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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Elias Visontay and Royce Kurmelovs (earlier)

Three rescued from flood waters; abortion rights protests; 54 Covid deaths – as it happened

Australia Paris Emmanuel Macron Taliban Guardian Australia
Pedestrians with umbrellas walk in Sydney during wet weather
Pedestrians walk in Sydney during wet weather. The NSW SES has warned of flooding risks across the saturated state from Newcastle to Jervis Bay and the Nepean. Photograph: David Gray/AAP

What we learned today, Saturday 2 July

With that, we’ll wrap our live coverage of the day’s news. Here’s a summary of the main developments:

  • New South Wales residents are being warned the current bout of wet weather hitting the east coast is only going to get worse, with more rain, powerful winds and surging seas on the way. Two Australian Defence Force helicopters have been made available to assist with rescues as areas of the state brace for intense rainfall and possible flooding.
  • Thousands of protesters have marched in Sydney and Melbourne demanding better abortion services after the US supreme court ruling limiting safe access to abortion.
  • As airport queues stretched out the door on Saturday wreaking havoc on the holiday plans of hundreds of thousands of travellers, Sydney airport said people arriving too far in advance for their flight was exacerbating problems caused by wet weather, school holidays and continuing staff shortages.
  • A file number bungle by an Australian government department caused a four-week delay in helping some Afghan citizens at risk of retribution from the Taliban as the militant group swept to power in Afghanistan, Guardian Australia can reveal.
  • The NSW Coalition faces a tough road to re-election, with the latest Guardian Essential poll showing its primary vote falling below 40% as it defended the controversial appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a New York trade role.
  • Prime minister Anthony Albanese has met with Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Have a pleasant evening.

Updated

Sydney airport says people arriving too early worsens long lines

As airport queues stretched out the door on Saturday wreaking havoc on the holiday plans of hundreds of thousands of travellers, Sydney airport said people arriving too far in advance for their flight was exacerbating problems caused by wet weather, school holidays and continuing staff shortages.

In Sydney, Guardian Australia understands there were technical issues with luggage check-in systems across several domestic airlines on Friday and Saturday, which have contributed to long queues at baggage drops.

Baggage drop queues were snaking more than 100 metres out the front door.

Read more:

Updated

Thousands of Australians march for abortion rights

The blow dealt by the US supreme court limiting access to safe abortions shone a light on state regulations in Australia, as protesters took to the streets in solidarity, reports AAP.

Thousands of pro-choice advocates marched in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday, and in Brisbane and Adelaide on Friday, demanding free abortions and more accessibility to health services for women and pregnant people.

Event organiser and MSI Australia managing director, Jamal Hakim, estimated that up to 10,000 protesters showed their support in Melbourne.

Melbourne really showed out with the weather and with people as well. There was so much passion and solidarity,

It was really terrific to see so many people, the State Library was full and Swanston Street was full all the way down. It just shows how this topic brings people together, because it’s about the bodily autonomy of women and pregnant people and it really comes to the core of healthcare rights as well.

People of all ages and genders gathered in Melbourne’s CBD as part of a movement sparked by the Supreme Court of the United States (Scotus) decision to overturn Roe v Wade, that has seen 27 US states move toward either banning or threatening to criminalise abortions.

Abortion is currently legal in states and territories across Australia under different circumstances. However, in Western Australia, it is still regulated by the criminal code, which has long drawn criticism.

Hundreds of protesters attended Sydney’s rally, organised by social justice activist Hersha Kadkol, who was thrilled to see people coming together for a good cause.

Kadkol said:

I think the fact that people wanted to demonstrate in the pouring rain is a really good indication of where people are at in Australia, in the fight for our rights.

Even though abortion is legal, or off the criminal code, it’s not exactly easy to access because it is expensive and depending on where you are it’s very hard to access an abortion provider.

We want to say that abortion should be free, safe, legal, on demand and also without apology because, of course, in WA you still have to ask permission from two doctors to get an abortion at all.

Hakim said there were fears of “anti-abortion” sentiment being bolstered in Australia after the Scotus ruling.

Updated

Thanks for taking us through the day’s news Royce.

You now have me, Elias Visontay, bringing you developments for the rest of the day.

