What we know today, Wednesday March 2
A third person from Lismore has died in the NSW flood crisis, as Greater Sydney braces for a “rain bomb” forecast to unleash a deluge northwest of the city.
- Fourth person dies in NSW floods as Sydney braces for ‘rain bomb’
- Qld facing $1 billion flood damage bill
- Record enrolment for SA election
- PM tests positive to COVID-19
- Libs pledge $38.8m to ditch transportable classrooms
- Labor chooses Whyalla for $593m hydrogen project
- SA outback search ends in tragedy
- Crows post $1.24m profit as new board members elected
- Govt, union at odds about ‘sharp decline’ in ambulance ramping
- Russia must stop bombs before new talks: Zelenskyy
Fourth person dies in NSW floods as Sydney braces for ‘rain bomb’
A third person from Lismore has died in the NSW flood crisis, bringing the overall death toll to four, as Greater Sydney braces for a “rain bomb” forecast to unleash a deluge northwest of the city.
“We’ve recovered a third body this morning,” NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole told reporters on Wednesday.
“That was a male in the CBD of Lismore. That now takes our total deaths to four.
“This is terrible … one life lost is too many.”
The latest fatality comes after the body of a woman in her 80s was found inside a South Lismore house on Tuesday afternoon. She was the second elderly woman to die after being trapped in a flooded home in the area.
Another man who disappeared in floodwaters in Lismore on Sunday is presumed dead, while a man died on the Central Coast on Friday.
It comes as Greater Sydney braces for potential “life-threatening” flash flooding.
The torrential rain forecast for Sydney and surrounding areas – as much as 200mm – will hit late on Wednesday and early Thursday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Penrith City Council workers load sand bags into residents cars at Jamison Park in Sydney, Wednesday, March 2nd. Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP
Warragamba Dam is overflowing, with Water NSW warning it may continue for up to two weeks, threatening thousands of homes in the Hawkesbury and Nepean area.
The SES received more than 2200 calls for help overnight on Tuesday and undertook 300 flood rescues.
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg says the flood-ravaged city is bracing for more deaths as emergency crews go door-to-door searching homes and businesses “probably with the sole purpose to make more grim discoveries, unfortunately”.
“There’s so many houses to go through, so many people still unaccounted for,” he told ABC TV on Wednesday.
“That is, unfortunately, the main job of the day today and we just really need people to stay away … to let these people do the worst job imaginable.”
There are several flood warnings for the Greater Sydney area, including the Upper Nepean at Menangle, the Hawkesbury River at Richmond and Windsor, the Colo River at Upper Colo and the Georges River.
The communities in the path of the floods are the same ones devastated by floods just a year ago.
Thousands of people spent the night frantically sandbagging their homes and businesses.
People in low-lying areas around Windsor and Pitt Town, northwest of Sydney, have been told to prepare to evacuate.
The slow-moving weather system arrived in Sydney late on Tuesday, dumping rain over parts of the Hunter and Metropolitan, Illawarra, South Coast and parts of Central Tablelands and Southern Tablelands.
Meanwhile, Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke says it’s too early to know exactly how many homes in western Sydney could be impacted by the overflowing Warragamba Dam.
“We know there’s 130,000 residents in and around that area. It depends on exactly where the rain drops and how much it drops, so we are on high alert,” she told the Seven Network.
While the rain has eased in the Northern Rivers region, the crisis is ongoing with some 35,000 people ordered to evacuate.
Qld facing $1 billion flood damage bill
Wreckage at the Hawthorne ferry terminal on the Brisbane river, Tuesday, March 1. Photo: Tertius Pickard/AP Photo)
The damage bill from south east Queensland’s flood disaster could top $1 billion as thousands of home owners begin to assess the scale of damage across the south east.
You might like
The state’s mud army is out in force as tonnes of flood-damaged possessions pile up outside homes and property damaged by the deadly floods.
“It’s clear that the flooding disaster emergency here in the southeast is not over yet, but the recovery process has begun,” Deputy Premier Steven Miles said on Wednesday.
