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

Albanese says he’ll treat Putin with ‘contempt’ if paths cross at G20 summit – as it happened

Prime minister Anthony Albanese
Prime minister Anthony Albanese toured flood-affected areas of NSW on Wednesday. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

The day that was, Thursday 7 July

That’s where we will leave the live blog for Thursday. Thanks for following along.

Here’s what made the news:

  • Charges against whistleblower lawyer Bernard Collaery for allegedly revealing spying on Timor-Leste, were dropped by the new attorney general Mark Dreyfus, in a move widely welcomed by the legal community, the Greens and independent MPs.
  • As clean-up and recovery from the floods begin in NSW, the state and federal governments extended disaster relief payments to six more areas affected by the floods: Bayside, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Singleton and Upper Lachlan.
  • The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says G20 nations will use the meeting of foreign ministers to highlight what Russia has done in Ukraine.
  • The Indigenous affairs minister, Linda Burney confirmed a story from Guardian Australia that Labor is pushing for a referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament to be held in 2023.
  • The federal government announced it would extend access to fourth dose Covid-19 vaccinations to people aged 30 and over who want to get a fourth dose, and Atagi now recommends fourth doses to people aged 50 to 64.
  • There were at least 60 reported Covid-19 deaths in Australia.

Until tomorrow, I hope you stay safe.

Protesters confined to cell for 17 days, Blockade Australia says

Two Blockade Australia protesters remanded in custody after being arrested in the Colo Valley say they have been unable to leave their shared cell for 17 days.

In a statement, the climate activist group said Timothy Neville and Maxim Curmi had been denied daylight and exercise since their arrest on 19 June.

MTC-Broadspectrum, the private operator of the Parklea Correctional Centre, where the men are being held, said only that all new inmates were required to complete a mandatory 10 days Covid-19 quarantine to avoid an outbreak in the prison, but did not comment on the rest of the men’s claims.

Veronica Curmi, the mother of Maxim Curmi, told Guardian Australia that after she spoke to her son on Thursday about the conditions in which he was being held she phoned the prison.

She then spoke to the office of the NSW ombudsman, and says she was advised that staffing issues caused by the pandemic and exacerbated by the weather in NSW had meant some prisons were operating below capacity. A Corrective Services NSW spokesperson said all facilities were operating as normal.

Veronica Curmi said her son told her later on Thursday that Neville had been moved from the cell.

Neville, Curmi, and other Blockade Australia activists will face court again next week.

Updated

Today I learned that Annie Lennox is the chancellor of a university in Scotland.

Three thousand more Australians died in the first two months of this year than expected

Three thousand more Australians died in the first two months of this year than expected, but it wasn’t all down to the unfolding Omicron wave of Covid-19, a new study shows.

Australia’s Health 2022, the 18th biennial health report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on Thursday, sheds new light on the wide-ranging damage Covid-19 has wrought on the nation, AAP reports.

The national excess mortality figure, the difference between actual deaths and the expected number based on previous trends, was down in 2020 and slightly up in 2021, before skyrocketing this year.

Taking into account statistical variation, 3,105 more people died in Australia than expected in January and February after the emergence of the Omicron variant saw national daily cases explode past 100,000.

A high proportion of the excess deaths were attributed to Covid-19, along with larger than expected numbers for coronary heart disease (29%), dementia (24%), chronic lower respiratory conditions (23%), stroke (20%) and diabetes (14%).

Nonetheless, Covid-19’s case fatality rate fell from a peak of 3.3% in October 2020 to 0.1% in April 2022, reflecting the virus’s increasing spread but easing severity amid new variants and the gradual vaccine take-up.

By the end of April, Australia had registered 5,335 deaths from Covid-19 – 3,107 of which came in 2022.

Updated

The truth is, on many levels, the damage has already been done. The case has consumed Bernard Collaery since his offices were raided in 2013. It has now all but destroyed his legal career and practice.

For Witness K, who pleaded guilty years ago, at least three psychiatrists gave evidence that the case had been debilitating for his mental health, compounding the post-traumatic stress disorder he developed after his service in Vietnam.

But it’s not just the individuals involved in these protracted proceedings who have suffered. The prosecutions have been the cause of enduring frustration for Timor-Leste, whose leaders repeatedly urged Australia to drop its prosecution of the men.

Law Council calls for review of security and information act in wake of Collaery decision

Some more reaction to the Bernard Collaery charges being dropped today.

Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesperson Noor Blumer said there was no public interest in the case proceeding and the decision to drop the charges is welcome.

It is very disturbing that these charges ever proceeded at all. In a society which subscribes to the rule of law, the Collaery and Witness K prosecution sent a message that those who seek to uncover illegality in government agencies will find themselves facing a jail term.

Lawyers must be able to defend their clients in accordance with their professional standards without fear of state prosecution.

Many lawyers around Australia, acting in the best interests of their clients and justice, make available materials that may embarrass governments or expose wrongdoing. It is right and proper that they continue to do so when circumstances require.

Transparency and accountability must always underpin our national security policy. The default position should always be transparency – only where there is a demonstrable need for concealment on national security grounds should secrecy be allowed.

The Law Council of Australia has called for a review of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act in the wake of the decision.

LCA president Tass Liveris said:

Secrecy offences must be reviewed to ensure there are adequate protections for whistleblowers and their legal advisers who are concerned about potential matters of illegality.

The NSI Act also requires reform to recalibrate the balance between the principle of open justice and protecting the community against the disclosure of information that may genuinely prejudice national security.

The Law Council considers the NSI Act currently tilts the balance too far in favour of the interests of protecting national security at the expense of the rights of the accused and maintains that it is not a proportionate response to addressing the risk that information prejudicial to national security may be released.

It is the belief of the Law Council that courts should be empowered to identify the relevant considerations and the degree of weight to be placed on each of them.

Updated

List of warnings in flood-affected areas in NSW

Here’s a handy explainer on where things are with the flood situation in NSW via AAP:

About 60,000 people in NSW remain impacted by the week-long rain that has caused widespread flooding around Sydney as the low-pressure system moves north, impacting the Hunter, Central Coast and Mid-North Coast.

Evacuation order are in place for parts of:

Bulahdelah, Tuncurry, Combo, Whittingham, Scotts Flat, Glenridding, Dunolly, Central Macdonald, Lower Macdonald, Upper Macdonald, St Albans, Wrights Creek, Webbs Creek, Bulga, Broke, Wollombi, Tuggerah, Budgewoi Lakes, Shanes Park, Pitt Town, Pitt Town Bottoms, McGraths Hill, Mulgrave, Vineyard, Lower Portland, Wisemans Ferry, Richards, Wilberforce, Cattai, Sackville, Londonderry, Ebenezer, Riverstone, Agnes Banks, South Maroota, Yarramundi, Leets Vale, Cumberland Reach, Oakville, North Richmond, Freemans Reach, Bligh Park, Richmond Lowlands, Angus, Cornwallis, Gronos Point.

Evacuation warnings are in place for parts of:

Croki, Coopernook, Forster Keys, Millers Forest, Duckenfield, Colo, Mooney Mooney Dam, Schofields, Windsor Downs, Marsden Park, Melonba, Clarendon, South Windsor, Castlereagh.