A few photos of the meeting between Anthony Albanese and Emmanuel Macron.

National Covid summary

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records 54 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 1,329
  • In hospital: 131 (with 4 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 20
  • Cases: 11,085
  • In hospital: 1,621 (with 45 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 240
  • In hospital: 17 (with none in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 16
  • Cases: 4,976
  • In hospital: 218 (with 10 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 2,642
  • In hospital: 231 (with 8 people in ICU)

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 2
  • Cases: 1,144
  • In hospital: 47 (with 5 people in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 13
  • Cases: 6,424
  • In hospital: 462 (with 18 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 3
  • Cases: 4,878
  • In hospital: 218 (with 10 people in ICU)

Updated

Millions of honeybees destroyed in NSW to curtail varroa mite spread

Millions of European honeybees have been destroyed across New South Wales in an effort to stop the spread of the varroa mite a week after it was detected at the Port of Newcastle.

The ABC reports an emergency zone has been set up at Calga on the Central Coast as the number of impacted properties has rise to nine.

If the mite spreads it could threaten a $2.8m “bee palace” opened at Tocal in the NSW Hunter region last year.

Dr Jay Iwazai, a bee ecologist at the University of Adelaide told the ABC on Saturday the varroa mite is a “small invertebrate” like a spider that “acts like a vampire on bees”.

They can’t get them off, they usually are in places the bees can’t reach or the bees don’t have the right behaviour to know how to knock them off. So they latch on and feed and weaken the colony as well as spread viruses to one bee and then the rest of the colony.

Iwazai said it was still possible to eradicate the mite before it becomes widespread in order to protect Australia’s varroa-free status but it was too early to tell whether that was actually happening.

If the mite did become widespread in Australia, Iwazai said it may help native bees which have been faced with competition by introduced species of European honeybee.

It is not an Australian species. And they have done very well in Australia to the point of reaching maybe higher densities than they normally would because they don’t have a pest like varroa.

Updated

Three rescued from flood waters in NSW

The State Emergency Service has already pulled three people from flood waters in New South Wales as multiple warnings have been issued amid torrential rain.

Authorities say they are “nervously” watching conditions as the Warragamba Dam nears capacity and may overtop. If it does, the Hawkesbury-Nepean River could reach major flood levels.

The NSW SES has received 240 calls for assistance since 6am this morning.

Updated

Scuffle at small anti-vax rally in Melbourne

A scuffle has broken out at a small anti-vax rally in Melbourne on Saturday with police deploying pepper spray and arresting a man.

The demonstration, calling for an end to mandates, nearly clashed with a planned solidarity rally for abortion rights early in the day and by mid-afternoon was moving towards police lines.

A significant police presence, including mounted police, was trying to push the protesters down Swanston Street towards Flinders Street.

The protesters are currently heading towards parliament along Bourke Street.

Updated

How two cases shocked Queensland into action on domestic violence

When Hannah Clarke and her three children were brutally murdered in 2020, a police detective said officers were keeping an “open mind” about whether the children’s father could have been “driven too far”.

A year after the ensuing outrage at the comments, just 30km from where Rowan Baxter poured petrol over Clarke and their children and set them alight, Doreen Langham was killed at the hands of her ex-partner Gary Hely, who had a record of domestic violence offences.

A coronial inquest heard the police response was “beset by inadequacies”, but the head of the state’s powerful police union, Ian Leavers, originally fiercely opposed a commission of inquiry into police culture and responses to domestic violence, labelling recommendations by the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce another “woke, out-of-touch report”.

This week, police hit a much more contrite tone as findings were handed down in both the Langham and Clarke coronial inquests. “We are going to do everything we can to be a part of changing that whole system to make sure we do make our community safer particularly for women,” the Queensland police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, told radio this week.

Experts say these two horrific murders not only shocked the nation but forced police to reckon with internal problems about how they respond to domestic violence cases.

Prof Kerry Carrington says:

Sometimes there are memorable murders that have a way of mobilising public opinion and unifying a drive for change.

These cases really rocked the core of people’s trust and faith in the criminal justice system.

For all the details on how two horrific murders have been met with calls for change, read the full story from Guardian Australia reporter Eden Gillespie.

