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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Ben Doherty and Natasha May (earlier)

Man dies in Victorian town of Rochester and Shepparton told to evacuate – as it happened

Daniel Andrews Flood Victoria David Pocock Zoe Daniel ADF Anthony Albanese SES Zali Steggall NSW SES
SES personnel search floodwaters along Raleigh Street in Maribyrnong, Melbourne
SES personnel search flood waters along Raleigh Street in Maribyrnong, Melbourne. Parts of Victoria are in the midst of their worst flooding in decades. Photograph: James Ross/EPA

What we learned today, Saturday 15 October

We will close this blog now. Thanks for your comments, company and correspondence this afternoon. A summary to finish:

  • A man has died in Rochester during floods in the northern Victorian town. Much of Victoria remains on alert for rising flood waters, as parts of Melbourne begin the clean-up after the Maribyrnong River burst its banks on Friday.

  • There have been more than 350 flood rescues across Victoria: more than 200 to inundated homes; 150 people who were driving through flood waters; and 10 capsized boats.

  • There is flooding, too, in New South Wales, in cities such as Forbes, and in Tasmania, where the premier has warned the state is “not out of the woods yet” with rivers still rising.

  • The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has told the NSW state Labor conference the federal government will expand paid parental leave to 26 weeks.

Updated

Tasmania 'not out of the woods' as homeowners start to assess flood damage

Residents in parts of flood-hit Tasmania are “not out of the woods”, authorities warn, as those allowed to return start assessing the damage.

Several watch-and-act alerts are in place across Tasmania after widespread record-breaking rain across the state’s top half spanning days.

Areas on alert include near the Meander River, North Esk River, South Esk River and Macquarie River.

The North Esk and South Esk rivers were still yet to peak on Saturday afternoon, and authorities would monitor them closely over the next 36 hours, the acting premier, Michael Ferguson, said.

Hoblers Bridge Road is closed due to flooding of the North Esk River in Newstead, Tasmania
Hoblers Bridge Road is closed due to flooding of the North Esk River in Newstead, Tasmania. Photograph: Sonja Ambrose/AAP

Flood waters would continue to move downstream over the weekend in the Tamar river system, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The State Emergency Service acting director, Leon Smith, said rainfall in some areas outnumbered falls in mid-2016, when three people were killed.

“In the north-west, we’ve already seen the peak. All of the accumulated rainfall at altitude has now made its way through the landscape into the riverine systems (and it) is now dissipating,” Smith told reporters on Saturday morning.

“In the northern region, we haven’t peaked.

“Due to the complexity of the catchments, we will see peaks and ebbs during the next 24 hours.”

Smith urged people in the north-west to remain vigilant and said residents had to be methodical in their return.

Reports that people had circumvented roadblocks were “extremely concerning”, he said.

While roads may appear to be free of water, they had to be assessed for damage, the Tasmania police assistant commissioner, Jonathan Higgins, said.

“We can’t have a police officer at every single road closure ... but there is a very visible police presence in the north and north-west of the state where there are roads closed,” he said.

Police had to rescue some people who were taking risks with the floods, the Tasmania police northern district commander, Stuart Wilkinson, said.

The acting premier warned that while the wind and rain had eased, Tasmanians could not yet get back to normal life.

“We’re not out of the woods yet at all – our waters are in fact still rising in a number of catchments and river systems,” Ferguson told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

“This is counterintuitive. With the rain effectively having abated, in fact the water is surging ... through the river systems, and there are two river systems that are still seeing waters predicted yet to peak.

“That means that there are yet more properties that can be subject to inundation (and) could be still subject to an evacuation order.”

Authorities were monitoring the North Esk and South Esk rivers “like a hawk”, Ferguson said.

Up to 500 homes were within flood zones, but authorities expected the number inundated to be far fewer, he said.

It remains unclear when the port of Devonport will reopen after it was closed to commercial operations on midday Thursday ahead of flooding in the Mersey River.

The closure forced the Spirit of Tasmania ferry operator to cancel four Bass Strait sailings.

Updated

And with those images of Kevin Anderson, I leave you in the hands of my colleague Ben Doherty.

Updated

Kevin Anderson takes up his shears for regional rescue helicopter

Our Guardian Rural network regular Tom Plevey is at Westpac Rescue Helicopter’s shearing competition fundraiser where the NSW water minister, Kevin Anderson, is getting in on the action.

Updated

Greens senator calls for six months paid parental leave to take immediate effect

We brought you the news earlier as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, today announced the government would be extending paid parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks with a fortnight to be added each year up to 2026.

The Greens leader in the Senate, Larissa Waters, has said the Greens welcome the government’s announcement, the full six months of leave “must start immediately”.

Updated

‘We will spend what needs to be spent,’ says Daniel Andrews, vowing to fix roads

More images of emerging of the state of the roads in Victoria.

We mentioned this on the blog earlier (but amid a flurry of other updates from that press conference on the Victorian floods), premier Dan Andrews said urgent repair are works under way as 344 roads are closed in Victoria and that the government wouldn’t let cost stand in the way.

We currently have 344 roads that are closed. That number changes hourly. Major roads are assessed twice per day.

There is a number of urgent repair works that have already started. A number of contractors on our big build who we have reached out to, to provide us with temporary support to do some significant repair work. That work has already started.

We have to get assessments completed first, see water subside and then get in and do urgent repairs.

We may have to go back and redo that work at a later point but on major arterials and key roads for local communities, getting them open is the priority.

Expense will not be an issue. We will spend what needs to be spent in order to make sure communities can be joined up, connected as quickly as possible.