Major flooding occurring at:

Hunter River at Singleton (13.55m, steady)

Hawkesbury River at North Richmond (10.5m, falling)

Wollombi Brook at Bulga (8.33m, falling)

Tuggerah Lake at Long Jetty (1.64m, steady)

Flooding at Windsor Bridge on Wednesday. Locals are advised they may return to some parts of the area with caution.
Flooding at Windsor Bridge on Wednesday. Locals are advised they may now return to some parts of the area with caution. Photograph: Muhammad Farooq/AFP/Getty Images

Moderate flooding at:

Hawkesbury River at Windsor (10.77m, falling), at Sackville (8.43m, falling) and at Wisemans Ferry (3.97m, falling)

Colo River at Upper Colo (9.06m, falling)

Wollombi Brook at Wollombi (10.32m, falling)

Paterson River at Paterson (7.74m, falling)

Hunter River at Maitland (9.81m, falling)

Manning River at Wingham (9.11m, falling), and at Taree (3.06m, rising)

Residents can return with caution to parts of:

North Macksville, Singleton, Camden, Cut Hill, Cobbitty, Bents Basin, Wallacia, Elderslie, Windsor, Jamisontown, Leonay, Mulgoa, Penrith, Cranebrook, Regentville, Emu Heights, Emu Plains, Peach Tree Creek, Lansvale, Warwick Farm, Georges Hall, Moorebank, East Hills, Chipping Norton, Picnic Point, Pleasure Point, Bonnet Bay, Woronora, Sandy Point, Lake Illawarra, St Georges Basin, Sussex Inlet, Plough and Harrow Dam near Abbotsbury, and Cecil Hills.

Updated

Albanese would treat Putin with ‘contempt he deserves’ if paths cross at G20

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says he will treat Vladimir Putin with “contempt” if the two cross paths at the G20 summit in Indonesia later this year, but the Australian leader doesn’t think his Russian counterpart will even attend the meeting.

“It certainly won’t be polite,” Albanese said bluntly, when asked in a Sky News interview on Thursday afternoon.

Fresh from returning from Ukraine, and seeing the damage of Russia’s invasion first-hand, Albanese again called for the conflict to end and Putin to withdraw. Asked how he would treat Putin if they met in Bali, at the G20, Albanese responded: “with the contempt he deserves”.

“If he does attend the G20, which I doubt whether he will in my view, then the world needs to send a very clear message about how we regard him,” the PM said.

“Let’s not pre-empt it ... I will be acting in partnership with our allies. I’ve had discussions at the Nato summit with them about what that would look like, and we’ll take appropriate measures at that time.”

Asked about former PM Tony Abbott’s infamous promise to “shirtfront” Putin in 2014, Albanese wouldn’t make the same bold pledge.

“That didn’t result in much, frankly,” Albanese said.

Updated

Six additional NSW areas declared natural disaster zones

The NSW emergency services minister, Steph Cooke, announced on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that six additional local government areas are now the subject of a natural disaster declaration, in addition to the 23 declared earlier this week.

She said those areas are:

  • Bayside
  • Dungog
  • Lake Macquarie
  • Maitland
  • Singleton
  • Upper Lachlan
Flood damage at Broke, near Singleton in NSW.
Flood damage at Broke, near Singleton in NSW. Photograph: Emerson Sims

Cooke said:

So that’s very good news for those areas because we are working very closely with the federal government at the moment to put together support packages, further support for those communities that have been so devastatingly impacted by this latest flooding event and that means that support will flow to those communities as soon as we make the announcements around those support packages.

In a release just after, her federal counterpart Murray Watt confirmed the assistance – $1,000 for adults and $400 for children – for those in those areas.

Cooke said the immediate emergency response phase is starting to wind down, but a close eye is being kept on the Hunter River at Maitland, which is currently at 9.7 metres and expected to peak later today at 10.7 metres.

Updated

Dreyfus on the Collaery case: ‘There are no further steps. The prosecution ended today.’

It turns out there were some questions at that press conference from the attorney general Mark Dreyfus. I have the transcript now. Here are some of the interesting bits.

The charges have been dropped and there are no further steps:

JOURNALIST: Does this mean effectively that all charges against Mr Collaery have been dropped?

DREYFUS: The prosecution is now at an end and the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory has been informed.

JOURNALIST: So, what’s the next step then?

DREYFUS: There are no further steps in this case. The prosecution of Mr Bernard Collaery ended today with my intervention under section 71 of the Judiciary Act.

On the question of compensation, Dreyfus said “there were no agreements and no undertakings”.

On protecting whistleblowers as part of the federal integrity commission plans, Dreyfus says:

Of course, there will be a need to protect whistleblowers in connection with the work of the National Anti-Corruption Commission so that people who make allegations, who make complaints to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, who are in fact whistleblowers, they will need to be protected.

People that give evidence before the National Anti-Corruption Commission, whether in private hearings or public hearings, will also need to be expressly protected by the legislation.

He’s also looking to implement the recommendations arising out of Philip Moss’s review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act, which the former government failed to act on when the report was provided in 2016.

He would not comment on other cases, such as that of ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle.

Updated

SA opposition will push to limit use of ‘visual pollution’ of election posters

The South Australian opposition will push to ban the widespread use of election posters, AAP reports.

Opposition leader David Speirs will seek public comment and then bring legislation to parliament to end what he says is the unsightly spectacle of thousands of posters in public places during election campaigns.

The proposed laws would prohibit their use along public roads, with limited exemptions for areas near polling booths.

“After a number of recent elections, it’s clear many people are sick of the visual pollution created by corflutes,” Speirs said.

“These posters and the cable ties used to attach them to poles also have a significant impact on our environment when they’re disposed.”

Speirs said he led by example and chose not to display posters in his electorate during the March state election campaign.

He said that move received strong support from his local community.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said a ban on posters was not high on the government’s agenda.

But he said it would consider any “legitimate proposition”.

“We’re naturally willing to contemplate any options put on the table to determine whether or not they’re in the best interests of democracy in South Australia,” he said.

Updated

The big four announced plans to raise their interest rates yesterday, and ME Bank has joined them now, too.

The Collaery decision also welcomed by David McBride, a former defence lawyer, who is being prosecuted after blowing the whistle on alleged war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan.

Bernard Collaery 'in awe at depth of support'

Through his lawyers, Gilbert + Tobin, Bernard Collaery has released a statement about the attorney general Mark Dreyfus dropping the charges against him today.

Collaery said:

I am very pleased that the new attorney general has looked at this prosecution and all it has involved and taken steps to bring the case to an end. This is a good decision for the administration of justice in Australia.

I want to thank all of the people across Australia who have supported me and worked so hard to assist me throughout this case. I am in awe of the depth of support in our community for ethical values. I also want to thank those close to me who gave me inner strength.

I am deeply grateful for the inspirational and arduous work of the partners and staff of Gilbert + Tobin lawyers, and my dedicated team of barristers, all on a pro bono basis. Their resolute professionalism and humanity has restored my faith in the rule of law. This decision will allow me to move forward with my life and legal practice.

A protester at a rally in support of Witness K and Bernard Collaery, in front of Parliament House in Canberra last year.
A protester at a rally in support of Witness K and Bernard Collaery, in front of Parliament House in Canberra last year. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Gilbert + Tobin partner Dr Kate Harrison said it has been a privilege for the firm to act for Collaery, which they did on a pro bono basis:

The case raised important issues about the degree of secrecy permitted by our courts under current legislation to allow cases involving national security matters to be dealt with behind completely closed doors, even where they involve important issues of public interest. The approach threatens the capacity of a defendant to receive a fair trial.

Updated

Flights between Auckland and Hobart resume

International flights are returning to Hobart from today – that is the twice-weekly flight between Auckland and Hobart.

The flights were suspended in July 2021 for Covid-related reasons.

The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil said:

Welcoming international flights back into Hobart Airport, with the support of border services, will encourage more visitors.

The Australian Border Force will be on hand at Hobart to welcome visitors and provide immigration and customs clearance.

And with the removal of the digital passenger declaration yesterday, flying into Hobart will be much quicker and easier.

Updated

Also just back on that horse in south-west Sydney we mentioned was stuck in a hole – Nine News is reporting it has been rescued.