“Early estimates suggests that the damage bill for this disaster could be up to a billion dollars.”
As floodwaters slowly being to recede, volunteers are racing against mother nature with potentially severe storms forecast to batter the southeast in coming days.
More than 8000 volunteers have signed on to help with the massive relief and recover effort underway across the southeast.
While the true extent of the damage is still being assessed, Queensland claim numbers have already topped 13,000 with insurer Suncorp.
“That’s an extraordinary number of claims in a very short period of time,” Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston said.
“The key thing for us will be to get assessors on the ground and we’re doing that in the next 24 hours starting in Gympie.
“And then we’ll work our way down the coast.”
But Johnston said it was already clear the state would be dealing with “large losses” and urged the recovery to “build it back better”.
“There’s also a lot of flash flooding, a lot of damage from that extraordinary weather that we’ve seen.
“The inevitability here is that we are going to be repairing homes that have been repaired three or four times.
“And so what this really brings to bear is the need to build it back better.
Record enrolment for SA election
More than 1.2 million South Australians are eligible to vote in this month’s election, a record for the state poll.
The Electoral Commission of South Australia says 1,266,719 people are enrolled and can cast a ballot at the March 19 poll.
That is an increase of 5.4 per cent on the 1,201,775 who were enrolled ahead of the 2018 election.
Electoral Commissioner Mick Sherry said since January more than 14,000 people aged 18 to 24 had signed up, while more than 80,000 people had updated their enrolment details.
“This is a fantastic result, and we thank South Australians for making sure that their voice is heard at the 2022 state election,” he said.
“As this is the first South Australian state election since COVID-19 began, there are a number of expanded voting options, including early voting centres and postal voting, which will allow eligible electors to vote safely and effectively.
“Voters should also feel safe and confident to attend a polling booth on election day with a raft of COVID safety measures in place.”
Early voting centres across the state open on March 7 and will operate until March 18.
Eligible voters who wish to apply for a postal vote have until March 17 to do so.
Between March 17 and election day, anyone with COVID-19, or required to isolate as a close contact, can pick up a voting pack at selected sites and also vote by post.
PM tests positive to COVID-19
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he has tested positive to COVID-19 and is experiencing “flu-like symptoms”, but will continue to work from home while isolating.
Morrison, who was campaigning with Premier Steven Marshall in Adelaide on Friday, released a statement late on Tuesday to announce his positive result.
“I am experiencing flu-like symptoms and will be recovering over the next week,” he said.
“I had tested myself daily since Sunday, including this morning, with all tests returning a negative result.
“I took a further test this evening after developing a fever late today. The test was inconclusive so I took a PCR test tonight which returned a positive result late this evening.”
Morrison, who is triple vaccinated, had been scheduled to attend an event in Sydney on Tuesday night alongside NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet as the Opera House was lit up with the colours of the Ukrainian flag, but cancelled shortly before 8pm.
Earlier on Tuesday, the PM took part in a meeting of the federal cabinet’s national security committee and held a press conference with Defence Minister Peter Dutton.
He also met Nauru President Lionel Aingimea in Sydney, according to a post on his Twitter account.
Morrison said he was isolating at home in Sydney and “continuing to follow health guidelines”.
He said his wife and two children had tested negative and will isolate for seven days at home as close contacts.
“While in isolation I will continue to discharge all my responsibilities as Prime Minister… focusing on our emergency response to the devastating floods in Queensland and New South Wales, and ensuring we stand with each and every one of the affected communities both now and as the waters eventually recede,” he said.
Libs pledge $38.8m to ditch transportable classrooms
The Liberals are pledging to allocate nearly $40 million towards upgrading transportable classrooms at 20 schools across South Australia if re-elected on March 19.
The project to remove old transportable classrooms will see new “high-quality modular learning spaces” put in their place.
However, the $38.8 million in funding is not an additional investment. The State Government says the money comes from previously unallocated Education Department funds.