Updated

Flood waters ravage Victorian highway

Channel 7 journalist Paul Dowsley has shared a video showing the shape of the McIvor Highway outside Bendigo after the Campaspe River burst its banks.

As the camera pans, what begins as a crack in the road ultimately reveals a huge stretch of the highway where the tar has been completely wiped away, leaving several metres of exposed brown dirt.

And you thought the potholes in your area were bad …

Updated

Trio hurt in NSW alleged road rage attack

Three men have been seriously injured in an alleged road rage attack on NSW’s mid north coast, AAP reports.

They were struck by a four-wheel drive at Port Macquarie about 9pm on Friday.

Police allege the vehicle veered off the road, struck the trio as they were walking along a footpath, and kept driving.

The men aged 18, 45 and 50 were taken to a local hospital in serious but stable condition.

The 18-year-old was later airlifted to John Hunter hospital in Newcastle.

A 31-year-old was arrested at 2am on Saturday morning after attending a local police station.

He was charged with a string of offences including three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving.

The man was refused bail to appear in court on Saturday afternoon.

Updated

Evacuation orders for Goulburn River and Echuca

Updated

Breaking down the taboo of pregnancy loss

AAP has also told Jodie Matthews’ story on International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day today:

It was a Saturday morning in spring five years ago when a worried Jodie Matthews realised her baby had stopped moving inside her.

When she went to hospital that day, she was told her full-term baby boy had his umbilical cord wrapped five times around his neck.

She was devastated to learn he no longer had a heartbeat, while it was harder still going through labour knowing there would be no first cry.

But it wasn’t until she was walking back to her apartment a few days later, after a funeral for her baby Hamish, that Matthews felt the full force of her loss. She tells AAP:

We spent four days in the hospital saying goodbye and then came home to our apartment and it was just silent.

Whether you go through loss at the beginning of the pregnancy or the end, you’ve already planned that child’s life out in your head. We had all his clothes washed and his nursery ready.

Hamish would have been starting school next year. Milestones like that - as well as birthdays and anniversaries - are often difficult to cope with, Matthews says.

But she doesn’t want her first child to be forgotten and she likes to spend time talking about him, particularly with his sister and brother, three-year-old Lucy and one-year-old Jack.

Matthews, who lives on the NSW Central Coast, says:

There are always going to be days and times when things are harder than others, but I would rather talk about him and have his memory in our family. I’d rather not pretend it never happened.

It’s such a hidden, silent pain that people go through. It’s good to talk about and raise awareness, because the more we talk about it, the more it reduces the shame and stigma around pregnancy loss.

Clinical psychologist Chris Barnes, who works with expectant and new parent support charity Gidget Foundation Australia, says most people don’t expect there to be serious complications with a pregnancy. Barnes says grief is a personal journey, but having people around who will listen and are trusted is key.

There is a wide array of feelings – anger, sadness, guilt, emptiness, often people feel like their bodies have failed them – a lot of things can happen.

The overarching thing for me is that it’s not about letting go of that pregnancy or baby, it’s about finding an enduring connection as you go through life and keeping that connection.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636

Updated

Landmarks in Canberra to be lit up to remember babies lost during pregnancy

Six babies are stillborn each day in Australia. Stillbirth is a term used for the loss of a pregnancy after 20 weeks, but there are also one in five Australian women who will miscarry before 20 weeks, according to statistics.

Miscarriage is the most common pregnancy complication. However, research from the Gidget Foundation Australia found the most common challenge for those who experience a miscarriage is feeling alone in their grief.

The research also showed people commonly felt others dismissed or minimised their loss.

International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day today highlights the frequency and impact of miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death.

ACT health says that landmarks across the nation’s capital will be lit up for the occasion.

-with AAP

Major expansion of NSW recycling scheme

Hundreds of millions more bottles could be recycled each year under a planned expansion of the NSW container refund scheme, AAP reports.

Glass wine and spirit bottles, and larger containers, are due to be added to the state’s Return and Earn program, which pays 10c for every eligible bottle, can or carton deposited at drop-off sites.

Environment Minister James Griffin today said public consultation was open for the planned expansion, which could lead to another 400 million eligible bottles being recycled every year.

The scheme expansion would boost recycling rates, reduce landfill, and supercharge our push towards a circular economy in NSW.

Eligible items are currently limited to smaller containers like soft drink cans and beer bottles, as well as some cartons.

The planned expansion would also include larger containers for drinks like flavoured milk, fruit juice and cordials.

Industry and environmental groups welcomed the changes, calling on other states to introduce a harmonised national program.

Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association chief executive Gayle Sloan said putting more material in the successful NSW scheme meant a higher chance of resource recovery. She said:

As an industry we want to turn beverage containers back into beverage containers and these product stewardship schemes are the best chance of doing this.

Since the NSW container recycling scheme was introduced in 2017, more than eight billion containers have been returned for around $800m in refunds.

Griffin said the scheme started as a litter-reduction tool and it had helped cut drink container waste by more than 50 per cent.

Shepparton told to evacuate

The Victorian SES are warning the regional city of Shepparton to evacuate immediately.

As mentioned on the blog earlier, Victorian police assistant commissioner, David Clayton, said at a press conference earlier today:

We anticipate that in the coming days, we are going to see some of the largest evacuations that we have ever seen. Please heed those warnings and evacuate when you’re asked to.

Updated

Volunteers and ADF helping sandbagging in Victoria

As we mentioned on the blog earlier, Victoria’s premier, Dan Andrews, announced that, in a first for the state, Australian defence personnel are supporting the flood response.

The federal defence minister, Richard Marles, has also released a statement saying that 80 personnel are helping sandbag, with more on standby to support evacuation efforts tomorrow.