Updated

Wilkie: Collaery prosecution ‘never should have begun’

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has welcomed the dropping of charges against whistleblower lawyer Bernard Collaery and says it was a “grave injustice and outrageous attack on the legal profession” that he was prosecuted in the first place, considering Collaery was simply a lawyer doing his job.

[AG Mark] Dreyfus is correct in saying the ‘prosecution should end.’ But the reality is that it never should have begun. The Australian government is the real villain in this case, having made the appalling decision to spy on East Timor which is one of the poorest countries in south-east Asia.

While someone should be answering to a court, it certainly should never have been the Asis whistle-blower and his lawyer.

Updated

Queensland hospitals likely to suspend elective surgeries amid third Covid wave

Some elective surgeries may be suspended again in Queensland as the state government pleads with residents to get their booster jabs amid a third Covid-19 wave, AAP reports.

Just under 700 public and private hospital patients have the virus and 7.6% of Queensland health workers are off on some form of sick leave.

“I have over 2000 staff that are furloughed just because of Covid,” health minister Yvette D’Ath said on Thursday.

Some hospitals are likely to suspend lower-category elective surgeries depending on where staffing pressures are impacting the most.

Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath: ‘Modelling suggests it will get worse leading up to the end of the month.’
Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath: ‘Modelling suggests it will get worse leading up to the end of the month.’ Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

“There’s no decision to have any statewide suspension. We’re allowing the local hospitals to manage that based on their own demands and pressures,” D’Ath said.

With the current virus wave yet to hit its peak, the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

“The modelling says that we should expect that it will get worse leading up to the end of the month,” D’Ath said.

Updated

Collaery decision welcomed by Greens, Centre Alliance MP and independents

A quick look through the socials shows the attorney general’s decision to drop the charges against whistleblower lawyer Bernard Collaery has been welcomed by the Greens, as well as Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie, independent MPs Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel, and independent senator David Pocock.

Not much of a reaction from the Coalition so far.

Updated

Dreyfus says Collaery affair ‘an exceptional case’

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, held a very brief conference on the decision to drop charges against whistleblower lawyer Bernard Collaery.

Dreyfus said he wouldn’t confirm any detail around the allegations for which Collaery had been originally charged:

The consent of a former attorney general was required to commence the prosecution of Mr Collaery, having had regard to our national security, our national interest and the administration of justice, today I have determined that this prosecution should end.

My decision was informed by our government’s commitment to Australia’s national security and our commitment to our relations with our neighbours. This is an exceptional case. Governments must protect secrets and our government remains steadfast in our commitment to keep Australians safe by keeping secrets out of the wrong hands. The long-standing practice of government has been to neither confirm nor deny claims made about intelligence matters and I will strictly adhere to that practice.

There were no questions so that was the end of the press conference, for some reason. You can read my colleague Paul Karp’s full story on the announcement below.

Updated

Perth zoo icon, Tricia the elephant, dies aged 65

Perth Zoo’s last remaining elephants will be relocated to an open-range facility after beloved matriarch Tricia died at the age of 65, AAP reports.

One of the oldest-known elephants in the world, Tricia died at Perth Zoo on Wednesday night after a final bout of illness.

The Asian elephant was a zoo icon and much-loved West Australian animal ambassador, having welcomed visitors to the park south of the city for 60 years.

“Her stature and her grace were compelling,” premier Mark McGowan said.

“Tricia brought such joy to so many people, which is why it was important that in her final moments she was treated with love, dignity and respect.”

Tricia at her 64th birthday party at Perth Zoo last year.
Tricia at her 64th birthday party at Perth Zoo last year. Photograph: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Tricia recently suffered a decline in her health, including sleep and mobility issues. She died surrounded by her carers in her night quarters.

A special memorial walk will open at Perth Zoo on Sunday so West Australians can pay their respects to Tricia, with plans for a permanent memorial also in the works.

Fifty per cent of Sunday’s admission fees will go towards a conservation fund named in Tricia’s honour.

Updated

Full statement from Mark Dreyfus and Penny Wong on Collaery decision

Here’s the full statement from the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, and the foreign minister, Penny Wong, on the decision to drop the charges against whistleblower lawyer Bernard Collaery:

Today the Attorney-General, the Hon. Mark Dreyfus QC MP, discontinued the prosecution of Mr Bernard Collaery under section 71 of the Judiciary Act 1903.

“In taking this decision I have had careful regard to our national security, our national interest and the proper administration of justice.

“It is my view that the prosecution of Mr Collaery should end,” Mr Dreyfus said today.

“I have therefore decided to exercise my power under section 71 of the Judiciary Act not to proceed with the prosecution of Mr Collaery.”

This decision to discontinue the prosecution was informed by the Government’s commitment to protecting Australia’s national interest, including our national security and Australia’s relationships with our close neighbours.

The Attorney-General has notified the ACT Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and Mr Collaery’s legal representatives.

Updated

The seal found on a farm in South Australia we mentioned earlier is back in the water.

The Royal Australian College of GPs has welcomed the announcement regarding extending fourth Covid-19 shots.

National Covid summary: 60 deaths reported

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 60 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 1,292
  • In hospital: 135 (with 6 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 22
  • Cases: 13,343
  • In hospital: 1,882 (with 62 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 353
  • In hospital: 19 (with no people in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 17
  • Cases: 5,980
  • In hospital: 697 (with 15 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 3,762
  • In hospital: 254 (with 12 people in ICU)

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 1,728
  • In hospital: 80 (with 3 people in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 12
  • Cases: 10,265
  • In hospital: 592 (with 30 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 8
  • Cases: 6,387
  • In hospital: 240 (with 12 people in ICU)

‘Whistleblowers make Australia a better place’

Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyer Kieran Pender says the decision by the attorney general to drop the charges against whistleblower lawyer Bernard Collaery is an important day for Australian democracy.

He said:

The attorney general has done the right thing and should be applauded for that.

Whistleblowers should be protected, not punished – it’s as simple as that. From war crimes in Afghanistan to misogyny in Parliament House, there are many important stories that would never have been told were it not for the courageous actions of those who spoke up.

The attorney general’s decision is also a testament to the enduring work of lawyers, barristers, civil society organisations and activists who have fought this unjust prosecution, inside and outside the court-room for more than four years.

Pender said the AG should similarly intervene in the ongoing prosecutions of David McBride, who blew the whistle on alleged war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan, and Richard Boyle, who spoke up about unethical practices at the Australian Taxation Office.

Whistleblowers make Australia a better place. The ongoing prosecutions of David McBride and Richard Boyle are not in the public interest. Those cases should also be dropped, as a matter of urgency.

Updated

Bernard Collaery charges dropped

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has announced he has asked the commonwealth director of public prosecutions to drop the prosecution of Witness K’s lawyer, Bernard Collaery.

Collaery was facing a trial in October for allegedly unlawfully disclosing information about an Australian Secret Intelligence Service mission to bug the government offices of Timor-Leste, an impoverished ally, during negotiations over oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.

On Thursday Dreyfus announced he had “determined this prosecution should end”.

Butler says he believes the time has passed for very broad-based mask mandates, despite the third wave.

I think the response to that from chief health officers and leaders of government has generally been not to reintroduce broad-based mask mandates in the third year of a pandemic but to call on people to think very carefully that when they are indoors and not able to socially distance to give very strong consideration to wearing a mask. It will reduce the impact of transmission.

Federal government open to discussing further support for hospitals

On whether the hospital systems have contingency plans to deal with the rising number of Covid-related hospital admissions, Butler says hospitals are under pressure but it is not quite yet at the peak experienced in January.

He says the numbers will go up, and the federal government extended its support to the states through to the rest of the year to ease pressure on the front line.