Updated

Abortion rights protests held across Australia

A few photos from social media of the abortion rights protests taking place around Australia today in solidarity with people in the US following the supreme court’s overturning of Roe v Wade.

Melbourne:

Sydney:

Adelaide:

Darwin:

Hobart:

Updated

Riverine flood warning for Newcastle to Jervis Bay and the Nepean

The New South Wales State Emergency Service has just finished giving an update on the flood warnings across the state where it warned about a risk of riverine flooding.

Authorities say a “major concern” is the risk of riverine flooding between Newcastle and Jervis Bay and the Nepean River.

The NSW SES commissioner, Carlene York, says authorities are “nervously” waiting to see what happens over the next few days as much of the state is primed for flooding.

York says:

Our entire landscape in fact, almost right across NSW, is saturated at this time. And, of course, our dams and river channels are also full. So, in addition to flash flooding, there is a very real risk of riverine flooding occurring over the days ahead.

There are 147 SES personnel ready to respond, with support from Fire and Rescue NSW, the Rural Fire Service, Marine Rescue and Surf Life Saving organisations.

Updated

No new Covid deaths in ACT

There have been no new Covid-19 deaths in ACT. The territory reported 1,329 cases on Saturday, with 131 people in hospital, four in ICU and one on ventilation.

Updated

Gas industry hits out at Victorian plan to limit use of gas in homes

The industry body representing Australia’s oil and gas industry has hit out at plans by the Victorian state government to limit the use of gas in homes.

Damian Dwyer, the acting chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, said the roadmap was “philosophy over fact”:

With gas being “substituted” out of the energy mix, coal being put under even more pressure even as plants close and clear evidence that renewables can’t yet the do the job, this roadmap is heading in the wrong direction.

Dwyer added that the roadmap was a “disappointing message to potential investors in new gas supply”.

The burning of fossil fuels such as gas is a key driver of global heating. Last year the International Energy Agency said limiting global heating to 1.5C, a goal set out in the Paris agreement, meant exploration and exploitation of new fossil fuel basins had to stop in 2021.

Updated

Bureau of Meteorology updates NSW flood warnings

The Bureau of Meteorology has updated its flood warnings of New South Wales, and is warning of “major flooding” in the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley from Sunday as water storages “near capacity”.

Flood alerts have been issued for the lower Hunter, Central Coast, greater Sydney, south coast and parts of the central west.

The bureau says:

This weekend’s rainfall is expected to cause localised flash flooding. Rainfall is expected to continue into the new week and may cause additional river rises and flooding along the NSW coast.

Catchments likely to be affected include:

  • Wollombi Brook and Lower Hunter River: minor flooding
  • Newcastle area
  • Central Coast: minor flooding
  • Lake Macquarie: minor flooding
  • Upper Nepean River: minor to major flooding
  • Hawkesbury and Lower Nepean rivers: minor to major flooding
  • Upper Coxs River
  • Colo River: minor to major flooding
  • Macdonald River
  • Northern Sydney
  • Southern Sydney
  • Parramatta River
  • Cooks River: minor flooding
  • Georges and Woronora rivers: minor to moderate flooding
  • Illawarra coast
  • Shoalhaven River: minor flooding
  • St Georges basin: minor to moderate flooding
  • Clyde River
  • Macquarie River to Bathurst: minor flooding

Updated

Bob Carr backs push to clear out political appointees from AAT

The former Labor foreign minister and NSW premier Bob Carr has thrown his support behind a plan to abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in order to clear out political appointees.

Carr tweeted his support for the plan, saying “spill all positions now”:

Performance of AAT and political appointments a scandal. No ex-MPs to get posts unless hold relevant qualifications. AA promised a new politics. This would deliver.

A Senate inquiry chaired by the outgoing Labor senator Kim Carr is expected to reiterate its call to “disassemble” the AAT, lobbing an explosive idea in the lap of the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus.

Dreyfus has made no secret of his concern about the Coalition’s practice of appointing former staffers and politicians from its ranks to the powerful tribunal, which reviews the merits of government decisions in areas including welfare, immigration and the NDIS.

