Australia news live: Dutton argues teal voters are not ‘disaffected Liberals’; Qantas plane returns to Sydney after hitting bird | Australian politics

The NSW SES has urged a number of communities to prepare to evacuate due to possible flooding.

They include:

• Cornwallis and eastern parts of Richmond Lowlands.

• The northern part of Pitt Town including Percy’s Place Caravan Park.

• Parts of North Richmond and Camden.

• The Riverside Caravan Park in Cattai.

• Properties in the Gronos Point area including properties along Gronos Farm Road and Manns Road.

The areas are currently under “watch and act” level:

You should monitor the situation and prepare to be isolated by floodwater. Consider the effects isolation will have on family, work, and educational commitments. You may be trapped without power, water, and other essential services and it may be too dangerous for NSW SES to rescue you.

Public faith in police drops sharply

Community confidence in police has dropped sharply since the pandemic, sparking concerns for Queensland’s commissioner, AAP reports.

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Police chief Steve Gollschewski said public faith in other Australian jurisdictions was also on the decline post-Covid, citing Western Australia and Victoria.

Data released by Queensland police on Friday revealed 65.5% of 6,000 people surveyed said they trusted officers, down from 72% in 2021.

Perception of integrity had also fallen with just over 50% saying police treated people fairly and equally, down from 72.9%.

More than two-thirds of respondents were satisfied with police after having contact with them in the past 12 months and 61.3% felt confident to report domestic and family violence.

Gollschewski said other Australian jurisdictions used different methods for collecting public feedback data, but he believed there was enough statistics to indicate a parallel post-Covid decline in police confidence in other states.

The police chief said available data showed community confidence in WA police had dropped 10% to 69% in the same reporting period, while in Victoria, it had decreased from 75% to 58%.

Adam Bandt says Peter Dutton ‘dangerous for Australia’ after opposition leader’s Greens comments

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has bit back at the opposition leader after he claimed Bandt would be “unfit for office” and alleged his party was “evil”.

In a post on X, Bandt said Peter Dutton was attacking the Greens “with the Trumpian language of a dictator, unchallenged by Labor who embraced him all week”.

Peter Dutton in charge would be dangerous for Australia.

The PM may side with Dutton, but Greens will take him on and keep pushing for peace.

Parliament’s question time erupted on Wednesday after Anthony Albanese accused the Greens of spreading misinformation and Dutton alleged the Greens were condoning acts of violence instead of condemning them.

In response, Bandt said the party had expressed support for peaceful protests across the country, and maintained calls for the government to “bring pressure to bear on this extreme Israeli war cabinet”.

Elderly Australians facing up to nine-month wait for home care assistance

Elderly Australians in need of home care support are facing wait times of up to nine months and the situation is only expected to worsen.

The federal government is being urged to address the delays with the number of those in limbo more than doubling to 68,109 over the past 12 months.

A Senate budget estimates hearing on Thursday also revealed those already receiving support are waiting for extra help as their circumstances change.

The federal government’s home care package provides support for Australians with showering, cleaning, cooking and other basic needs. Those who receive the assistance are generally seeking to delay or avoid moving into full-time residential care.

Levels of entitlement range from $10,000 to $59,000 per year, with each recipient assessed on daily fees they can contribute to the care.

As of 31 May, there were 117 people waiting for level one assistance, 17,611 for level two, 36,524 for level three and 13,857 for level four, officials at Senate estimates revealed.

Those currently waiting for level-three assistance face wait times of nine to 12 months, while those seeking a level-four package face a wait of six to nine months.

The 2024–25 budget pledged an additional 24,100 home care packages, but the government is being urged to reduce wait times as the queue grows.

– AAP

Sexual harassment ‘pervasive’ in retail industry, new study finds

Up to half of women and one in four men working in retail have experienced sexual harassment, new research shows, with peak bodies calling on the industry to urgently address the “pervasive” issue.

The report, published by researchers from the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work, found young women under the age of 25 are particularly targeted and often subjected to multiple forms of sexual harassment.

Professor Rae Cooper, the director of the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work, said employers had a legal duty to prevent harm.

These are not isolated incidents, this is happening every day across this large industry, and young people – especially young women – are copping the brunt of it.