If it gets much worse than where we’re right now, of course states will be putting in contingency arrangements to ensure that the best possible care is provided to their community. If they require support from the commonwealth for that, beyond the agreement we have already extended, we’re open to talking about that.

Updated

Concern for older cohort more at risk of severe disease

Why isn’t it recommended for people between 30 and 49 to get a fourth dose?

Butler says Atagi says it is not a demographic that they’re worried about but risk of severe disease or hospitalisation, which is more of a concern for the older demographics:

If their immunity is waning from their third dose, they’ll get a boost from the fourth dose. That will improve their chances of avoiding BA4 and BA5 somewhat, but really Atagi has said this is not a cohort they’re primarily worried about in terms of a risk of severe disease or hospitalisation.

Government will need to ramp up an information campaign to tell people two doses are no longer enough, Mark Butler says.
Government will need to ramp up an information campaign to tell people two doses are no longer enough, Mark Butler says. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

He says the government doesn’t have a “particular number in mind” when it comes to take up for fourth doses. He says the government will need to ramp up an information campaign to tell people two doses are no longer enough.

We’ve got the information campaigns out there. States are drumming home this message. Health experts are drumming home this message. I think Australians are starting to see the impact of this growing third wave on their health and hospital systems through the winter, compounded by the impact of influenza as well.

Updated

‘Strong case’ to expand access to antivirals

Butler says he has “put a strong case” to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme advisory committee asking them to expand access to antivirals:

Tablets that can be taken at home that dramatically reduce the disease for older Australians.

The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, flagged yesterday he was concerned that the antiviral treatments were not made more widely available.

Updated

Health minister press conference begins

The health minister, Mark Butler, is holding a press conference following the announcement of extending fourth dose Covid-19 vaccinations to people aged 30 and over, and recommending fourth doses to people aged 50 to 64.

He says the current wave is putting real pressure on the health and hospital system, with close to 4,000 hospital bed across the country filled with people with Covid, up 1,000 in the past week. He says it is still just the early stages.

He says if you’ve had Covid earlier this year, that does not mean you are not at risk of getting it again in this wave.

Butler says 5 million Australians have not had a third dose, while 40% of people aged 65 and over have not had their fourth dose.

Australian health minister Mark Butler: “It is crucial you get a fourth booster dose as soon as possible.”
Australian health minister Mark Butler: “It is crucial you get a fourth booster dose as soon as possible.” Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

“It is crucial you get a fourth booster dose as soon as possible,” he says.

Atagi has recommended people aged 50 and over to get a fourth dose, while it will be personal choice for people between 30 and 49.

The interval between doses of vaccine from four months down to three months. The same between having Covid-19 and getting another dose. He says this will relieve pressure on the hospital system.

There will be about 10,000 places across the country where you can get a fourth dose from Monday, he says, but there is enough capacity in the system for people to get a booster.

Updated

A farmer in South Australia found a baby seal in his wheat crop around 3km from the ocean today.

South Australia reports one Covid-19 death

South Australia has recorded one additional Covid-19 death, with 3,762 new cases, 254 people in hospital, 12 in intensive care and one ventilated. The death is a man in his 80s.

Updated

Fourth dose of Covid vaccines to be offered to over 30s from 11 July

All Australians aged over 30 will be eligible for fourth doses of Covid vaccines from next week, after health minister Mark Butler confirmed that the national vaccine advisory board had updated its recommendations.

“Atagi specifically recommended that people aged 50 to 64 years should have their fourth dose, while people aged 30 to 49 years may choose to have a fourth shot,” Butler said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

The additional doses will be available from 11 July, this coming Monday. It makes an additional 7.4 million people eligible for a fourth shot, which had previously been restricted to those aged over 65 or with serious health conditions.

News of the decision from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation had been reported late on Wednesday, but Butler’s confirmation makes it official. The health minister said 30 had been set as the current cut-off because Atagi believed “it was not clear whether the benefits outweighed the risks in this population group.”

“My message to everyone living in Australia aged 50 and over is to make sure you have the greatest protection against Covid-19 by having a fourth dose as soon as possible. If you are aged 30 to 49 and you want that extra protection, you can choose to get a fourth dose,” Butler said.

Updated

A horse is stuck in a hole in Sydney’s south-west.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, will be holding a press conference at 1.30pm also.

Wong: China should lift trade sanctions against Australia

Wong welcomes the bilateral meeting between the US and China at the G20. She says the meetings at the G20 tend to be “fluid” but welcomes the two countries having a formal bilateral.

When asked whether the trade dispute with China can be resolved outside the World Trade Organization, Wong says the trade sanctions should be lifted.

I will simply say this - and I said this last night in a speech I gave - we believe, the Australian government believes, and I think the Australian people believe - that the trade measures that China has instituted against Australia should be lifted. And that remains our position.

And that’s the end of the press conference.

Updated

Penny Wong in Bali: we will use G20 meeting 'to highlight what Russia has done' in Ukraine

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is holding a press conference in Bali, where she is attending the G20 foreign ministers’ summit.

Russia, which is a member of the G20, will be included in the meeting. Wong says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is illegal and immoral and she will be making that clear at the G20.

She says it will be important for the collective group of ministers to make their views known about Russia’s position and behaviour, and says it is important to invite Ukraine to speak to the meeting.

That will be a very important moment, to have Ukraine speak to the G20, in front of all of us, including Russia, about the implications and the effect on its people, on the Ukrainian people, men, women and children of the consequences of the Russian invasion. We will be attending the meeting. We intend to use the meeting as opposed to leave the meeting, but use the meeting to highlight what Russia has done.

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I’m going to hand you over to Josh Taylor now, who’ll take you through the afternoon. Stay well!

Victoria’s ‘broken’ housing complaints system

A social housing tenant was left to cook in her living room while another was forced to shower at public facilities for months, an investigation into Victoria’s “broken” housing complaints system has found.

In a report tabled in parliament on Thursday morning, the state ombudsman, Deborah Glass, said the investigation had found a “broken complaint system”, prompting the need for a social housing ombudsman and changes to the law.

In one disturbing case raised by the ombudsman, a child sustained an electric shock that left her in hospital after the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing failed to carry out requested maintenance.

Glass said in the report:

Renters told us they were given the run-around by too many people, all too busy to fix the problem ... They told us about delays or an apparent unwillingness to do anything. Often they reached the point where they felt their health and safety were at risk.

We were told of properties in dire need of repairs and woefully under-staffed local housing offices. People worried about the lack of maintenance making properties unsafe, and dangerous neighbours not being dealt with, but most commonly that nothing happened when they tried to complain.

The ombudsman launched the investigation in response to the growing number of complaints and the Andrews government’s ambitious pledge to build more than 12,000 social housing units in the next four years. The government had previously been accused of significantly underfunding social housing.

Read the full story here:

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Some arresting footage of flood rescues ...

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Thousands of beehives destroyed in fight against varroa mite

More than 15m bees have been euthanised across 31 premises in NSW as the fight to contain the varroa mite continues, AAP reports.

Bees from 1,533 hives have been destroyed between the NSW central and mid-north coasts as well as at Narrabri in the state’s north-west, NSW agriculture minister Dugald Saunders said on Thursday.

Each hive contains anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 bees, which means between 15m and 45m bees have been euthanised in an attempt to control the parasite since it was first detected near the Port of Newcastle on 22 June.

Saunders said:

[Bees] do breed up again very quickly but it’s about making sure you’ve got all of the people still wanting to stay in the industry after it’s been decimated like this.

A ban restricting the movement of bees remains in place in NSW, with almond industry representatives calling for hives to be moved in time for pollination in August.

Saunders said he was confident there would be a way of moving the hives eventually, but the lockdown remained in place for now:

It’s about making sure that we’re not risking moving a devastating disease into an area that it isn’t [in] currently. If we can have a good way of identifying where hives might come from to be part of the pollination, and if everyone feels safe around how that can work, then fantastic.