Carr’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee released an interim report in March finding the tribunal “wanting”, but Dreyfus has never endorsed its central recommendation to scrap the body and start again.

The report called on the government to “re-establish a new, federal administrative review system, by no later than 1 July 2023”. The committee is expected to hand down its final report on Thursday, Carr’s last day as a senator.

For more detail, check out Guardian Australia’s coverage of the plan.

Updated

Victoria to end home gas incentives and encourage energy shift

Victoria will end incentives for residential gas products by the end of next year as it encourages residents to embrace sustainable alternatives amid a national energy crisis, AAP reports.

The state government said new incentives were being developed to help the two million people who used gas at home or in their businesses shift to other energy sources.

A roadmap released on Saturday outlined a plan involving electrification and improved energy efficiency and the use of hydrogen and biomethane to help reduce bills and cut carbon emissions.

Existing incentives for all residential gas products will be phased out by the end of 2023.

Victorians use more gas in their homes and businesses than people in any other state or territory and the fossil fuel contributes around 17% to the state’s net greenhouse gas emissions.

The government plans to remove barriers to all-electric homes and new developments by eliminating the current planning scheme requirement for new developments to be connected to gas.

It will also offer rebates to owners of existing homes to replace gas hot water systems or ducted heating systems.

The roadmap states that all-electric new homes with solar panels, for example, could save Victorians thousands of dollars each year on their bills.

Updated

ADF on standby over NSW flood risk

Two Australian Defence Force helicopters will be available to assist with rescues as areas of New South Wales brace for intense rainfall and possible flooding, AAP reports.

The federal government approved ADF support at the request of NSW on Friday night, with 100 troops also available from Sunday onwards, the emergency management minister, Murray Watt, said.

There is a risk of severe flooding around the Illawarra and Sydney as well as the Hawkesbury and Nepean regions from Sunday through to next week.

Watt said:

I want to assure people that the federal government … is 100% prepared for what might lie ahead.

One of the things that we’ve learned over the last couple of years is that when we don’t have a federal government that takes responsibility, and isn’t proactive, bad things can happen.

More than 200mm of rain fell south of Wollongong overnight, and there are warnings for six-hour totals of between 80 and 150mm in Sydney and the Illawarra.

Watt said he was hopeful the ADF resources wouldn’t be needed, but they will be ready to assist:

We’re not exactly sure how this weather event will pan out, but it could be quite serious over the next couple of days.

Updated

Queensland chief health officer flags return of mask mandates

Queensland’s chief health officer has flagged the return of a national mask mandate saying there is “increasing pressure” to reintroduce the requirement.

John Gerrard told 4BC radio on Saturday he was personally against reintroducing mandates but discussions were taking place about whether the measure may be appropriate.

He said:

I can say that nationally there is increasing pressure, there is a school of thought that we should be mandating masks again.

Gerrard said he “wanted to move away from restrictions” and “towards more self-regulation and self-responsibility”.

His comments come as the country approaches the grim milestone of 10,000 Covid-19 deaths and 34,931 new cases in the last 24 hours, all of which was putting intense pressure on hospitals across the country.

Updated

No new Covid deaths in South Australia

There have been no new Covid-19 deaths in South Australia overnight as the state has reported 2,642 new cases including 231 people in hospital, eight in ICU and one person on ventilation.

Updated

Three new Covid deaths in Western Australia

Three people with Covid-19 have died overnight in Western Australia as the state reported 4,878 new cases on Saturday, including 218 in hospital and 10 in ICU.

Updated

The story behind Sydney Opera House’s ‘miracle’ renovation

After two years of renovations the Sydney Opera House is getting ready to reopen to the public to show off how much has changed.

A magnet for international acts and famed for its distinctive architectural design, the structure has long been plagued by poor acoustics and outdated stage machinery.

In 2007 the critic John Shand described the aural experience of attending a show at the Opera House as “low frequencies turn to sludge, high frequencies ping around, and the presence of drums makes jazz sound like the 1812 Overture”.

These limitations have meant the venue has been unable to physically accommodate some of the world’s biggest acts.

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
The Sydney Opera House Concert Hall will soon reopen after a two-year refurbishment. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

Over the last two years the building has undergone a $150m renovation that involved 174 tonnes of steel in the roof, 95 tonnes of new machinery below the stage and a new winch system capable of lifting four times the weight of its predecessor.

