There is no end to the season of sandbags as extreme weather continues to batter south-east Australia. Towns throughout the central-west region of New South Wales experienced severe flooding, with Forbes recording 118mm of rainfall – its heaviest on record – and the town of Molong completely cut off from its surroundings.
More than 33,000 properties remain without power in South Australia after the weekend’s intense storms and 85 warnings are active in Victoria as river systems respond to heavy rainfall. The wet season is sadly with us for a while longer, as the BoM predicts more flooding over coming weeks, before easing off in January.
Top news
Albanese at G20 | The PM will meet Chinese president, Xi Jinping, tomorrow afternoon on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali. Canberra is seeking to – in the words of the treasurer, Jim Chalmers – “stabilise the relationship” and convince China to lift its $20bn worth of sanctions on Australian imports. But the most anticipated meeting will be between Xi and the US president, Joe Biden – the first since Biden became president.
Victoria votes | More than half of 4.4 million voting Victorians are expected to cast their ballots before 26 November, with early voting centres opening today. Despite Labor’s primary vote shrinking in recent polls, the Labor premier, Daniel Andrews, has ruled out a deal with the Greens or independents in the event of a minority government.
Army caused bushfires | An army helicopter that landed on a remote helipad – where it was not supposed to – so the crew could use the bathroom inadvertently caused Canberra’s devastating 2020 bushfires, an inquest has heard. It’s said that the chopper’s searchlight, which can get as hot as 550C, ignited the blaze in the Orroral Valley.
Medibank data breach | Customer data related to claims for mental health treatment are the latest to be posted on the dark web by the Russian hacker group. But the daily drip may come to a halt for the week, with the group posting it would not publish another portion of the data until Friday “in a hope something meaningful happened [sic] on Wednesday” – the day of Medibank’s AGM.
Freight train derailed | Dozens of shipping containers were thrown from the tracks when a freight train derailed in Victoria’s west, closing the rail corridor to Adelaide. No injuries to the train crew were reported and there were no dangerous goods containers affected by the incident.
Brownlow arrests | An AFL umpire is among four people to have been arrested by Victorian police as they investigate allegations that someone with inside knowledge of the Brownlow medal tallies leaked information to a betting ring.
Adelaide’s golf controversy | The city of churches has been chosen to host the first controversial, Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament on Australian soil. Greg Norman, LIV Golf’s figurehead, announced the venue as one of 14 on the tour’s calendar.
Kherson war crimes | The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has accused Russia of committing war crimes in the newly freed city of Kherson. Ukrainian forces retook the city last week and, according to Zelenskiy, “have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes”.
Slovenia’s first female president | Nataša Pirc Musar – a former broadcaster and lawyer to Melania Trump – will become president after defeating her conservative rival in a runoff vote. The 54-year-old has said that she would like to see Slovenia connect to “core Europe”, especially with countries that believe in human rights and constitutional values.
Full Story
Medibank: how hackers got your private health data
Australians have had their personal data posted on the dark web, and the Australian federal police says Russian hackers are behind the breach. How did they pull this off, and what are Medibank and the Australian government doing about it? Listen to this 25-minute episode.
What they said …
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“It’s the most elaborate sting in minor party history in Australia.” – Glenn Druery, preference whisperer
Druery is known as the man who organises backroom preference deals to boost the electoral chances of minor parties. But the Animal Justice party in Victoria has decided to “sting” Druery by directing its own preferences to others at the last minute, despite negotiating with the preference whisperer for months.
“The Animal Justice party does not agree with the wheelings and dealings of a preference whisperer and the backroom deals of predominantly older, white males. That time has come to an end,” said Ben Schultz, the state election manager for the Animal Justice party.
In numbers
Tassal and Huon Aquaculture did not announce the use of antibiotics in an attempt to control a potentially deadly fish disease earlier this year. The World Health Organization has warned the overuse of antibiotics in the food industry could lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs”.
Before bed read
In an exclusive extract from her new book, Michelle Obama shares what she learned about raising a family while living in the White House.
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