marles also flagged the need for cuts elsewhere:
If we are to grow the defence budget, then in the same breath we must also open up defence spending to scrutiny. The defence strategic review will inevitably foreshadow some difficult decisions. As we think about how we reconfigure our defence force for a very different strategic environment inevitably we will have to make some hard choices. But the very process of exposing the defence budget to scrutiny and criticism is exactly what will provide the licence for the defence budget to grow in the way it must.
He warned of a defence personnel crisis:
Today, the reality is defence faces greater challenges to recruit, retain and grow its workforce than we have for decades. The ADF is almost 3,000 below its allocated force strength. The Department of Defence is more than 1,000 below its budgeted size. In part the defence establishment is simply experiencing the demand for labour which is being felt right around the country. But it also has to do with ensuring that defence’s recruitment reflects the way young Australians approach their careers and that within this context the defence offering is competitive. What is completely clear is that urgent action is required if we are to respond to our more challenging strategic environment. Because right now we have a defence personnel crisis.
Early voting yesterday opened for the Victorian state election which saw a record 115,065 votes cast.
The Victorian Electoral Commission said the figure represented a 52% increase on the figures recorded on the first day of the last state election.
The surge might be explained that Victorians don’t have to give a reason for voting early at the state level, unlike the federal election. Nevertheless, the result comes despite the fact printing delays and wet weather did delay 21 centres from opening on time.
Of course, votes will not be counted before election day.
A record 115,065 votes were cast today on the first day of early voting for the 2022 State election! This is compared to 75,612 votes cast on day 1 of early voting in 2018 – a 52% increase #VicVotes
Up to a week to clear derailed rail wagons near Geelong
It could take up to a week to reopen the rail corridor between Melbourne and Adelaide as authorities work out how to remove more than a dozen derailed train carriages near Geelong, in Victoria’s west.
Shipping containers were sent tumbling when a 1.7 kilometre-long train with 55 carriages derailed near Inverleigh early on Monday.
Sixteen of the carriages went off the tracks, blocking the rail corridor between Adelaide and Melbourne.
No one was injured and the cause is under investigation.
The Victorian State Emergency Service chief officer, Tim Wiebusch, told reporters on Monday:

We know there was heavy rainfall and some flash flooding in that area but at this stage it’s too early to know what the cause was of the train derailment.

We are lucky we weren’t dealing with a passenger train in this instance and that the crew on board that freight train were also unscathed.


We know there was heavy rainfall and some flash flooding in that area but at this stage it’s too early to know what the cause was of the train derailment.
We are lucky we weren’t dealing with a passenger train in this instance and that the crew on board that freight train were also unscathed.
Wiebusch said authorities were working out how to get heavy machinery to the rural area and it could take more than a week for the debris to be cleared.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has taken control of the site. Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said:

Investigators will survey the site and collect any relevant components for further examination and analysis.

They will also obtain and review any recorded data, weather information, witness reports, and relevant train and track operator records.


Investigators will survey the site and collect any relevant components for further examination and analysis.
They will also obtain and review any recorded data, weather information, witness reports, and relevant train and track operator records.
– From AAP
The workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, has said that he’s “devastated” at the way the industrial dispute at Svitzer has unfolded.
Danish tug boat company Svitzer has said it will lock out about 590 workers from 17 metropolitan and regional ports from midday on Friday, and will keep them shut out indefinitely.
Svitzer and the unions have been working to finalise a new enterprise agreement for workers at the 17 ports for the last three years, however increasing agitation from the union has begun to harm their operations, the company says.
Burke told 2GB Radio that it was long-running disputes such as this one that had led Labor to propose giving the Fair Work Commission the power to arbitrate “intractable” disputes. He noted under the current law, the “umpire can only blow the whistle” when both sides agree to arbitration.
He said:
I want the umpire to be able to make decisions on protracted disputes. This is not the only long running dispute that has been driving people spare, particularly across NSW over the last 12 months or so. You’ll often get in a negotiation brief disputes that go back and forth … compared to other countries, we don’t have a lot. But these long protracted ones – you need to have a system where the umpire can step in and say ‘OK we’re going to sort this out’. I’m hopeful we’re only two or three weeks away from that being law. I wish the company could just pause and take breath and wait for those laws to be in place.
Break in rain coming
Our resident weather connoisseur Peter Hannam has good news for (most of) you.
Bit of a break coming, rainwise, for most of the Murray-Darling Basin over the next 8 days. (Source: @BOM_au ) pic.twitter.com/I091As0NHQ
Torrents of water spill from Wyangala Dam
We mentioned on the blog earlier that Wyangala Dam across the Lachlan River is spilling over record megalitres of water and increasing the risk of flooding for those surrounding central west communities, including Forbes.
The Wyangala Dam ais at at 104.1% capacity, with WaterNSW saying the 230,000 megalitre outflow from the dam was a record surpassing the 205,000 megalitres during flooding in 1990.
To understand how big those numbers are, just take a look for yourself.
Chalmers says the war in Ukraine hangs over the G20 meeting, with Russia’s invasion making it “difficult to get outcomes”.
Chalmers says:
The chaos in energy markets, brought about by Russia’s war in Ukraine is the defining challenge in the global economy.
On domestic gas prices, the treasurer says when it comes to mechanisms:
Our first preference is to find a regulatory solution here, rather than a tax solution here, I think we’ve said that in different days over the course of the last couple of weeks and see if we can find a temporary, meaningful, sensible and responsible intervention in this market.
Karvelas asks Chalmers, once a decision on the intervention is made, how long until it starts to lower prices?