In the northern Victorian regional city of Shepparton, volunteers have answered a callout to help fill sandbags as record flooding is expected later this evening.

Updated

Bougainville president hits out at 'veiled threats' from Richard Marles

The defence minister and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, last week visited Papua New Guinea to firm up the defence relationship between the two nations.

However, the president of Bougainville, Ishmael Toroama, has taken issue with comments made by Marles during that visit, which he says in his view come as “veiled threats” to the nation which voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence from Papua New Guinea three years ago.

So what did Marles say?

Asked by a reporter about Bougainville at a joint press conference with the prime minister, James Marape, at Port Moresby on Thursday, the defence minister said:

As a witness to the arrangements that were put in place in respect of Bougainville more than 20 years ago, our job is to support Papua New Guinea. And that’s what we’re going to do. So our job is to support Papua New Guinea, in the decisions that it makes around what arrangements take place in the future. It is absolutely not our role to articulate views there. Our role is to support the prime minister and the government of Papua New Guinea, in the decisions that it makes in respect of the future of Bougainville, and we stand ready to do that.

Toroama has now released a statement saying Marles’s comments come as “the very first time [Australia] has come out clear…to support the Government of Papua New Guinea on the issue of Bougainville’s independence aspirations.”

He said Australia has maintained its neutrality since the cessation of the Bougainville civil war and the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001, of which Australia was a signatory. But he says these comments come as a “very clear indication” Australia will no longer remain impartial in implementing the provisions of the agreement.

It has become clear now why our requests for resources and assistance for independence preparatory related activities such as the Bougainville Constitutional Planning Commission have been ignored.

The statements by the Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles are in my view veiled threats being issued to the government and people of Bougainville as he boasts about the military cooperation between the two countries.

We have remained passive recipients of piecemeal contributions and boomerang aid from the Australian government but Mr Marles sentiments have now shown Australia’s true intentions for Bougainville.

I assure the governments of PNG and Australia that my government and my people do not take kindly to threats and we will never kowtow to neocolonialists that seek to usurp the sovereignty of Pacific island nations with their bullying tactics and intimidation.

Australia has maintained its neutrality. This is the very first time it has come out clear, without much surprise to us, to support the government of Papua New Guinea on the issue of Bougainville’s independence aspirations.

Updated

Images from the Maribyrnong flood clean-up

Photographer Chris Hopkins has been in Maribyrnong in Melbourne for the flood clean-up and has captured some remarkable images, which you can see below:

Priest Aragachew Semo blesses the local Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which has been hit by flood waters.
Priest Aragachew Semo blesses the local Ethiopian Orthodox church, which has been hit by flood waters. Photograph: Chris Hopkins/The Guardian
The Carroll and Prpa family takes a break from cleaning the mess left by flood waters in Maribyrnong, Melbourne.
The Carroll and Prpa family takes a break from cleaning the mess left by flood waters in Maribyrnong, Melbourne. Photograph: Chris Hopkins/The Guardian
Parishioners begin cleaning the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Parishioners begin cleaning the Ethiopian Orthodox church. Photograph: Chris Hopkins/The Guardian
Angelica Prpa hugs a neighbour after flood waters ruined her home in Maribyrnong.
Angelica Prpa hugs a neighbour after flood waters ruined her home in Maribyrnong. Photograph: Chris Hopkins/The Guardian

Updated

Unions and crossbench welcome expansion of paid parental leave

Sally McManus, the secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), has described Labor’s pledge to expand paid parental leave to six months by 2026 as a “huge step forward for working parents”.

Meanwhile Monique Ryan, the independent member for Kooyong, has joined Zoe Daniel and Zali Steggall in praising the initiative as one which will improve gender equity.

Updated

Shorten warns insurance companies ‘now is not the time to play games’

Circling back to Bill Shorten’s interview with ABC News this morning, as his electorate of Maribyrnong is one of many areas across New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania having to deal with the aftermath of major flooding.

Shorten says he understands those in northern Tasmania and central Victoria, particularly around Rochester, are particularly “doing it hard”.

Unfortunately the nation is becoming a lot better at natural disasters because we are having more of them. There will be some modest payments available for people who have suffered hardship, $1,000 payments for adults, $400 for kids, hopefully all the necessary paperwork will be done for that to flow in the next couple of days, for people to make claims.

I just want to put it out to insurance companies, where people had insurance, this is a real flood, now is not the time to play games, we want to see people with insurance being supported.

Shorten also speaks about how he knows his own electorate of Maribyrnong is one of many which has seen vital community infrastructure damaged.

This is a community area, the pub is there, a lot of community sporting infrastructure, clubhouses, people use the river recreationally, and we will have to work with the state government and the council to see what we can do to assist and get the community back up on its feet.

Updated

A look at how home loan rate options across Australia stack up

With interest rate volatility picking up, many of us are wondering what to do when our fixed-rate mortgage comes due ... fix again or go variable.

We explore some of the parameters in this piece today:

It’s worth noting how people are overwhelmingly choosing not to fix their interest rate when taking on new loans. (It’s a curious point of difference when you consider most people in, say, the US, opt for long-term loans out to 30 years on a fixed rate.)

It does seem to come down to what the “sticker price” is now. Still, as the piece details (thanks to RateCity for doing the number crunching), it does matter what happens to interest rates in the future as to whether it’s worth switching.

Meanwhile, as of yesterday, investors were betting that the RBA has a way to go on its rate-hiking. In fact, they’re predicting the cash rate will get above 4% in the second half of next year (up from 2.6% as of this month).

Updated

We’ve just brought you what the prime minister has told the NSW Labor state conference. Here are some of the images from that speech Anthony Albanese’s colleagues have shared.