Guardian Australia reporter Elissa Blake has the full story of Sydney Opera House’s “miracle” renovation.

Updated

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a map of areas within New South Wales at risk of flooding.

Two Covid deaths in Tasmania, no new deaths in NT

Two people with Covid-19 have died overnight in Tasmania with the state reporting 1,144 new cases on Saturday, 47 people in hospital and five in ICU.

Meanwhile the Northern Territory has recorded no new deaths on Saturday, but 240 new cases, with 70 in hospital and no one in ICU.

Updated

Australian company wins deal for carbon capture and storage machine

A solar-powered and tent-sized Australian prototype machine that can suck CO2 from the air has secured a $700,000 contract to capture and store carbon.

The deal, part of a project backed by corporates including the owners of Google and Facebook, is thought to be the first time an Australian company has secured a deal to remove CO2 using direct air capture (DAC) technology.

AspiraDAC will deploy about 180 of the machines, developed and made in Australia, to capture and store 500 tonnes of CO2 by 2027 at an agreed US$1,000 (A$1,469) a tonne.

An International Energy Agency plan for the world’s economies to reach net zero emissions by 2050 says direct air capture technologies will need to deliver more than 85m tonnes of CO2 capture by 2030. Currently, the agency says the technology can deliver just 10,000 tonnes around the world.

The world’s biggest direct air capture plant is in Iceland and the company behind the plant, Climeworks, announced this week it was expanding capacity to 36,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.

For all the full details, check out the story by the Guardian Australia environment reporter Graham Readfearn.

Updated

Jim Chalmers says fuel excise relief will end in September

The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has warned Australians that a temporary cut to the fuel excise will end in September.

Speaking to the Guardian’s Australian Politics podcast, Chalmers said it would be “incredibly hard” to maintain the cut indefinitely with high inflation, falling real wages and growing government debt:

(People) should assume that the petrol price relief comes off in September. Obviously we factor in the conditions as they evolve, and the budget and all of the rest of it.

But nothing has substantially changed to make me think that we could continue that indefinitely, or even for a substantially longer period than September.

A six-month, 22.1c cut to fuel excise was announced by the previous government in March as the global oil price spiked on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and constrained supplies.

Chalmers said the risk of inflation was “incredibly serious” but he did not believe there would be a repeat of the 1970s which experienced a combination of low growth and rising inflation.

He said:

If we can get through this difficult period – however long it goes for, six or 12 months, or whatever it might be – I think our opportunities still outweigh our challenges after that, but we need to get through this period first.

For the full interview, listen to Chalmers’ discussion with Guardian Australia’s political editor Katherine Murphy:

Updated

Long queues at Melbourne airport as travel chaos spreads

Travellers queue outside Sydney airport
Travellers line up outside Sydney airport on Saturday morning. Photograph: Conal Hanna/The Guardian

Queues are out the door at Sydney airport and the chaos is spreading across the country as wet weather, school holidays and continuing staff shortages wreak havoc on holiday plans.

Travellers at Melbourne airport reported long queues amid several flight cancellations on Saturday morning.

In Sydney, Guardian Australia understands there have been technical issues with luggage check-in systems across several domestic airlines, which have contributed to long queues at baggage drops and lines snaking more than 100 metres out the front door.

Disruptions were significant on Friday due to industrial action on the train network limiting services to the airport.

As few as two trains an hour were running to airport stations at some points on Friday, however this has increased to about seven services an hour on Saturday.

Many travellers have opted to drive to the airport, as a result of the train shortages and wet weather, which has further contributed to congestion, an airport spokeswoman said.

More than 350,000 people are expected to pass through Sydney airport between Friday and Monday.

Travellers queue inside Sydney airport
Travellers queue inside Sydney airport on Saturday morning. Photograph: Conal Hanna/The Guardian

Updated

A quick timeline cleanse because: raven.

A week of Blockade Australia climate protests in Sydney tests tough new laws

Greg Rolles missed most of Blockade Australia’s protest actions across Sydney this week. He was in the cells at Surry Hills police station.