We’ll do it in a calm and considered way, but we’ll do it as urgently as we can.

There’s a lot of complexity in these policy areas and I don’t want to pretend to your listeners there’s an easy lever to pull.

You can’t click your fingers and make a war in Ukraine go away.


We’ll do it in a calm and considered way, but we’ll do it as urgently as we can.
There’s a lot of complexity in these policy areas and I don’t want to pretend to your listeners there’s an easy lever to pull.
You can’t click your fingers and make a war in Ukraine go away.
Karvelas challenges Chalmers that you can make the “glut of greed” of gas producers go away, as the industry minister Ed Husic has pointed out.
Lachlan River reaching major flood level at Forbes
Shortly after residents of Forbes were told to evacuate or risk being cut off, data from the Bureau of Meteorology shows that the Lachlan River at Forbes is reaching major flood levels.
Lachlan River reaching major flood level at Forbes. (Source: @BOM_au ) pic.twitter.com/rAnP0JeePW
PM’s meeting with President Xi seeking to stabilise relationship with China, treasurer says
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking with ABC Radio following the big news yesterday that the country’s leader Anthony Albanese had secured a meeting with his Chinese counterpart for the first time since 2016.
Chalmers has just gotten back from the G20 meeting in Bali where he was with the prime minister yesterday.
RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas:
What’s Australia’s ambition here?
Chalmers:

We seek a more stable relationship with China.

We will speak up for our national interest where necessary, but we believe engagement is important to give ourselves the chance to work through some of these issues if we’re talking to each other.


We seek a more stable relationship with China.
We will speak up for our national interest where necessary, but we believe engagement is important to give ourselves the chance to work through some of these issues if we’re talking to each other.
Related: Australian business hails Albanese’s meeting with Xi as ‘tremendous reset’
Equality Australia asks ‘what’s next’ on five-year anniversary of yes vote
Five years ago the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the results of the marriage law postal survey: 61.6% of Australians voted yes to allow two people, regardless of sex, to be able to marry.
Three weeks later, marriage equality became law. Since then, almost 18,000 same sex couples have married in Australia, according to the ABS. Including 6,538 in the year following the yes vote (5.5% of all marriages).
On Tuesday peak LGBTIQ+ body Equality Australia will use the anniversary to launch the YES, What’s Next? campaign, calling for an end to gender and sexuality discrimination in religious schools and organisations, ending “conversion therapy” practices and ensuring trans people are fully equal.
Equality Australia chief executive, Anna Brown, said:
Five years ago, Australians said YES to marriage equality. They said yes to love, fairness and acceptance. It’s a bittersweet day for our communities – both a landmark moment in our national history that has brought great happiness to 36,000 people and their families, and a reminder of a divisive and unnecessary public debate about our lives and our families … We’ve come a long way as a society in the last five years, but there’s so much more to do. Still today, many of us face discrimination at school, in our workplace or when accessing services. Violence against people in our communities still happens and the opponents who lobbied against marriage equality have shifted focus, doubling down on their attacks on trans and gender diverse people in Australia.
Ian Thorpe, five time Olympic gold medal swimmer and prominent marriage equality campaigner, said:

The YES vote meant more than simply saying yes to same sex marriage, it was also saying yes to all the LGBTQ+ kids out there that they are just as much a part of society as everyone else, and that all of us are equal no matter who we love. Australia is at its best when we embrace all of our differences. We are better and stronger together. And that’s what the YES vote did, it brought us all together – not only in spirit but also in law …

The YES, What’s Next? pledge is a rallying cry to political leaders across the country to build a more fair, equal and just society by ending conversion practices, ensuring trans people are fully equal, protecting LGBTIQ+ students and staff from discrimination in religious school, and protecting intersex people from harm.