The minister was optimistic the deadly mite could be contained, but said continuing co-operation from beekeepers was key.

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Queensland records 17 Covid deaths with 697 people in hospital

There were 5,980 new Covid cases in Queensland in the past 24 hours, with 15 people in intensive care.

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Perrottet announces flood clean-up force

The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, has announced the deployment of a floods clean-up taskforce, comprising “more than 500 personnel, helicopters and equipment”.

The premier’s office said in a statement that the taskforce was made up of personnel from:

  • NSW State Emergency Service
  • NSW Rural Fire Service
  • Fire and Rescue NSW
  • Environment Protection Agency
  • Public works advisory
  • The Australian defence force

The minister for flood recovery, Steph Cooke, said:

The first step of the flood clean-up involves SES personnel undertaking rapid damage assessments of flood-affected homes and businesses so that properties can be deemed safe.

This information is then used to help inform decisions about further support measures from the NSW and commonwealth governments.

Our teams will also assist with clearing bulk debris, washing out homes and businesses and making sure roads are accessible so that it’s safe for people to return.

Residents look out at flood waters next to the overflowing Hawkesbury River in the north-west Sydney suburb of Pitt Town.
Residents look out at flood waters next to the overflowing Hawkesbury River in the north-west Sydney suburb of Pitt Town. Photograph: Muhammad Farooq/AFP/Getty Images

The government will also waive their waste levy in flood-affected areas, but community members are instructed to ask their local council which waste facility is taking flood debris. The waiver includes the following caveat:

Waste facilities will need to ensure the waste is flood-generated before they can waive the government’s waste levy. Council waste facility gate fees may still apply.

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WHO to consider whether monkeypox is global health emergency

The World Health Organisation (WHO) will meet on or before 18 July to consider whether monkeypox has become a global public health emergency, its director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a press conference overnight.

Such a designation – the highest level of global alert – currently only applies to Covid-19 and polio.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Tedros said:

I continue to be concerned by the scale and spread of the virus across the world that has now been more than 6,000 cases or 58 countries.

Testing remains a challenge, and it’s highly probable that there are a significant number of cases not being picked up.

In Australia, 11 cases of monkeypox have now been identified in NSW residents. While nine cases are likely to have been acquired overseas, two may have been acquired in Australia, NSW Health announced on Wednesday night.

It prompted the executive director of health protection, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, to urge the community to be on alert for monkeypox symptoms now local transmission may be occurring, especially among men who have sex with men.

Monkeypox viruses under microscope
Monkeypox viruses under microscope. Photograph: Dotted Zebra/Alamy

McAnulty urged people to be aware of symptoms such as body aches, fever, headache and a rash or lesions on the genital area or other parts of the body:

So far, in the cases we have seen in New South Wales, monkeypox is not presenting the way some people expect, such as an extensive rash or lesions all over the body.

It could just be a couple of what seem to be pimples in the genital area or buttocks, so people need to pay careful attention to any potential symptoms.

Europe remained the epicentre of the outbreak, Tedros said, recording more than 80% of cases globally. In Africa, cases were appearing in areas not previously affected, and record numbers were being recorded in other countries with no previous experience identifying and treating monkeypox.

In the meantime, NSW lgbtiq+ health organisation Acon has developed an excellent fact sheet with information on what to look out for and where to go if you develop symptoms.

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We’ll have a full report on Jacinda Ardern’s address to the Lowy Institute a little later today. You can keep following along the Q&A session in the livestream embedded at the top of this blog!

Alan Tudge urges Labor to keep uni fee changes

The shadow education minister, Alan Tudge, has given a speech to the Universities Australia conference urging Labor not to reverse the Jobs Ready graduate package or cut the Colombo Plan, which grants scholarships to Australians to study in the Indo-Pacific and vice versa.

The Jobs Ready graduates package hiked the cost of humanities degrees by up to 113% while delivering fee cuts in areas of skills shortage.

Tudge said:

Under the Job Ready graduate reforms, national priority courses had their prices markedly dropped for students. For example, mathematics and statistics are now 59% cheaper for students to study; teaching and nursing are 42% cheaper; science and environmental science is 18% cheaper; and agricultural science is 59% cheaper.

All up, in the first year of implementation, around 60% of commencing students saw a reduction or no change in their contributions.

We know from enrolment data that students responded to these price signals. Witness the increased enrolments in courses such as teaching, nursing, engineering, IT, sciences and agriculture. It was not a perfect correlation because students choose courses for many reasons, not just price signals. However, it is having an impact.

Tudge said he was:

Concerned that the Labor party spent much of the last three years criticising our ambition in these reforms and we know that they will be under significant pressure from the Greens to now reverse them.

Labor has not stated a policy on this, instead it will hold an Accord summit to discuss the future of the uni sector.

Alan Tudge in parliament in March
Alan Tudge in parliament in March. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Tudge said it was “honour to serve as education minister over the last 18 months and it remains an honour to serve as the shadow minister for education under Peter Dutton’s leadership”, adding that he had “specifically requested” it in the reshuffle after the May election loss.

Tudge was on leave for the six months before the election on 21 May, leaving Stuart Robert as the acting minister. Tudge stood aside on 2 December pending an investigation into allegations made by his former media adviser, Rachelle Miller, about her relationship with him in 2017. Tudge has denied the allegations.

Despite a report finding there was insufficient evidence Tudge had breached ministerial standards, he remained on leave in the interests of his family and his own wellbeing.

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Russia ‘must be held to account’ – Ardern

Ardern is making some interesting comments about the war in Ukraine, and, by extension – though she doesn’t name it here – China. She says Russia “must be held to account” and that NZ will “intervene as a third party in Ukraine’s case against Russia [in the] international court of justice” to ensure that happens.

We must resource the international criminal court to undertake full investigations and prosecution of the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.

But in taking every possible action to respond to Russia’s aggression and to hold it to account, we must remember that fundamentally this is Russia’s war.

And while there are those who have shown overt and direct support, such as Belarus, who must also seen consequences for that role, we must not otherwise characterise this as a war of the west versus Russia, or democracy versus autocracy. It is not. Nor should we naturally assume it is a demonstration of the inevitable trajectory in other areas of geo-strategic contest.

In the wake of the tensions we see rising in our region, independent diplomacy must become the strongest tool and deescalation the loudest call. We won’t succeed, however, if those parties we seek to engage with are increasingly isolated and the region we inhabit becomes increasingly divided and polarised. We must not allow the risk of a self-fulfilling prophecy to become an inevitable outcome for our region.

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UN failed in Ukraine war response – Ardern

Jacinda Ardern is speaking about what she says is her innate optimism, and essentially outlining her position on global affairs – “based on the principle of upholding the rules-based order” using multilateral institutions. But she’s thrown in a few caveats to that:

Multilateral institutions are imperfect and they have and they will fail us. When they do fail, our first port of call must always be to find ways to make them stronger. Equally, we cannot be left unable to respond to global challenges because we encounter dysfunction or, worse yet, moral failings.

In recent times there has been no better example of that than the failure of the UN to appropriately respond to the war in Ukraine because of the position taken by Russia in the security council – a morally bankrupt position on their part in the wake of a morally bankrupt and illegal war. Under these circumstances, waiting for our multilateral institutions to act was not an option for New Zealand. Here, when the system fails, we seek partnerships and approaches based on the second principle of our independent foreign policy, our values.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern speaking to the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Investment lunch at Morgan Stanley, Sydney.
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern speaking to the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Investment lunch at Morgan Stanley, Sydney. Photograph: James Gourley/AAP

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Jacinda Ardern speaks in Sydney

The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is giving an address now at the Lowy Institute in Sydney. We’re livestreaming it here (above) so you can follow along.