“These upgrades will be delivered over the next four years and represent the first stage in what will become an ongoing program for retiring outdated facilities and upgrading school learning environments around South Australia,” Education Minister John Gardner said this morning.
“We want to make those tired transportables from the ’50s and ’60s a thing of the past. I look forward to seeing these outdated buildings transported to their final resting place.
Gardner also pledged to invest $8 million towards the purchase of 25 new large buses for regional school routes which are experiencing increasing demand, and the maintenance of the current school bus fleet.
Premier Steven Marshall is also this morning announcing a plan to discount $100 from the Materials and Services Charge for public school families.
The Liberals claim the scheme will save families up to $12 million a year in 2022 and 2023.
Labor chooses Whyalla for $593m hydrogen project
Artist rendition of Labor’s $593m hydrogen project. Photo: supplied.
Labor has revealed Whyalla as the preferred location for the $593 million Hydrogen Power Station it plans to build if it wins this month’s state election.
Stay informed, daily
The project, which forms the centrepiece of Labor’s energy policy, was first flagged as an election promise in March last year but no location was revealed at the time.
The Opposition said it had received a “comprehensive submission” from the City of Whyalla to host the project, with the area chosen due to its status as a “large industrial city” with a “highly trained workforce and service industry”.
Labor also touted the Eyre Peninsula town’s proximity to a deep-water port along with its air and rail infrastructure.
If elected, Labor says it will form a panel composed of various stakeholders, including the Barngarla people, Whyalla Council, Infrastructure SA and the Mining and Infrastructure Departments, to determine exactly where in Whyalla or Port Bonython the project will be built.
Labor says the project – consisting of a 200MW hydrogen power station, 250MWe worth of hydrogen electrolysers and a hydrogen storage facility – will create up to 300 jobs during construction and 900 jobs through the creation of a hydrogen export industry.
Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas said Whyalla was “the perfect location for our Hydrogen Power Station, given its prime location, proximity to key infrastructure and diverse skills base”.
“South Australia already has a strong reputation for leading Australia and the world when it comes to renewable energy – and this is our next big leap forward,” he said.
SA outback search ends in tragedy
Searchers have found the body of a man who went missing on a motorbike in South Australia’s far north on Saturday.
The 29-year-old had set off on his bike to get help when the 4WD he and a woman were in got bogged near Junction Dam on Stuart Creek Station, 90km north of Roxby Downs, on Saturday.
Police were alerted when family were unable to contact the pair.
“After waiting several hours for his return, the woman left the 4WD on foot,” SA Police said.
She was found on Monday afternoon in a creek line about 100km north of Roxby Downs by a search aircraft and taken to hospital where she was treated for dehydration.
An air and ground search was intensified on Monday with local police, PolAir, family members, local station owners and aircraft involved.
“Sadly, the body of the 29-year-old Roxby Downs man was located near Gregory Creek about 100km north of Roxby Downs, just before 2pm,” SA Police said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
There are no suspicious circumstances and police will prepare a report for the coroner.
Crows post $1.24m profit as new board members elected
The Adelaide Football Club has posted a statutory profit of $1.24 million for 2021, while former newsreader Graeme Goodings and inaugural Crows player Rod Jameson have been elected to the club’s board.
The financial results, announced by Adelaide Chairman John Olsen at the club’s annual general meeting last night, are in stark contrast to the club’s $2.84m statutory loss recorded FY20.
The profit comes off the back of a 25 per cent increase in revenue to $48.11 million and a cash operating profit of $3.59m, with the club touting its “football-first approach” following the sale of its short-lived baseball and esports ventures.
The club’s debt remains at $4.5 million, although Olsen said the club was committed to being debt-free by 2025.
“Ultimately, our top priority is winning games of football and we will invest with a view to ensuring our players, coaches and high-performance staff have all that they need to deliver success,” he said.
“Establishing a state-of-the-art facility will also create a destination for our Members and supporters where they can engage with the Club in a more meaningful manner.”
The club is still on the hunt for a new home after the State Government knocked back their bid to build a facility at the Brompton Gasworks site in favour of a Melbourne-based developer.