Updated

‘We are seeking to rebuild … the purpose and value of government’: PM

Albanese ends his speech on a note that Labor is attempting to rebuild hope in government:

Australians in every state and territory voted for us, trusted in us, not just because we promised to be a different government, but we promised to be a better government. A government that treats people with respect, at a time when democracy is under challenge, when disinformation is rife and disillusionment with institutions is rising. We are seeking to rebuild trust and faith and hope in the purpose and value of government.

Anthony Albanese addresses delegates during the NSW Labor state conference in Sydney
Anthony Albanese addresses delegates during the NSW Labor state conference. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Updated

‘If not now, when?’: Albanese affirms commitment on Indigenous voice

We will hold a referendum on a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament in the next financial year.

Now I know that from time to time some commentators have said, ‘Oh, this is a risk.’ No team ever won a grand final by not running on the field.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was five years in the making from 2012 to 2017. It has been five years since that generous, gracious statement was made, so I say this – if not now, when? If not now, when?

The constitution is our nation’s birth certificate. Constitutional recognition will recognise that our history didn’t begin in 1788, we should be proud that it goes back at least 60,000 years.

It will give respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, but it will also give all Australians a greater sense of who we are, of the privilege we have to share this continent with the oldest continuous culture on Earth. We should all be proud of that.

It will also send a message to the world that we are a mature, confident nation on the road to reconciliation.

Updated

Budget will close the book on a wasted decade, PM says

Anthony Albanese speaks at the NSW Labor state conference in Sydney
Anthony Albanese speaks at the NSW Labor state conference in Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Anthony Albanese has now got to the upcoming October budget:

Ten days from now, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will deliver the first Labor budget in a decade. It will be a true Labor budget. Responsible, fair and reforming, and it will be a budget that closes the book on a wasted decade that has weakened our economy and held back our nation.

Of course we understand that not every problem can be solved in one budget or even one term of government. We all know that progress demands patience and change can be painstaking. Building to last always takes time. But this is not an excuse to delay. It is the reason we must begin.

Albanese has flagged funding for the energy transition, aged care and the national broadcaster as some of the areas that will benefit in the next budget.

After a wasted decade, my team and I are determined not to waste a day. After nine years of division and denial and dysfunction on energy policy, we are lifting Australia’s ambitions on climate change. After nine years of wage suppression, we’re getting wages moving again. After nine years of shameful neglect in aged care, we’re taking action to fix the crisis. After nine years of attacks on our national broadcaster, we’re restoring funding certainty to the ABC.

Updated

Albanese announces expansion of paid parental leave

The big ticket of the prime minister’s speech is, of course, the announcement that Labor will be expanding paid parental leave to six months.

Anthony Albanese says:

Today, I’m proud to announce that the first budget of our Labor government will deliver the biggest boost to paid parental leave since it was created by the former Labor government in 2011. We will expand paid parental leave to 26 weeks. A full six months.

By 2026, every family with a new baby will be access a total of six months paid leave shared between the two parents. And single parents will be able to access all 26 weeks. We will give families more leave and more flexibility to ensure the system works in a way that’s best for them.

Our plan will mean more families take up this leave, share in that precious time, and share the caring responsibilities more equally. This plan will support dads who want to take time off work to be more involved in those early months. It’s a modern policy for modern families. It delivers more choice. It offers greater security. And, importantly, it rewards aspiration.

Albanese says the expansion of parental leave will also deliver economic benefits:

And just like the cheaper childcare that we are delivering, this is economic reform. This was one of the strongest points of consensus and one of the clearest calls for action from our jobs and skills summit.

Businesses, unions, experts and economists all understand that one of the best ways to boost productivity and participation across our economy is to provide more choice and more support for families and more opportunity for women.

And let me be very clear, the government views this as the foundation, the baseline, a national minimum standard. And we’re encouraged that there are already enlightened employers across Australia competing to offer working parents the best possible deal, and we want to see more of it.

Because a parental leave system that empowers the full and equal participation of women will be good for business, good for families and good for our economy.

Updated

PM tells NSW Labor state conference Morrison's secret ministries 'beyond belief'

Anthony Albanese speaks at the NSW Labor state conference in Sydney
Anthony Albanese speaks at the NSW Labor state conference in Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

That press conference in Victoria has ended, and I’ll bring you now some of what the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has been telling the NSW Labor state conference in Sydney.

He begins acknowledging the disaster unfolding elsewhere in the country:

I want to begin by saying that on this beautiful Sydney day, I know all of us are thinking of our friends and fellow Australians facing rising flood waters. To everyone in western New South Wales, in Victoria, in northern Tasmania, you are in our thoughts and our government stands ready to do whatever we can to help, wherever it is needed

Albanese thanks those who have been working towards the NSW state election in March and supporting Chris Minns in his bid to become premier. Albanese says the federal victory helps create momentum at the state level too:

This victory’s a heavy responsibility. But also, it’s a great reward. It’s why Chris Minns and his team are seeking government in March. It’s why Prue Carr has come back to the fight. Friends, this is why Labor always seeks government. For the chance to change the nation for the better. To build for the future. To implement the reforms that transform lives. To pass on a better deal and greater opportunity to the next generation.

Albanese also touches on the Scott Morrison secret ministries saga in his opening address:

Now it’s still, frankly, beyond belief that the last prime minister, a man addicted to saying “that’s not my job”, was going around secretly swearing himself in to other people’s jobs!

Well, delegates, unlike the last occupant, I have a great team. A team that I trust.

Updated

‘Don’t go back there in basic footwear,’ SES warns residents returning to their homes

Wiebusch concludes:

As the flood waters start to recede, you will start to see the evacuation messages removed and a safe to return message replacing it. When you see those messages, that is where you need to think about what will you need to do before can you go back into your property.