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Victoria records 12 Covid deaths with 592 people in hospital

There were 10,265 new cases recorded in the state over the past 24 hours, with 30 people in intensive care.

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The Victorian ombudsman, Deborah Glass, has tabled her report into the state’s public housing complaints management system in parliament today.

We’ll have all the details on what that contains for you shortly.

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Human rights groups hail South Australia abortion move

More than 15 months after being passed by parliament, the Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021 becomes law in South Australia today.

The laws have been described by the Human Rights Law Centre as “a massive win for reproductive rights”, with the laws supporting more equitable access to abortion care across the state.

The new laws see abortion removed from South Australia’s criminal laws. This leaves Western Australia as the only state in Australia that has not properly decriminalised abortion, with abortion access regulated as an exception to criminal abortion laws.

Human Rights Law Centre Associate legal director Adrianne Walters said:

It’s been a long, long time coming but finally abortion has been decriminalised in South Australia.

It was “a historic moment” for South Australia, she said.

The law coming into effect represents a huge win for the right of all people to decide what happens to their own bodies.

It is particularly significant timing following the devastating overturning of Roe v Wade by the US supreme court, which showed us that we must never stand still when it comes to promoting reproductive rights in Australia.

Abortion is healthcare and access to abortion is a critical human right. Now that right is much better protected in South Australia.

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Murray Watt and David Littleproud jousting continues

A testy Twitter tiff between the agriculture minister, Murray Watt, and his shadow counterpart, David Littleproud, has spilled into a second day, with the Nationals leader denying claims he “lied” about the federal government’s response to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Bali.

The devastating animal virus affects livestock and can force the culling of farm animals, and cases in Indonesia have Australian authorities on high alert.

Littleproud tweeted on Wednesday afternoon:

The federal government hasn’t taken the risk of foot-and-mouth disease seriously enough.

Barely 20 minutes later, Watt (who is also the emergency management minister, and has been responding to the devastating NSW floods all week) shot back.

“Total crap,” he replied to Littleproud’s original tweet:

“Here is the full list, since you didn’t listen the first time,” Watt added, including a link to a tweet of his own (published several minutes before Littleproud’s original) listing expanded measures including biosecurity detector dogs at Darwin and Cairns airports, new signage and social media campaigns about foot and mouth, additional airport biosecurity training and enhanced mail inspections.

On Thursday morning, some 16 hours after Watt’s reply, Littleproud responded again: “I’m not lying @MurrayWatt it just seems you’re not asking the right questions!”

The shadow agriculture minister included a press release of his own, which claimed the government’s response was still “inadequate”:

The government has conceded that their proposal to increase the number of sniffer dogs at airports with incoming Indonesian flights cannot actually directly detect FMD if attached on boots...

There also remains a number of passengers who falsely declare or don’t declare all of their movements while in Indonesia. The only way to effectively mitigate this vulnerability is to introduce disinfectant foot baths at airports.

We’ll await Watt’s next response.

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Second Nasa rocket launches from Northern Territory

A Nasa rocket has launched from the remote wilderness of the Northern Territory following a two-day delay caused by consistent winds, AAP reports.

The Suborbital Imaging Spectrograph for Transition region Irradiance from Nearby Exoplanet host stars, or Sistine, mission took off on Wednesday night after being delayed on Monday and Tuesday.

Equatorial Launch Australia executive chairman Michael Jones said on Wednesday night the successful launch was an exciting follow-up to ELA’s first launch on 26 June.

Tonight we were delighted to achieve another successful launch which further strengthens the capabilities of our team and of the Arnhem Space Centre.

We look forward to our third launch on 12 July and then onwards to the future of the Arnhem Space Centre and the Australian space industry.

The first successful launch occurred last month from the Arnhem Space Centre on the Dhupuma Plateau, near Nhulunbuy.

Together with a third rocket to launch later this month, the Sistine rocket will take measurements of ultraviolet light to help narrow the search for habitable planets. The two missions will work together to get a full picture of the ultraviolet light coming from stars Alpha Centauri A and B.

The Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory
The Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory. Photograph: Equatorial Launch Australia/AP

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Linda Burney confirms Labor plan on referendum for Indigenous voice to parliament

The Indigenous affairs minister, Linda Burney, has confirmed a story in Guardian Australia this morning that, although no decision has been made on a date, Labor is aiming to push ahead with a referendum to entrench an Indigenous voice to parliament in 2023.

Burney told ABC News Breakfast:

I’m not going to be pushed into a date. I think the important thing is that we consult. We hear different points of view, and there are many points of view out there. I think it’s putting the cart before the horse to name a date and then work backwards from that – there are many things to do. It’s very, very challenging but I am convinced that Australia is ready and standing on the cusp of embracing constitutional reform and the exciting thing is that there are so many sectors of the community coming on board.

Asked about the details of the story that Labor wants to capitalise on momentum and avoid a campaign in 2024, which could be an election year, Burney said:

All of the things that you’ve just said are considerations, of course, but in terms of a date, it will be after consultation with the appropriate people, consultation within the parliament. The really important thing here is to embrace the momentum, have a campaign that is going to grow that momentum and have a referendum when it’s going to succeed.

I am so inspired by the outcomes of the 1967 referendum and I feel Australia is going to do the same thing again.

Linda Burney
Linda Burney: ‘The important thing is that we consult.’ Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

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‘We need to be a lot smarter about where we build’ – Perrottet

There’s a bit of back and forth happening now in this presser between a journalist and Perrottet, about council planning and building approvals, and whether (and this is a rough paraphrase) people have been misled when being allowed to build in flood-prone areas.

Perrottet says:

There will always be floods, there will always be bushfires ... but in terms of planning, we need to be a lot smarter about where we build going forward. In terms of going back, we’ll look at some of those challenges in the Northern Rivers.

He says he’d like to see places like Lismore continue to flourish, but wants to look at how the town can become more resilient.

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'We're looking towards recovery mode' – NSW SES

Damien Johnson, the deputy commissioner of the New South Wales SES, says first responder services are starting to turn their attention to flood recovery:

We’re looking towards recovery mode. We’re monitoring the river systems, as the bureau and Diana outlined, in terms of seeing those river falls and hopefully the major peaks actually occurring and subsiding. And we’ll continue to operationally respond both within the Hunter and the greater metropolitan Sydney and the like, and the Hunter and the mid north coast areas as well.

We hope we’re over the worst of it and we’ll continue to monitor the risks.

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Flood rescues still occurring – SES

Damien Johnson, deputy commissioner of the New South Wales SES, is up at the mic now to bring a bit of a downer to that slightly brighter forecast:

There’s better weather on its way but there’s still risk that continues. Our focus as anticipated yesterday was on the mid north coast area, in the Hunter and other areas as well. That has resulted in significant operational activity with the focus in those key areas as well.

I urge the public to continue to heed the warnings and especially the evacuation orders and the evacuation warnings and follow all directions from SES and emergency services personnel. I want to thank the public continuing to follow the directions of the emergency services.

We’re still seeing a number of flood rescues. Most of those are as a result of being in vehicles. Once again, can people adhere to the warnings and not enter into waters, especially if you’re on vehicles or on foot, or other mechanisms as well. You can put both SES volunteers and other emergency services in harm’s way and that’s not something I like us to be doing.

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Rains easing, BoM says

The forecast, though, is looking better. Eadie says that while the river levels will lower, we’re unlikely to see rainfall totals in the days ahead like we have in the past week.

Looking forward, really just very coastal showers over the next few days. We could see some shower activity on the Sunday, but at this stage not expecting anything like what we’ve seen in the past few days to return to New South Wales over the next week.