Rolles was arrested and charged on Tuesday morning for his alleged role in blocking roads with fellow climate activists, and was released on strict bail conditions late on Wednesday.

The conditions included that he leave Sydney within 72 hours, not use encrypted messaging applications, and have no contact with about 38 people who are also allegedly involved with Blockade Australia, some of whom are his closest friends.

At the time he speaks to Guardian Australia, on Thursday morning, he is awaiting the results of a rapid Covid test. While he is on the phone, he learns it is positive, making the task of leaving Sydney, as he has been ordered to do, somewhat of a logistical challenge.

“I hate doing any of this: getting on roads, getting arrested,” he says. “But what I hate more is that the kids in my life might not have anything to eat in 30 years’ time.

“The truth is we’re in a climate crisis, and if we don’t blockade the system that’s causing that crisis, there’s no future for any of us.”

For more on the climate change protesters challenging New South Wales’ harsh anti-lockdown laws, check out the full story by Nino Bucci.

Updated

Warragamba Dam 'likely' to spill

WaterNSW is preparing for Warragamba Dam to spill after days of persistent rain have pushed water levels to capacity.

Greater Sydney’s total dam storage was at 96.3% capacity on Friday night with Warragamba Dam – which has a storage capacity of 2,065GL – at 97%.

WaterNSW says that if the rain continues to fall as forecast, Warragamba could “experience a significant spill early next week” with the greatest risk on Sunday and Monday.

Controlled releases have been used strategically to lower the water level in the dam since November last year. So far it has released a total of 830GL, or 40%.

WaterNSW has set up a dedicated incident team to manage the event and is working closely with the Bureau of Meteorology, Sydney Water and New South Wales Health.

If a spill does occur it could result in the third major flood of 2022.

Updated

More airport chaos in Sydney

Flights have been cancelled, ticket prices are through the roof and queues are out the door at Sydney airport as travellers looking to jet off have been caught up in more chaos.

More than two million passengers are expected to pass through Sydney airport during the July school holidays and it is not clear whether the airport will be able to handle the massive demand over the coming days.

Hopeful passengers have reported hours-long waits, unexpected cancellations and frantic rebooking of flights with no notice.

Wet weather and staff shortages are believed to be responsible for the disruption.

Updated

Redland mayor charged with drink driving after crash

Redland mayor Karen Williams has been charged after returning a high blood alcohol concentration reading of 0.177% after crashing a vehicle last week.

Redland is south-east of Brisbane CBD spread along the coast of Morton Bay and with a population of 156,863 people.

More to come...

Updated

Abortion rights supporters to march in Australian cities over weekend

The blow dealt by the US supreme court limiting access to safe abortions has shone a light on the situation in Australia as protesters take to the streets in solidarity, AAP reports.

Thousands of people have already turned up at marches in Brisbane and Adelaide, and big numbers are expected in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday.

Supporters are also expected to voice discontent in Perth, Hobart, Wollongong and Rockhampton on Saturday, and in Launceston on Sunday.

The movement has been sparked by the supreme court decision to overturn Roe v Wade that has seen 27 US states move toward either banning or threatening to criminalise abortions.

Roe v Wade was a landmark 1973 decision where the US supreme court ruled that the constitution protects a person’s liberty to have an abortion.

It was overturned by the conservative majority court last month – allowing separate US states to set their own policy on abortion.

Jamal Hakim, managing director of MSI Australia, says that while much of the attention is on America, there is still work to be done on abortion access at home, contraception and safe abortion providers.

The events taking place in the US are devastating for human rights. Fortunately, we are not at risk of having abortion bans in Australia but we do need increased access and equity to abortion care services.

While the federal government supports abortion rights, Hakim says people without access to public funded services request financial support on a weekly basis.

In particular, people on temporary visas in Australia face extraordinary barriers to abortion care. Reproductive rights are about healthcare access for all, not for some.

Updated

Australia and France to reset relations after submarine deal rift

Australia has a fresh start in its diplomatic relationship with France after a meeting between the leaders of the two nations on Friday where a reset was sought.

