Police have revealed that the bodies of two people found in a dam in Queensland’s South Burnett region were chained together, AAP reports. The bodies of a man, identified as Darryl Smith, and a woman in her early 40s were found by a member of the public at the Gordonbrook Dam, about 250km northwest of … Read more
Those earlier posts about the possible mass coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef are alarming not just in their own right, but because it’s extra worrying that such things are possible in a La Niña year. Globally, La Niñas are typically cooler and, for northern Australia, stormier. If we can get mass coral bleaching … Read more
NSW deserves a thorough investigation of what happened in the northern rivers flood disaster to ensure a similar catastrophe is never repeated, Labor says, according to Phoebe Loomes from AAP. Opposition Leader Chris Minns is calling for an upper house parliamentary inquiry to “make sure … it doesn’t happen again”. During the height of the … Read more
NSW Health confirms seventh case of Japanese encephalitis; Labor says China has ‘responsibility’ to call out Russia; Victoria reports eight Covid deaths, 9,426 new cases, NSW reports five deaths, 30,402 cases; Coalition to spend $243m on four mining projects; a man has died in Broken Hill after driving his ute into flood waters. Follow all … Read more
9.23pm GMT 21:23 The federal finance minister, Simon Birmingham, is making the rounds this morning, discussing rising cost of living. Birmingham was on ABC News earlier and was asked about the fuel excise in light of the New Zealand government cutting that tax, but Birmingham was reluctant to commit to anything, repeating Morrison’s lines from … Read more
NRMA says any fuel excise cuts likely to be ‘eaten up’ by soaring prices; Victoria records 5,499 new Covid cases, one death; NSW records 9,911 new cases, one death; cruise ship ban could lift soon; NSW health minister ‘not keen’ on reintroducing Covid restrictions. Follow all the day’s news Lenore Taylor: Guardian Australia is expanding … Read more
6.24am GMT 06:24 In-person visits in Victorian prisons will resume on 12 March, having been restricted as part of Covid control measures. At 6 March, there were 14 total active Covid-19 cases in Victorian correctional facilities according to Corrections Victoria. PK (@paulkidd) People incarcerated in correctional facilities in Victoria will be allowed to have in-person … Read more
4.20am GMT 04:20 Another update from NSW SES – the previous red alert (which we noted a little earlier) has been amended for the moment due to a slight drop in water levels at the Manly Dam. Please keep checking the SES site if you’re nearby though, and we’ll bring you whatever updates we can. … Read more
Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you this morning, and for the start of another week of rain. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, was up this morning, saying an “enormous effort” going into flood recovery, adding that it was an almost it was an “unimaginable” situation. He described the floods as like “nothing in living memory” … Read more
1.48am GMT 01:48 Victoria’s innovation minister Jaala Pulford says the state is looking for 1,500 people who are awaiting their Covid booster to donate blood to help research. The project will be run by the state’s Vaccines Collection biobank at Melbourne’s Doherty Institute, which has been commissioned extensively by the federal government to provide modelling. … Read more