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NSW town records highest river level since 1952

There’s ongoing major flooding in the lower Hunter area, the Hawkesbury-Nepean, the Macquarie and Tuggerah Lakes as well.

Eadie continues:

I will start with Wombi Brook. For Bulga, we saw 9.1m, which is the highest river level we’ve seen since 1952. Those conditions are currently easing but will remain at major for some time yet.

Singleton was an area of concern overnight. It looks likely we have seen the peak at around 13.71m, which has exceeded the level we saw in March 2022. Good news for the Singleton is that it’s likely we’ll see the river levels decrease. That being said, Maitland is still at risk and we could see major flooding at 10.5m.

We’re urging people in those communities to make sure you stay on top of the latest forecast warnings for those areas.

To the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers, we’re seeing the river levels slowly decrease in those areas but still around the major level for North Richmond, Sackville, Wisemans Ferry. There’s still a lot of water flowing through the catchments. Make sure you’re using caution when you’re around the water in those areas.

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‘Extraordinary’ rainfall, weather bureau says

Diana Eadie from the Bureau of Meteorology is giving a weather update now:

Over the past 24 hours we’ve seen extraordinary rainfall totals. However, the most significant activity has now moved offshore from the New South Wales coast. That being said, there’s still a number of significant flood warnings in place that I would like to walk you through.

She’s giving some notable rainfall totals, including 305mm at Taree and 213mm at Foster. There’s now a moderate flood watch in place for the Manning River, and the river could rise to 3m at Taree.

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Flood recovery efforts intensifying – minister

There are still 11 evacuation centres open across the state, Perrottet says, with 1,000 SES volunteers out and about, and they have performed more than 700 rapid damage assessments of homes so far.

NSW floods recovery minister Steph Cooke says:

As the weather situation changes and the flooding emergency is winding down, the recovery efforts are winding up. [The rapid damage assessments are] to ensure that people are returning to a safe environment in their home. And so as those flood waters recede, communities will start to see the emergency services move into their suburbs, going street by street, house by house, assessing their homes and making sure that an all clear is given before people are actually able to return.

I would like to respectfully ask that for people that have been impacted by flood waters going through their home, please take caution as you return home over the coming days. It does present new hazards and we want to ensure that people do remain safe through this time.

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Mother and baby rescue ‘incredibly moving’ – premier

Perrottet pays tribute to the emergency services workers who rescued a mother and a 10-month-old baby from floodwaters last night. The pair became trapped by floodwaters in Bulga in the Hunter Valley around 5.30pm last night.

He said:

Everyone would have been moved to see the rescue of that 10-month-old baby, incredibly moving scenes, and I want to thank Lee Archer and Shane Dowsett from Surf Life Saving. Those pictures demonstrate the wonderful spirit of service in our country and that great volunteerism that gets people through day in day out.

Those pictures, I think, really bring home the extent of this event, but also the vulnerability that people face in very difficult circumstances. What trumps all of that is that wonderful spirit of service that Australians have in putting their own lives on the line to help others.

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Perrottet gives NSW floods update

I’m going to take you straight to the press conference on the floods crisis in NSW.

Premier Dominic Perrottet is speaking now. He starts with some fast facts:

We currently have 74 evacuation orders in place across our state; 36 evacuation warnings. That is affecting over 60,000 people across New South Wales. That number is still high.

Whilst we are seeing easing weather conditions across the state, which is good news, there are still a number of those orders in place, and a number of those warnings. Please continue to follow those instructions. If those evacuation warnings are in place, please get ready to evacuate, and if those orders are in place, please leave as soon as you can.

In the last 24 hours we have had 50 flood rescues across the state. We have had over 1,000 requests for assistance.

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I am passing you over to Stephanie Convery, who will be taking you through the rest of this morning’s updates, including the flood press conference that should be starting shortly.

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Monkeypox may be spreading in community

Monkeypox may be spreading in Australia after New South Wales found infections among the state’s 11 confirmed cases that could have been transmitted locally, AAP reports.

NSW Health said nine of the infections were probably acquired overseas but two might be local cases, which suggested community transmission could be occurring.

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NSW records 22 Covid deaths and 1,882 people in hospital

There were 13,343 new cases in the last reporting period, and 62 people are in intensive care.

South Australia’s new abortion laws come into effect today

South Australia is the second last state in Australia to move abortion from a criminal issue to a medical one.

Western Australia is the only state or territory where abortion remains under the criminal code.

The bill in SA was voted on in March last year but the laws come into effect in the state from today.

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Farmers’ federation warns on foot-and-mouth threat

Fiona Simson, the president of the National Farmers Federation, is on ABC radio discussing the rising cost of fresh produce as well as the increasing threat of foot and mouth disease entering Australia.

In terms of the biosecurity threat, Simson said Australia needed to help neighbours “step up their biosecurity” as well as make people at home more aware of the risks.

She said the federal agriculture minister, Murray Watt, had been “very responsive” but she would still like to see every passenger screened at airports.

Simson said successive governments had dropped the ball on the increased biosecurity risks.

The risk has increased but budgets have not.

Simson said the reason shoppers were seeing higher fruit and vegetable prices due to flooding was “all about supply and demand”.

She said the flooding had wiped out fresh produce at critical stages of production in “one of the biggest fruit and veggie heartlands in NSW”.

If they get wiped out at any stage of production, people have to start again.

Simson said the weather was damaging crops, which caused shortages, and then caused price spikes at supermarket. Australia’s big supply chains were not so agile.

She recommended avocados and pumpkins as a good buy for shoppers trying to keep costs down.

Fiona Simson
Fiona Simson: biosecurity ‘risk has increased but budgets have not’. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

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Scores of NSW flood warnings still in place

The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled the severe weather warning for NSW overnight but scores of flood warnings and evacuation orders remain in place, including several Hunter Valley towns in place, including Bulga, Broke, Wollombi and Dunolly.

Electricity provider Ausgrid has warned Singleton residents’ electricity could be cut off as the company battles to restore power to about 3,000 customers in parts of the central coast, Lake Macquarie and pockets of Sydney.

Yesterday, ahead of his tour of the flood affected areas in the Hawkesbury, prime minister Anthony Albanese announced disaster recovery payments of $1,000 for eligible adults and $400 for children would be available to apply for from 2pm today.

Social services minister Amanda Rishworth said on ABC radio on Thursday morning that these were the federal government’s first emergency payments but would not say what additional support might be forthcoming:

I will continue along with [emergency management minister] Murray Watt ... to look at how we can best support communities.

- With AAP

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Clare promises boost to low SES and international students

In his speech, Jason Clare also lamented the fact that although the target of 40% of people aged 25 to 34 having bachelor degrees had been achieved, a separate target for 20% of enrolments to be from people from low socioeconomic backgrounds had not.

Instead, it had “barely moved” from 15%, from when the target was set in 2008. Indigenous enrolment was less than 10%.

The education minister said:

I don’t want us to be a country where your chances in life depend on your postcode, your parents, or the colour of your skin. None of us want that. But that’s where we are today. I am not naive, I know this is hard to shift.

Clare announced a further $20.5m for the the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education based at Curtin University.

Clare also spoke about the need to “rebuild” Australia’s reputation for international education, which he said was “smashed” by Covid, and by the previous government telling international students to “go home or [be] left to rely on the kindness of charity”.

Clare said more than 100 staff had been brought into the home affairs department to clear a backlog of international student visas.

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Jason Clare promises ‘reset’ with universities

The education minister, Jason Clare, has promised a “reset” with universities through an accord to achieve bipartisan consensus on issues facing the sector.

This was a policy first announced in opposition by Tanya Plibersek, but details are still scant.

Last night, Clare told the Universities Australia conference:

And that, at its core, is what the Australian Universities accord will be about: a reset. And an opportunity to build a long-term plan for our universities, together. Drawing on the advice of the leadership in this room, your staff, unions, business, students, parents and all political parties.

