Good morning. Residents of south-east Queensland face more rain today amid a worsening floods crisis. Schools will be closed in 13 local government areas and locals warned against nonessential travel. And major European countries are buying arms for Ukraine.
Major flood warnings are in place for areas from Gympie to Grafton in northern NSW, while flood waters in the Brisbane CBD are expected to peak at 4.0 metres at high tide. Seven people have been killed due to the flood crisis and at least one person is missing. In some parts of Brisbane, flooding and damage has already been more severe than the 2011 floods, with residents caught off guard by the sudden flood water. An estimated 1,400 households were affected by a “rain bomb” and localised storms have made it difficult to predict where will be hit next. Some locals have had a lucky escape. Lloyd and Jean Warr survived flash flooding in 2011 by climbing on to their roof and on Friday they narrowly escaped with their lives once again by huddling together on top of their ute. Meanwhile, Peter Dutton is under fire for setting up a GoFundMe page for a flood-affected Queensland community. Labor frontbencher Josh Wilson suggested it proved the Coalition was incompetent and couldn’t deliver commonwealth support, but Scott Morrison says he did “not understand” the backlash.
Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to put Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert in response to what he called “aggressive statements” by Nato countries. Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine has agreed to peace talks with Russia “without preconditions”. Kyiv remains in Ukrainian control, while officials claim they had repelled an attack on Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city. The European Union will purchase weapons for Ukraine, with plans to spend €450m in EU funds on weapons and €50m on other items including medical supplies. Western allies have agreed to block Russia’s access to the Swift international banking payment system.
Australia will provide funds for “lethal aid” to Ukraine’s war effort. Scott Morrison said “nothing is off the table” in response to the Russian invasion. Australia’s commitment was previously restricted to non-lethal military equipment, but on Sunday, Morrison said the government would increase its financial support to Nato to fund the supply of weapons for Ukrainian forces. “Russia must pay a heavy price … and we will continue to add to that price, as we consider every single option that is in front of us,” he said. Meanwhile, the Kremlin-backed RT channel has been suspended by Foxtel in Australia, after the channel reported that Russian troops are trying to liberate Ukraine. The EU will also remove RT and Sputnik channels in a move against the Kremlin media machine.
Australia
Jack Moulos held deep family bonds but late-stage dementia and lockdown separation made his time in aged care even harder before he died from Covid. His family have remembered his life and the challenges of the circumstances of his death, in which one daughter stood in full PPE to view his body through a glass door, and the rest of his Sydney family were confined to their homes with Covid-19.
A thinktank linked to technology giant Canon is under pressure to remove multiple “dangerous” articles and a book aimed at school-age children that describes the climate crisis as “fake news” and compares campaigner Greta Thunberg to a communist.
While swift parrot numbers plunge, their Tasmanian breeding grounds are still being logged. It’s a recipe for extinction, experts say. A new report released by BirdLife Australia, the Wilderness Society and the Tasmanian group the Tree Projects says the primary cause is the loss of large, hollow-bearing trees used for breeding.
The world
Leaked documents have revealed telecoms giant Ericsson is alleged to have helped pay bribes to the Islamic State to continue selling its services after the militants seized control of large parts of Iraq. The company’s internal investigators uncovered allegations it was involved in corruption in at least 10 countries.
The Iranian ambassador to the UK will be removed from his post after a video circulated showing an embassy reception at which some women did not have their heads covered.
US members of Congress who spoke at a white nationalist event in Florida this week are “morons” with no place in the Republican party, Mitt Romney said.
Recommended reads
Puppetry experienced a golden age in the 1980s and 90s – and the children of that era enjoyed some deeply unsettling and downright grotty characters. Angharad Lodwick takes a look back at 10 of the worst puppets on Australian children’s television. “Not even puppets are immune from a #MeToo moment, and although Agro’s design itself wasn’t especially concerning (full eyebrows are very fashionable), his sexual harassment of his female co-hosts certainly was.”
PTSD can untether a person from a stable sense of self. Treatment is all about gaining acceptance of the fragility and unpredictability of life, writes Gill Straker and Jacqui Winship in our column The modern mind, where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work. “In some ways PTSD puts us more in touch with life’s realities and strips us of the usual veils that we draw over these in order to protect ourselves. In a paradoxical manner, if the realities unmasked by trauma can be accepted and integrated, we can be more authentically connected to life than we were before.”
The Queensland-set crime drama Troppo is “addictive in an airport novel sort of way: steeped in formula but quite appealingly written, performed and directed,” writes Guardian Australia film critic Luke Buckmater. “The tropical Queensland location allows for some fun settings and scenarios – from wildlife interactions to a man whose version ‘of an apple a day’ is injecting himself with snake venom. You don’t get that in the CBD; at least not at your local chemist.”
Listen
The chairman of the United Australia party, Clive Palmer, says he’ll spend more than $80m on his party’s campaign in the upcoming federal election, making it the most expensive campaign in Australian history. This has reignited calls to reform the huge amounts of money poured into political campaigns and advertising. In today’s Full Story, reporter Christopher Knaus talks to Laura Murphy-Oates about the influence of money in federal politics.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy has been found in the brains of more than half of a cohort of donors, including three under the age of 35, according to groundbreaking research into the long-term ramifications of concussion in sport.
“Western Sydney are slow and steady but winning the A-League men’s race,” writes Joey Lynch. “They are riding a wave of one-goal victories but nobody can argue with John Aloisi’s exercise in efficiency.”
Media roundup
Prisoners have rioted at the Acacia prison in Western Australia after Covid quarantine measures were deployed following positive cases reported in staff and detainees, reports the ABC. Aged care residents would receive a fourth Covid jab and a flu shot at the same time under plans being drawn up to protect elderly Australians before winter, says the Herald Sun.
And if you’ve read this far …
Mulletfest – the annual festival that celebrates the hairstyle that’s all business at the front and party at the back – returned to Kurri Kurri over the weekend. Contestants of all ages flocked to the NSW town for the chance to show off their quintessential Aussie mullet and compete for the best ’do in categories including “grubby”, “ranga”, “vintage” and “extreme”.
Coming up
Weather warnings remain in place amid serious flooding in Queensland and NSW.
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