If your property has seen flood waters inside, you need to be checking your gas and electricity services by a professional. Be thinking about and working through who that might be now. We are advising people to make sure you are wearing strong boots and gloves. Don’t go back there in basic footwear and other clothing. Be prepared for the conditions that you might find your property.

1800 226 226 is the Victorian hotline for any services that you may need to access information from, whether it is flood warnings through to relief and recovery.

Updated

Wangaratta peaking today as orders lifted for Maribyrnong

Wiebusch says:

If we go around then to the Ovens and King which combine at Wangaratta. At Wangaratta we are expecting a peak of 12.8 this morning. An evacuation message is out for part of Wangaratta around the Parfitt Road levy. We have had techs out there this morning checking the levee. It is structurally sound and people are safe. If you are behind the levy, the message is to be out of that area until the flood waters subside.

At Mount Emu Creek, good news at Skipton, where we have seen the flood peak occur. There has been inundation of some properties in and around the township of Skipton but it is now receding. Emu Creek. We are seeing the convergence of the Leigh and Barwon rivers at Geelong. We are expecting moderate flood levels just below major, which means the sporting grounds there, caravan parks and some properties, around a dozen, will be impacted by flood waters into this weekend.

Finally, across the metropolitan area, the Maribyrnong River has now dropped just below minor flood level. The evacuation warning was lifted this morning with a safe to return message now current. There is a community meeting for Maribyrnong residents at 12 today where you can get information on relief and recovery services but also some of the safe to return actions that you can take.

On the Werribee River, we are expecting minor flooding to continue for another couple of days into early next week.

Finally, on the Yarra River, we are seeing moderate flooding in the upper reaches from Yarra Glen through to Coldstream and that is likely to continue at that level for a couple of days.

Updated

Major flooding at Shepparton ‘commencing at lunchtime today’, SES says

Wiebusch says:

That flood water will reach Shepparton on the Goulburn but join up with the flooding that has been occurring on the Broken River and Seven and Castle creeks. With those three drivers combining we expect a flood height of around 12 metres between Shepparton and Maroopna commencing at lunchtime today and moving to a peak on Tuesday.

An evacuation warning is out for Mooroopna, Shepparton, Kialla and Murchison right now. Now is the time to leave. We are going to see flood levels on the Goulburn where it meets at Shepparton … that is equivalent to 1974. These are record flood levels and over the coming days all of this water will continue to move towards the Murray River.

Updated

SES warns of further flood warnings for Campaspe River

Tim Wiebusch from the Victorian SES has provided an update about flood risks over the coming days, starting in the west of the state:

The Wimmera River is currently at major flood level at five metres around Glenorchy and that is just below what we saw as the record flood in January 2011. That flood water will move downstream early next week and on Monday at Horsham we will see low-end major flooding at around 3.7 metres.

Major flood warning to occur around Charlton. An evacuation warning was issued for Charlton yesterday and again we can’t emphasise that when we issue an evacuation warning, that is serious. We are asking people to leave and not stay in their homes. We are expecting levels just below what we saw in 2010, which is below the record flood of 2011.

On the Campaspe River, last night we saw at Rochester at peak at 115.7 AHD, that is 300mm above the record flood of January 2011. Sadly last night, as you just heard from assistant commissioner Clayton, we had 160 rescues in and around Rochester for people who had chosen to stay and not leave, despite the evacuation warnings.

We are going to see further evacuation warnings on the Campaspe River at Echuca later today and into Sunday. Again, for the community at Echuca, you need to be ready and preparing to evacuate in parts of Echuca. Also for Echuca, there will be a second peak which will come from the Murray River which will be mid to late next week. For Echuca residents, the first peak is later today into Sunday from the Campaspe River and then the Murray River midweek to the end of the week.

If we go around to the Goulburn River. As we have seen at Seymour, we saw that record peak of 8.26 metres. That has fallen yesterday to 7.4 metres. Goulburn Valley Water are releasing further inflows out of the dam and that will see the major flood level go back up to around about 7.5 metres and will sustain at that level for a couple of days. We are not expecting it to go anywhere near what the peak was at 8.26 metres. That flood water is moving downstream and there is evacuation warnings now in place for Murchison. Murchison has started to reach the major flood level already and will continue to peak over the next 24 hours.

Updated

More than 350 flood rescues in Victoria, police say

The Victoria police assistant commissioner, David Clayton, has provided an update about rescues over the last 24 hours:

I can report that emergency services agencies have responded to over 350 rescues during the flood event.

Of those rescues, more than 200 have been to homes, 150 to people driving through flood waters and 10 to capsized tinnies.

… I just want to talk you through what a rescue looks like. A standard rescue in a boat has a crew of three skilled operators who will respond to a rescue. If it is a swift water rescue, we have eight personnel involved in every rescue who are highly skilled, technically, and trained to a high level but they are difficult and dangerous rescues that sometimes, most often can be avoided.

A rescue involving a helicopter has four operators. A pilot, a winch operator, a person who will go down the winch and also a flight operator. Often that can be a perilous activity given the weather conditions and the environment they are trying to rescue somebody from.

We have seen examples where we have rescued people from vehicles where they should not have entered that swift-moving water. We have had a rescue of a truck driver in really difficult circumstances, where there were power lines and those operators were at peril because somebody chose to drive through flood waters.

We would ask you to make sure you drive to the conditions and heed the warnings that are provided. Police remain in areas that are evacuated to ensure that there is no looting. We have no reports of looting and there will be zero tolerance to any looting. We anticipate that in the coming days, we are going to see some of the largest evacuations that we have ever seen. Please heed those warnings and evacuate when you’re asked to.