Looking at everything from funding and access to affordability, transparency, regulation, employment conditions and also how universities and TAFEs and other higher education and vocational education providers and training institutions work together.

To lead this work, in the next few months I will appoint a small group of eminent Australians. I want this to be a bipartisan effort. I want it to come up with reforms that last longer than the inevitable political cycle. I also want your help and guidance, and that starts with making sure we get the terms of reference for this right, and I’ll be engaging with you on these soon.

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Canberra-Moscow ties at ‘lowest’ ebb, envoy says

Pavlovsky said Australian-Russian relations had reached their “lowest point”.

Whatever cooperation we had has been destroyed by the Australian side without thoughts to what Australian interests were.

This is really sad.

When asked if Putin will participate in the G20 summit in person, Pavlovsky said Putin would participate “for sure” but the format was still being discussed.

Pavlovsky said the situation with the pandemic would determine the format.

He is very busy with constructive dialogue with many countries. He will not pay attention to virtue signalling from certain leaders.

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Pavlovsky said the war could have been avoided if “diplomatic dialogue had not been blocked by the west”.

The west is doubling down prohibiting the Ukrainian side from going back to the negotiating table.

Q: Why don’t you just stop bombing Ukraine? That would end this.

There are important existential reasons for Russia to start this operation. Operation will stop when reasons are removed.

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Russian ambassador says west ‘hysteric’

ABC Radio is asking the Russian ambassador to Australia, Alexey Pavlovsky, how Russia can justify its position at the G20 summit.

Pavlovsky responded by criticising the “west’s hysteric reaction”.

ABC Radio is asking the ambassador about the invasion’s impact on global food supplies, and host Hamish McDonald has rebuked Pavlovsky: “This is not Russian state media, you can’t get away with making it up.”

Pavlovsky has denied the situation is a war, saying it is a military operation to protect Russia’s security interests.

You can call it as you wish, our point of view, it is a military operation to protect people of the Donbass, and to protect security interests.

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Atagi caution over fourth vaccine dose

Dr Chris Moy, vice-president of federal Australian Medical Association and a member of the Atagi technical advisory group, is on ABC radio discussing the decision to allow Australians over 30 to get a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Moy said a key consideration was wanting to hold the shot until it was needed:

They wanted to hold fire till the time it was really needed because they didn’t want to go too early.

They’ve been under pressure for a long time to go to the fourth shot, everybody, but they wanted to hold this shot because they didn’t want to actually end up firing the shot too early in that actually then, with a new variant, having to make a better fifth shot.

Moy said that 30 was the cut off age because the benefits outweighed risk.

Moy said there was now evidence that new variants had more impact on the lungs:

The three things that are worrying about it, there’s evidence coming from overseas is that [the new subvariants] are more infectious. It’s outrunning BA2, which is the previous subvariant ... with high reinfection rates. So people rely particularly just on previous infection for immunity or getting rejected at a higher rate, but also that it has a greater propensity for the lungs – that means more serious disease, whereas the previous periods have been more in the upper airways.

So therefore, because of that, we may be looking at a higher proportion people in .... hospitals. So that combination of a wave coming in for hospitals is testing. A high percentage, even a small percentage ... is going to cause the hospitals to get overrun, as they already are at the moment, unfortunately. They already had a fourth set.

Updated

Rain and flooding risk move north in NSW

Rain may have eased in Sydney and on New South Wales central coast but the inclement weather and risk of flooding has moved to the Hunter Valley and mid-north coast overnight.

More than 6,000 residents of the Hunter have evacuated their homes and businesses, while the New England Highway remains closed at Singleton and Maitland.

Major flooding continues in Singleton, where an evacuation order has also been issued, and there is moderate flooding at Wollombi and Maitland.

The Hunter River peaked at 13.7m overnight, exceeding the 13.15m level of the March floods.

On Thursday morning the SES had received about 1,200 requests for help in the past 24 hours, with about 900 of them in the central coast, Hunter and the mid-north coast regions, NSW SES deputy commissioner Ashley Sullivan said.

They had seen about 65 flood rescues in the 12 hours overnight, and efforts were focusing on the flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean valley areas.

There were 58 “return with caution” advices current, meaning about 35,000 people could start to return home with care, Sullivan told ABC News Breakfast.

[For those people] the flood threat has eased, the danger has eased from the flooding and it’s OK to head back into your home and do that assessment to see what’s needed next.

Obviously, as people head back into those communities, there will still be floodwater in low-local areas. There’s going to be debris, potentially contaminants from spilt chemicals, and be cautious of power lines as well. Treat power lines as always being live if they’ve been damaged throughout this event. And when you go into your home, do not turn the power back on if it’s been flooded or inundated.

- With AAP

Flood waters in Camden, south-western Sydney, at the weekend
Flood waters in Camden, south-western Sydney, at the weekend. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

Updated

Rishworth says employers should hire people with a disability

Rishworth is asked about her call for Australian employers who are struggling with serious staff shortages to hire job applicants with a disability:

There’s never been a better time for employers to think outside the box when it comes to finding people we hear from employers all the time.

One of the reports that has been done into disability employment is that community attitudes are actually one of the biggest barriers so seeing people with a disability get employment so that’s not having changes to the workplace, but that is the attitude that people have.

So I want employers to have a serious thinking about how they can potentially employ someone with a disability because if they don’t, they’re actually missing out on a wealth of knowledge but importantly, in a time of skills crisis, they going to get the employees they actually need.

Rishworth says she believes a lot of employers are open to the option:

I spoke to a session of the BCA recently where I know they are really wanting to practically work with employer about how they might accommodate those living with a disability and make sure that the adaptions in place, but one of the things we actually need to change is not actually changing the workplace but actually changing our attitudes and that kind of thing.

I’m hoping in the lead up to the job Summit, to have a roundtable specifically getting employers and unions and also those living with a disability around the table to start talking about these are sort of fade into the Johnson we restrict me to say there’s got to be more than roundtables and changes of perception.

Updated

Social services minister reaffirms commitment to public housing

The minister for social services, Amanda Rishworth, is on ABC Radio talking about the social pressures facing Australians.

Rishworth is asked about the housing crisis and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to build more public housing:

We’ve got to be really clear a lot of people are facing issues when it comes to housing, not just the cost of housing, but actually being able to get a house so when it comes to housing, we’ve said we will build more public housing that is a commitment through our Future Australia program.

ABC is asking Rishworth about whether it is fair to keep people on $46 a day whilst giving those on over $200,000 a year, a $25 a day tax cut:

Well, the tax tax you’re talking about is in 2024. So we’re not talking about that tax cut being at all related to the immediate pressures that families are facing right now.

It’s about how we can provide a whole of government response to help people in these difficult circumstances and as I said, through each budget, we go through looking at what our priorities are and I will be certainly working with other people in government and our other ministers to deal with that.

Updated

Good morning!

The flood crisis continues in parts of New South Wales with major flooding and evacuation orders in Singleton and several Hunter Valley towns.

Weather conditions are easing for Sydney and the NSW central coast, as almost 30,000 people have been allowed to return home. Applications for the federal disaster recovery payments will open at 2pm today.

Reports say a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose will become available for Australians over the age of 30, after the health minister, Mark Butler, is briefed today on Atagi’s recommendations following yesterday’s meeting.

The education minister, Jason Clare, has committed to a “reset” of relations between government and universities, announcing a review into the role and governance of the main grants body in a major speech last night.

I’m Natasha May and I’ll be updating you on all these headlines and more this morning. If there’s anything you think should be on the blog, you can ping me on Twitter @natasha__may or email natasha.may@theguardian.com.

Updated

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