Eight months since French president Emmanuel Macron accused the previous Coalition government of lying over a $90bn submarine contract, prime minister Anthony Albanese travelled to Paris where he was invited to the Elysee Palace in Paris.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese meets French president Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris
Anthony Albanese meets Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Photograph: Daniel Pier/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

The pair greeted each other warmly, with Macron saying the relationship between Australia and France had been forged in two world wars.

Our willingness to rebuild a relationship based on trust between our two countries based on mutual respect after we all know a difficult period of time. But also a relationship which is based on strategic and historical partnership.

Macron said the Russian invasion of Ukraine made this relationship more important and that Australia’s new “proactive and ambitious” approach to climate change offered “an opportunity to move together”.

Asked whether the French president expected a formal apology from the Australian government, Macron answered in English.

We think about the future not the past. He’s not responsible of what happened.

Updated

The new acronym for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has just dropped and the somewhat awkward acronym is turning some heads over it’s pronunciation.

For what it’s worth, I humbly suggest: “D-chew”.

Updated

Flash flooding warning for parts of NSW over weekend

More than 200mm of rain has fallen overnight south of Wollongong as the Bureau of Meteorology has warned of flash flooding in parts of New South Wales.

NSW residents have been advised to brace for six-hourly rainfall totals of between 80 and 150mm across Saturday and Sunday, with some areas forecast to receive a month’s worth of rain over the weekend.

The weather system comes on the first weekend of school holidays in the state, and drivers are being asked to take extreme caution.

Hazardous surf and swell conditions could also develop in coming days.

The BoM said on Friday afternoon the system may develop into a low on Sunday or Monday, prolonging the persistent rain into next week.

BoM manager of hazard preparedness and response Jane Golding said heavy falls across the weekend could to lead to rising river levels as the deluge hits multiple already saturated catchments.

We know these are quite dangerous systems. They’ve been known to produce some widespread flooding in the past, and that’s certainly on the cards for the next few days.

Golding said the deluge could lead to flash flooding and landslips.

The landscape is quite vulnerable at the moment and the water can move very quickly down the slopes and through the waterways.

Flooding is possible for the Hunter, Central Coast, the greater Sydney region and the south coast from Saturday, with flood watches in place for catchments between Newcastle and Batemans Bay, including Sydney and the Illawarra.

Areas at risk include Newcastle, the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, the Upper Coxs, Colo, Macdonald, Woronora, Patterson, Williams and Lower Hunter rivers.

Also at risk are the Upper and Lower Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers.

-with AAP

Updated

Victoria records 13 new Covid deaths

Thirteen people with Covid-19 have died in Victoria overnight, with the state recording 6,424 new cases on Saturday morning, 462 people in hospital, 18 in ICU and four on ventilation.

Updated

NSW records 20 Covid deaths

Twenty people with Covid-19 have died in New South Wales overnight, with the state recording 11,085 new cases on Saturday morning, 1,621 people in hospital, and 45 in ICU.

Updated

Dfat bungle delayed visas for former Afghan embassy employees at risk from Taliban

A file number bungle by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade caused a four-week delay in helping some Afghan’s fleeing the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

Freedom of information requests obtained by Guardian Australia revealed how an urgent submission was prepared for then minister Marise Payne asking for a decision about former embassy staff employees within three days.

But the paperwork went missing after it was tagged with a filing number that had already been used, meaning nothing was done until after the Taliban seized the capital of Afghanistan.

The delay meant Afghan citizens who had previously worked for Australian government agencies – interpreters, guards and administrative staff – were not able to get the necessary certification before their humanitarian visas could be issued.

For all the details check out the full story by Guardian Australia’s foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst.

Updated

Good morning

And welcome to another Saturday morning Guardian live blog.

Multiple weather alerts are in place across New South Wales as heavy rain continues to batter the eastern state. Intense showers are expected for Sydney, the Illawarra and parts of the central tablelands with the possibility of flash flooding with forecasts that some areas will receive a month’s worth of rain over the weekend.

The prime minister is in Paris as he continues his government’s whirlwind diplomatic tour in an effort to repair Australia’s international relationships. Anthony Albanese met with French president Emmanuel Macron on Friday night. Macron did not seek an apology from Australia over the deal saying Albanese “is not responsible for what happened.”

I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.

With that, let’s get started ...

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