Updated

Extra workers to be recruited to help Victoria’s ongoing recovery efforts

Andrews says:

We continue our discussions with the federal government, they are unfolding well.

We think we will have places for around 250 people for multiple weeks, and to that end we have already begun the process of recruiting the necessary staff, between 80 and 100 staff, that would be required to support those 250 people and we will continue to update you on that.

Updated

Man’s death shows ‘just how serious this is’

Andrews says:

It is my sad duty to have to confirm that a 71-year-old man has been found deceased in the back yard of his property in Rochester. We send our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

It is a proud and very tight local community and they will all be saddened to hear of one of their number passing away. I just make the point, we will stand with that family and all families affected by this, but it just brings home for all of us that this is serious, this is potentially very, very dangerous and our sympathies are with that family.

That sends a broader message of just how serious this is and that is why we are all working as hard as we possibly can to make sure people are safe.

Updated

‘Positive response’ from bank CEOs to defer or waive mortgage payments, premier says

Andrews says:

Yesterday I wrote to the banks and asked them to take urgent steps to defer or waive mortgage payments and other payments for flood-affected families and businesses.

I am pleased to see a positive response from those bank CEOs, that is a really important thing we can do to take pressure off people.

If you know that those payments won’t have to be made for a little while, that takes a little bit of pressure off at a very difficult time. I thank them for their partnership and their prompt response to the letter that I sent to them yesterday.

Updated

466 Victorian homes with above-floor flooding and 500 properties isolated

Andrews says 3,000 Victorians have already applied for emergency payments and that the government will process those payments “as fast as we possibly can”.

That works out just over $2,000 for impacted families and it is about helping them with somewhere to stay, clothing, food, medicine, all of those basics that are critically important at a very difficult time for them. That support means a lot.

We remain in a situation where we have some 500 homes that we know of - in fact it’s 466. So the estimates that were made yesterday, about 500 homes had above the floor flooding – 500 – it has turned out to be 466 and we think there are still 500 properties that are isolated – not flooded but isolated. Those numbers will change, almost certainly the numbers will grow as we see flood waters peak in a number of communities, the details of which I will leave to others to go through today.

Updated

Urgent repair works under way as 344 roads closed in Victoria

Andrews says:

We currently have 344 roads that are closed. That number changes hourly. Major roads are assessed twice per day.

There is a number of urgent repair works that have already started. A number of contractors on our big build who we have reached out to, to provide us with temporary support to do some significant repair work. That work has already started.

We have to get assessments completed first, see water subside and then get in and do urgent repairs.

We may have to go back and redo that work at a later point but on major arterials and key roads for local communities, getting them open is the priority.

Expense will not be an issue. We will spend what needs to be spent in order to make sure communities can be joined up, connected as quickly as possible.

Updated

Federal government will support Victorian recovery, Andrews says

Andrews says he has spoken with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, this morning.

I spoke with the prime minister this morning and he reiterated the national government support for our efforts now and clean-up and recovery beyond that.

Updated

Daniel Andrews says ADF is supporting Victorian flood efforts

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is giving a press conference in Melbourne about flooding in the state.

He says:

We have 14 relief centres that are open now. Details and addresses of those are on the website.

We have 10 choppers up in the air providing assessment of damage but also moving people around, moving cargo around to support those affected communities.

There are 55 sandbag collection points that are open across the state.

We have a number of ADF requests that are on foot and I want to thank our partners in the Australian Defence Force who, for the first time – I think it is genuinely a first – we have had a number of local ADF personnel particularly supporting communities in central Victoria and northern Victoria coming out of barracks in the north-east.

Updated

Pocock calls for more regulation on agricultural chemicals

Guardian Australia has been reporting on the issue of pesticides in Australian food in our series ‘Toxic Nation.’

Australian food is treated with dozens of chemicals that are banned from use in other countries. Our rural editor Gabrielle Chan has sat down with Independent ACT Senator David Pocock who has joined the ranks of those speaking out against agricultural chemicals.

Pocock says:

I think there’s a growing awareness that we probably should be concerned about the level of pesticides in our food.

You can read the full interview here:

Updated

Man found dead in Rochester floodwaters

Victoria has recorded its first flood fatality.

A 54-year old man has died after being found unconscious in a backyard swimming pool in the regional northern Victorian town of Rochester.

The man died last night and was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Saturday morning.

Updated

NSW SES conduct seven flood rescues overnight

Communities across southern and western New South Wales are still on alert for flooding as waters continue to rise on the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers.

The Lachlan River reached major flood level in the central-west town of Forbes yesterday, with its CBD still cut off. The SES say 2200 residents and 250 homes had been affected.

Further down the Lachlan River, the search for missing 63-year old man Phillip Alvaro at Helston (about 300km north-west of Wagga Wagga) continues.

NSW SES southern zone commander Benjamin Pickup spoke to ABC News earlier this morning.

At the moment the focus is the Lachlan River in the Forbes community where we have seven evacuation orders in place.

Downstream at the Murrumbidgee River, at Wagga Wagga, we have a prepared to evacuate for Narrandera as well, for low-lying areas.

We continue to see major flood warnings across the Murray River with a significant rainfall events they have in Victoria yesterday on the day before. There will be a focus going through the next week.

Pickup said the SES received 213 requests for assistance and seven flood rescues overnight.

We encourage people to not drive or walk into floodwater.

Independents welcome expansion of paid parental leave expansion

Independent members of parliament Zoe Daniel and Zali Steggall have expressed their support for the government’s expansion of paid parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks.

The increase to six months will be rolled out with an extra fortnight added each year until 2026. The leave will also be flexible, allowing parents to take blocks between periods of work but the “use it or lose it” provisions will remain.