The YES vote meant more than simply saying yes to same sex marriage, it was also saying yes to all the LGBTQ+ kids out there that they are just as much a part of society as everyone else, and that all of us are equal no matter who we love. Australia is at its best when we embrace all of our differences. We are better and stronger together. And that’s what the YES vote did, it brought us all together – not only in spirit but also in law …
The YES, What’s Next? pledge is a rallying cry to political leaders across the country to build a more fair, equal and just society by ending conversion practices, ensuring trans people are fully equal, protecting LGBTIQ+ students and staff from discrimination in religious school, and protecting intersex people from harm.
Tasmanians warned of heavy rainfall in south east corner
Tasmania’s south east corner is getting drenched. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall.
A Severe Weather Warning has been issued for heavy rainfall. Scotts Peak in the southwest has had 63 mm since 9am yesterday. Hobart has had 17 mm in the same time period. pic.twitter.com/SJ1dJ1TpBr
Natasha May now on deck with you.
Residents of Forbes were warned to evacuate before 7am or risk being cut off this morning as the SES say the Lachlan River is rising faster than originally forecast.
The central west town in NSW has had several major floods over the past 12 months, the last only two weeks ago coming in just under the level reached in the June 1952 flood.
This time, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts water levels will peak around 10.8 metres on Wednesday – similar to the 1952 level.
The flooding in Forbes comes as the Wyangala Dam across the Lachlan River is spilling over at at 104.1% capacity.
A WaterNSW spokesman told the Sydney Morning Herald that the 230,000 megalitre outflow from the dam was a record surpassing the 205,000 megalitres during flooding in 1990.
Updated Emergency Warning – Forbes and surrounds – Evacuate by 7:00am 15 November 2022. River level is rising faster than originally forecast.
👉Forbes CBD – Low-lying
👉Forbes West
👉Forbes North East
👉Forbes East
👉Forbes North West
👉Forbes South
https://t.co/FZooFaii4k. pic.twitter.com/YqibYXUzZa
Welcome to our live blog where the day will be dominated by the run up to Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Bali tonight. My colleague Natasha May will be here soon to guide you through the day but in the meantime, let’s see what’s coming up.
The Business Council of Australia has hailed the prime minister’s meeting with Xi as a “tremendous reset” and an opportunity to rebuild relations with our biggest trading partner after trade wars and spats about the pandemic and human rights. Our political editor, Katharine Murphy, is in Bali and will keep us informed every step of the way. She has this take on the comments by BCA chief Jennifer Westacott.
Another summit, another country, and climate minister Chris Bowen is in Egypt for the Cop27 climate talks. He plans to give a speech later today criticising the World Bank for failing to offer a rigorous enough response to the climate emergency, and also suggesting that the architecture of the global financial system needs to be reworked to create better solutions to the problem. Our environment editor, Adam Morton, is in Sharm el-Sheikh and has filed this take on Bowen.
Severe flooding continues to pose a serious risk to communities in the central west of New South Wales with major flooding expected in towns including Forbes and Bathurst. In addition, there are emergency orders in place for areas from the Queensland border to Victoria as far south as Geelong.
A new report published overnight shows that Australia still lags most developed countries in the climate performance index despite the Labor government’s attempts to improve the country’s standing.
Australia is ranked 55th out of 63 in the index, a slight improvement on its 59th place last year as a lack of national plan to phase out fossil fuel mining contin ues to hold the country back.
Nicki Hutley, an economist with the Climate Council, said Australia had “gone from dead last to a pass”. “Despite the nation’s recent progress, there is no escaping just how far behind we are and how much catching up we’ve got to do,” she said.
Adam Morton has the full story here.
Related: Australia still trails most developed countries in climate performance ranking
NSW flood warnings for Lachlan and Macquarie rivers
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued more flood warnings for central west New South Wales as the state continues to feel the impact of massive rainfall over recent days and the Wyangala Dam continues to spill.
“With all the rain over the weekend we are still seeing significant flooding for large parts of the country – particularly for Bathurst and Forbes,” Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How told Australian Associated Press.
The BoM released a warning for the Lachlan River in the early hours of this morning:
Moderate to heavy rainfall observed across the Lachlan River catchment has resulted in renewed river level rises and areas of flooding. Major flooding is occurring at Cowra and Nanami. Major flooding is likely at Forbes from early Tuesday morning. Major flooding is occurring at Cottons Weir.
It also said major flooding was occurring at Bathurst but the Macquarie River was now falling.
Further south-west, the town of Eugowra has been cut off and residents had to be rescued by helicopter and taken to Orange.
Our reporter Cait Kelly filed this story last night, including this quote from emergency services minister, Steph Cooke.
“With a population of 700, one in five residents have been rescued in the last few hours, by helicopter or by boat. This [severe weather] event is now in its 62nd day, and every day it throws up new challenges.”
And that’s it from me this morning, my colleague Natasha May will keep you up to date on everything you need to know.

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