The retail industry is a key national employer of young people, and these workplaces have a duty of care to protect their inexperienced workers who are often working their first job. Sexual harassment doesn’t just come from customers – peers and managers are often perpetrators. It is pervasive.

The report recommended researchers improve in workplace reporting mechanisms, data collection, training of staff and managers and communicating outcomes to staff to take the issue seriously.

Severe weather warning for NSW south coast and Illawarra cancelled

A severe weather warning that remained in place for the Illawarra and south coast of New South Wales today has been cancelled, the Bureau has confirmed, though some showers remain.

The surface trough which brought areas of heavy rainfall to parts of the Illawarra and surrounds overnight has now weakened. It will continue to weaken as it moves south, though showers with moderate rainfall rates are expected to persist about southeastern NSW and the ACT for the remainder of Friday.

She’s still wet out there, though, with some significant rainfall in the 24 hours to 9am, including 204mm at Port Kembla, 156mm at Wollongong and 152mm at Kiama.

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Six flood warnings remain in place, including a minor to major warning for the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers.

Yarramundi Bridge inundated by flood waters

A bridge north-east of Sydney has become completely inundated by flood waters.

According to a Live Traffic camera, the Yarramundi Bridge at Agnes Banks – north of Penrith – is completely covered in water. Here it was pictured at just before 3pm this afternoon:

The road was closed in both directions earlier this morning as flood waters rapidly rose. Here was the bridge just before 11am, for comparison:

Motorists can use the Great Western Highway to travel between Lithgow and Sydney, Live Traffic advised.

NSW SES responds to 50 flood rescues after people drove through flood water

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Angus Hines has provided an update on the severe weather and heavy rainfall across NSW:

And the NSW SES has also provided an update this afternoon, with crews responding to more than 510 incidents – 50 of which have been flood rescues after people drove through flood water.

Do not enter flood waters at North Richmond, SES advises

Land clearing could lead to tree mammal extinction, research finds

Land clearing is leading to tree mammal numbers declining in northern Australia as researchers fear it could end in extinction, AAP reports.

A study deployed 187 nest boxes in trees in Garig Gunal Barlu national park in the Northern Territory to see whether the number of hollows was contributing to a decline in mammals that use the habitats. It found 67% of the nest boxes were used by tree mammals at least once.

Lead author Dr Leigh-Ann Wooley, from Charles Darwin University, said “this showed that these declining arboreal mammals were searching for and using new dens where natural hollows were reduced at a local site”.

Researchers are concerned if the loss of trees and natural hollows continues, there could be a sharp decline or extinction of these critical creatures.

Amongst the multitude of threats interacting to cause the decline of these species, such as inappropriate fire, introduced ungulates, and feral predators, habitat quality should not be disregarded when managing threats to improve outcomes for these mammals.

Halting land clearing, protecting hollow-bearing eucalypts and optimising fire regimes to ensure hollow densities and fruiting shrubs are increased are among the solutions to protect the trees and the species.

The research was published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.

And in case you missed it, here is a look at the Warragamba Dam spilling around 10am this morning:

Minor to major flood warning for Hawkesbury-Nepean rivers

Parts of Camden and Ellis Lane told to prepare to evacuate

Meanwhile, other parts of Camden and Ellis Lane have been told to prepare to evacuate. This includes those in:

• Sheathers Lane and Cawdor Road near Matahill Creek, Camden

• Kirkham Lane, Camden

• Poplar Caravan Park, Elderslie

• Properties next to the Macquarie Grove Bridge on Argyle Street, Camden

• Milford Road along Sickles Creek and Ellis Lane north of Sunnyside Drive, Ellis Lane

People are urged to monitor the situation and make the necessary preparations in case they are directed to leave. The NSW SES said bridges and roads may be impacted by floodwater.

Communities in parts of Camden told to prepare to isolate amid rising floodwaters

Qantas plane turns around mid-flight after hitting a bird

A Qantas plane was forced to turn around mid-flight and return to Sydney after hitting a bird earlier this morning.

The Sydney to Auckland flight hit the bird shortly after take-off, Qantas confirmed in a statement.

It landed normally and was cleared to continue operating a little over an hour later. We will reaccommodate customers as soon as possible.

We appreciate our customers’ understanding and apologise for the inconvenience.

Dutton argues teal independents are ‘Greens’, not ‘disaffected Liberals’

Benita Kolovos