Daniel highlighted those provisions are important for achieving gender equality in so far as both mothers and fathers taking leave.

Use it or lose it leave for dads is really important to encourage dads to spend time with their babies and to enable more family flexibility.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will be making a speech later today officially announcing the measure at the NSW Labor state conference.

You can read the full story from my colleague Josh Butler here:

Updated

Rivers likely to remain high for a few weeks, BOM says

However, How goes on to say rivers are likely to remain high for a few weeks:

We have seen extremely high rainfall totals but that cold front moving through over the last few days, the highest rainfall totals were through the northern part Tasmania where we saw falls up to 400mm, over and above many times the October average and many other communities recorded more than 100mm.

In Victoria, falls up to 220mm particularly across the Divide and north of that as well. Many places did set October rainfall daily records including Mildura, One Hill, Bendigo and into southern New South Wales we saw records broken at Broken Hill with rainfall totals well above the total rainfall records and averages, so a huge amount of rainfall to come over a few days.

Catchments are very, very wet and rivers have responded very, very quickly. And these rivers are expected to remain high for at least a few weeks.

Over the next few days, we are looking at the dry sky, so we will see the river start to subside gradually, but near the coast rivers will drain a little bit faster, but we are keeping an eye on the next system coming through.

And showers will be increasing for South Australia and Queensland:

Across the northern parts of South Australia, so showers increasing for South Australia and Queensland and then through to next Saturday and Sunday, looking at widespread showers and thunderstorms which can of course produce flash flooding, but looking like more widespread showers all the way up the east coast between 25-30mm, so he that will likely lead to further river rises.

Updated

Heavy rain has cleared in southern Victoria and Tasmania: BOM

Jonathan How from the Bureau of Meteorology has spoken to ABC News about the severe weather, saying the heavy rain has cleared in southern Victoria and Tasmania.

Overnight we did see rainfall totals of 5-15 millimetres across parts of southern Victoria and Tasmania, but the good news is that the heavy rain has cleared but we are seeing ongoing flooding for New South Wales and Victoria.

First in Melbourne, flood warnings out for the Maribyrnong and Werribee rivers. Keep following the advice of local police and SES, but at tension is very much through the northern and inland parts of Victoria.

To the Goulburn River, some areas did see major record flood levels already, and will impact down stream Warburton and Shepparton today. Other locations include tonne as well as Forbes in New South Wales and Lachlan. They are also experiencing major flooding.

Updated

Peak of Tasmanian flooding extending into next 24 hours

Leon Smith, the acting director for Tasmania’s State Emergency Service, has spoken to ABC News about the severe weather in the state:

The north and the north-west of Tasmania had the highest level of rainfall. Record-breaking rainfall over the previous few days. That rainfall accumulated at altitude and made its way down the landscape into the riverine.

The last flooding of significance was in 2016, but the rainfall in 2022 we’ve experienced has exceeded a lot of those values and has been far-reaching by comparison to that previous event.

The state’s quite diverse, from the north-west, the topography changes from the north-west to the north. We’ve got a situation in the state at the moment whereby we are starting to see the rivers recede in the riverine systems. There’s a combination of people returning in the north-east in a methodical and managed manner.

However, in the north, there’s a different situation whereby we’re actively still monitoring that and monitoring the peak period, which is expected to extend into the next 12-24 hours.

Updated

Sikh volunteers deliver meals to flood affected communities

As is often the case with natural disasters, amid the devastation, kindness also shines through.

Updated

Shepparton prepares for major flooding to hit by evening

While floodwaters are receding in some parts of Victoria, for some areas such as Shepparton, north-east of Melbourne, the worst is yet to come.

Major flooding is predicted to hit the regional Victorian city by this evening, with predictions it could exceed 1974 flood levels and reach up to 12 metres.

The Shepparton mayor, Shane Sali, has just spoken to ABC News from the showgrounds where there is a “massive line” for sandbags. Sali is urging those who have been issued with evacuation orders to follow them.

At this point, Murchison, which is where the water will be heading effectively as we are speaking now, the most important thing we’re wanting to do now is get the messaging out there clear as we possibly can to ensure that if you have been notified to evacuate your premises, that you please do that. Act as early as you possibly can, if you are not in those affected areas right now but may be effected through the floods in Shepparton and Mooroopna, and keep up to date with all the information on social media platforms.

We are going to have a significant amount of water come down to Mooroopna and Shepparton, which are highly populated areas here in greater Shepparton, so we are asking community members to be calm but react accordingly and prepare as best you possibly can for what is due over the course of the next 24 to 48 hours.

Sali says there is support from the Australian Defence Force as well as volunteers following a call to the community put out overnight.

We had significant amounts of people turn up and support us with filling sandbags in the really early part of this morning … so it is a big community effort and with events like this that is what we need, we need everyone to rally behind each other and that is how we get through it.

Updated

Bill Shorten says his electorate’s resilience tested by worst flood in 50 years

One of the worst hit areas by flooding has been the inner-western Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong, where residents had to be evacuated and emergency services used boats to rescue people trapped by the floods. This is just one of the images from yesterday:

Emergency workers look at a submerged car on a flooded street in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong on October 14, 2022.
Emergency workers look at a submerged car on a flooded street in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong on October 14, 2022. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

While the Maribyrnong River is receding, the area remains littered with debris from the flooding and many houses have mud up to their front door steps.

The local member for Maribyrnong is NDIS minister Bill Shorten who spoke to ABC News this morning:

They are upset. They are resilient people here, they live near a river, but this river hasn’t flooded like this for 50 years. It moved very quickly. After the adrenaline and exhilaration and fear of yesterday, it is now sinking in, the river has receded which is great, it is down a lot, where we are now the river would have been over the top of our head. But it is the cleanup, and people will want support, and certainly that is why I am down here today.