Adelaide’s membership base also increased 10 per cent to 60,232 people.
Meanwhile, the results of the club’s board elections were also announced last night, with media personality Graeme Goodings winning comprehensively with 31.8 per cent of the vote.
Former Crows premiership player Rod Jameson was also re-elected to the board, garnering 30.6 per cent of the vote share in the seven-way contest.
Voting results from the Adelaide Football Club board elections. Photo: supplied.
Govt, union at odds about ‘sharp decline’ in ambulance ramping
The paramedics union says the ambulance service entered a critical “Opstat White” status last night, just hours after the State Government trumpeted a “sharp decline” in ramping since October last year.
With Labor vigorously campaigning against the State Government’s record on ambulance response times, the Liberals released new figures on Tuesday afternoon – a month earlier than scheduled – showing ambulance ramping has nearly halved compared to October 2021.
According to the government’s media release, 1522 Transfer of Care hours were lost at hospitals across the state in February – down 47 per cent from the ramping “peak” in October.
“While Labor wants to fearmonger, the latest data is proof that we are making significant progress on reducing ramping in South Australia,” Health Minister Stephen Wade said.
But the Ambulance Employees Association reported that the South Australian Ambulance Service had been forced to declare an “Opstat White” designation at 7pm last night due to stress on the service.
"?Tue 7pm: SA Ambulance now OPSTAT White across Adelaide due to insufficient resources and ramping. ‘Operational capacity, capability and/or resources are insufficient to maintain effective service delivery for high acuity cases’ … ‘Patient safety is directly affected. #saparli pic.twitter.com/FZRl6pd7OW"
"— Ambulance Employees Association (SA) (@aeasa1981) March 1, 2022"
The union also hit back against the State Government’s figures, claiming the decline in ramping can be primarily attributed to the temporary halt on elective surgery – which ended on Monday.
“Ramping primarily results from lack of bed capacity. In Jan/Feb elective surgery was cancelled – in April 2020 elective surgery was also cancelled which showed a temp reduction in ramping,” the AEA tweeted last night.
“With elective surgery resumed ramping has already worsened.”
SA Health has previously stated that it will only release ramping statistics on a quarterly basis. The next data release was not due until April.
Russia must stop bombs before new talks: Zelenskyy
A woman walks her dog near a damaged residential building in Mironova Street in Donetsk after a shelling attack on February 27 Photo: Ryumin/TASS/Sipa USA.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before meaningful talks on a ceasefire can start, after a first round of negotiations this week yielded scant progress.
Speaking in an interview in a heavily guarded government compound, Zelenskyy also urged NATO members to impose a no-fly-zone to stop the Russian air force, claiming this would be a preventative measure and not meant to drag the military alliance into war with Russia.
Zelenskyy, who has refused offers to leave the Ukrainian capital as Russian forces advanced, said Ukraine would demand legally binding security guarantees if NATO shut the door on Ukraine’s membership prospects.
Setting out his conditions for further talks with Russia, Zelenskyy told Reuters and CNN in a joint interview: “It’s necessary to at least stop bombing people, just stop the bombing and then sit down at the negotiating table.”
Just as he was speaking, news emerged that a Russian missile had struck a TV tower in Kyiv and killed five people, according to Ukraine’s civil defence authority.
Earlier on Tuesday, missiles struck the heart of Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv.
Ukraine has received weapons shipments from NATO members to help withstand a full-scale military invasion unleashed by Russian forces last week while several countries have also introduced swingeing sanctions on the Russian economy.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP
But Ukraine has pressed NATO to accelerate its entry, a move fiercely opposed by officials in Moscow and cited as one of Russia’s reasons for launching its campaign.
“Our partners, if they are not ready to take Ukraine into NATO… because Russia does not want Ukraine to be in NATO, should work out common security guarantees for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
“This means that we have our territorial integrity, that our borders are protected, we have special relations with all our neighbors, we are completely safe, and the guarantors that give us security, they guarantee this legally.”
-With AAP and Reuters