Updated

Clean up begins for flood affected communities

Flood waters are starting to ease in some inundated areas, but of course that’s not the end of it for those communities who will now have to start the clean up.

The local member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters shared this image of a bridge and road linking Heathcote to Bendigo.

Yesterday, a sinkhole opened up in the carpark of Echuca Primary School.

Data breach strikes 2.2m customers of Woolworths subsidiary

MyDeal, the online retail marketplace of supermarket giant Woolworths, has announced that 2.2m of its customers have had their personal details compromised in a data breach.

The company says that a compromised user credential was used to gain unauthorised access to its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, resulting in the exposure of customer data including names, email addresses, phone numbers, delivery addresses and birth dates.

Woolworths Group completed the acquisition of 80% of the online marketplace on 23 September 2022.

The company has released a statement saying:

The MyDeal customer data which has been accessed includes customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, delivery addresses and, in some instances, the date of birth of customers (who have previously been required to prove their age when purchasing alcohol). For 1.2 million customers involved in the breach only their email addresses were exposed.

MyDeal does not store payment, driver’s licence or passport details and no customer account passwords or payment details have been compromised in this breach. The customer data was accessed within the MyDeal CRM system and the Mydeal.com.au website and app have not been impacted.

The MyDeal.com.au data network and CRM system is operated on a completely separate platform to Woolworths Group. There has been no compromise of any other Woolworths Group platforms or the Woolworths Group customer or Everyday Rewards records.

The company says they are in the process of contacting the approximately 2.2 million affected customers by email, and that customers who are not contacted will not have had their details accessed in the breach.

MyDeal CEO Sean Senvirtne said:

We apologise for the considerable concern that this will cause our affected customers. We have acted quickly to identify and mitigate unauthorised access and have increased the monitoring of networks. We will continue to work with relevant authorities as we investigate the incident and we will keep our customers fully informed of any further updates impacting them.

Woolworths Group chief security officer Pieter van der Merwe said:

Woolworths Group’s cyber security and privacy teams are fully engaged and working closely with MyDeal to support the response.

Updated

Indigenous rally against South Australian nuclear dump

An Indigenous group fighting the construction of a nuclear waste dump in South Australia will rally against the proposal this weekend, AAP reports.

The Barngarla traditional owners and their supporters will march through Port Augusta from midday on Saturday, about 150 kilometres from the Kimba dump site.

The Barngarla are also fighting the plan in the Federal Court, arguing they were not properly consulted by the previous federal coalition government in the site selection process.

Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation Chairman Jason Bilney said:

We do not want radioactive waste on our lands, we have been very clear about this.

We were ignored and excluded by the last government and we are asking federal Labor to right these wrongs and scrap the Kimba waste dump plan.

In November last year, the previous government announced it had acquired 211 hectares at Napandee, near Kimba, with the proposed facility subject to heritage, design and technical studies.

If constructed, the site would be used to store low-level nuclear waste currently spread across more than 100 facilities including universities and hospital basements.

The vast majority of nuclear waste in Australia is associated with the production of nuclear medicine.

Here are some visuals from Victoria, as towns like Elmore remain inundated.

In Melbourne this morning, the Maribyrnong river is expected to drop below a minor flood level, but dozens of residents are still unable to return home.

Updated

Good morning!

Parts of Victoria are in the midst of their worst flooding in decades with more than 500 homes damaged and another 500 others cut off.

Emergency evacuation orders are in force this morning for several communities, including Charlton Township at the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, Rochester along the Campaspe River, low-lying parts of Benalla on the Broken River gateway, Murchison along the Goulburn River, south-west of Shepparton, and Maribyrnong in Melbourne.

Another evacuation order was issued for residents of the north-eastern town of Wangaratta on Saturday morning for properties within the Parfitt Road levee system. It said major flooding was occurring on the Ovens River at Wangaratta, where the river was expected to reach 12.8m this morning.

Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley is bracing for its worst flood since 1974, with the Goulburn River set to reach the major threshold on Sunday before peaking there on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, residents in flood-hit parts of Tasmania face an anxious wait for rivers to subside before they are permitted to begin assessing damage.

Evacuation orders remained in place along the Mersey and Meander rivers in the north-west last night after record-breaking rain across the state’s top half. The town of Deloraine in the north-west is among the worst affected, with aerial footage showing flooding of properties and businesses.

A reprieve from rainfall is forecast for most of New South Wales in the coming days, but the Bureau of Meteorology says renewed flooding is still possible or parts of central west and southwest inland rivers before more rain will lash towns such as Gundagai from mid-next week.

Warnings for renewed flooding from recent rainfall are current for the Belubula, Gwydir and Macquarie rivers.

The main flood peak along the Lachlan River is now approaching Forbes, where major flooding is occurring and river levels were expected to peak near 10.6m overnight. These floodwaters are also causing major flooding at Cottons Weir, Nanami, and Jemalong.

Late yesterday the Albanese government announced Australian families will soon receive an extra six weeks of paid parental leave in a shake-up designed to get women into work and help households with the cost of living.

An extra fortnight will be added each year until the full 26 weeks is available from July 2026. By that time, every family with a new baby will be able to access a total of six months paid leave, shared between the two parents.

Families will also have access to more leave and greater flexibility, with paid parental leave able to be taken in blocks between periods of paid work. Single parents will be able to access all 26 weeks.

Anthony Albanese will make the announcement during a speech to the NSW Labor state conference today.

Let’s get into it.

Updated

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