| ||
 | ||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
STORM WATCHThousands of western Sydney and south-east Queensland residents could be evacuated due to extreme weather, with The Sydney Morning Herald reporting that at least 1000 residents from western Penrith, Jamisontown, and Mulgoa have already received evacuation orders. The Bureau of Meteorology warns that a strong high pressure system across NSW’s north-east and a low pressure trough in the west will both continue tonight, while flooding across parts of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley — specifically near Penrith — has already exceeded the November 1961 floods. The ABC also notes an emergency alert has been issued for parts of the Gold Coast facing flash flooding. The NSW Education Department has closed about 137 schools today, Newcastle Airport has suspended flights, and Gladys Berejiklian has warned of the “one-in-50-year” weather event’s impact on the Warragamba Dam, which will see 75% of its storage capacity flow into the catchment. Berejiklian says dam levels will have to be reduced to around 20-25% to account for upcoming rainfall, while The Sydney Morning Herald reports that NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott has blamed his cabinet colleague, Water Minister Melinda Pavey, for not releasing more water ahead of the storm. For the latest updates, see BOM’s national weather warnings, ABC Emergency’s postcode/suburb guide, or NSW State Emergency Service’s interactive Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley map. | |||||||||||||
A SHOT IN THE ARMAccording to the ABC, the Therapeutic Goods Administration yesterday approved domestic production for the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, with the first batches from two Melbourne plants to be released “in the next few days”. The news comes ahead of Phase 1B of the national rollout starting today, to cover more than six million Australians and include: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 55 and over, other Australians aged 70 and over, younger Australians with underlying health conditions, and frontline healthcare workers. Federal health authorities have expressed confidence this phase of the rollout will meet targets despite international supply issues and delivery delays from NSW’s storm. | |||||||||||||
FORMER HOUSEMATE OF HIGGINS' ACCUSED SPEAKS OUTAn ex-housemate of the former Liberal staffer accused of raping Brittany Higgins in Parliament House has alleged the man sexually harassed her while living together. The Australian ($) reports that Kriti Gupta only learned on March 10 that her former housemate was the alleged rapist, and last week gave a statement to the Australian Federal Police. The paper notes that the AFP has interviewed several people in relation to the claims but has not laid any charges against the alleged perpetrator. The news comes ahead of Four Corners’ latest investigation into Higgins’ claims tonight, titled ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell: The Brittany Higgins story, who knew what when’. | |||||||||||||
AUSTRALIANS TRAPPED IN MYANMARFinally, the ABC reports that two Canadian-Australian citizens, business consultants Matthew O’Kane and Christa Avery, are under house arrest in Myanmar after trying to leave the country on a relief flight on Friday. The news comes after opponents of the country’s military rule yesterday held candlelight vigils, after security forces killed four more people in pro-democracy protests. Almost 250 people have been killed since the February 1 coup. | |||||||||||||
THEY REALLY SAID THAT?
Ahead of grilling ABC’s managing director at Senate estimates tomorrow, the Coalition senator makes sure not to engage in his party’s anti-ABC culture war by invoking activist journalism ($). Bragg’s comments come ahead of Four Corners’ latest expose on parliament’s harassment culture tonight; as Christian Porter sues the ABC for defamation; and after his government stripped the broadcaster of more than $780 million. | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
CRIKEY RECAP | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
READ ALL ABOUT IT | |||||||||||||
THE COMMENTARIATFloods leave a legacy of mental health problems — and disadvantaged people are often hardest hit — Sabrina Pit (The Conversation): “Yet again, large swathes of New South Wales are underwater. A week of solid rain has led to floods in the Mid-North Coast, Sydney and the Central Coast, with several areas being evacuated as I write. As a resident of the NSW Far North Coast, which has had its share of devastating floods, many of the tense scenes on the news are sadly familiar.” Yes, the Queensland Greens are still a VERY white party — Jonathan Sri (Jonathan Sri): “When I first put my hand up to be a Greens candidate, one of the key factors that motivated me was a frustration at how overwhelmingly white Australia’s political class is. To state the obvious, our multicultural society is not reflected by equally diverse legislatures. Comparatively few Australian politicians identify as people of colour or First Nations, and even compared to other Anglosphere colonies like the US and Canada, our politicians are disproportionately of western European ancestry. The Greens are certainly part of this problem.” Resistance is futile: former chief scientist zeroes in on Australia’s green energy future — Alan Finkel (The Sydney Morning Herald): “Like others, I dream that my great-grandchildren, whom I might never meet, will grow up living on a planet just as magnificent as it was when I was young. Fulfilment of this dream will require that we preserve our planet’s unique beauty in the face of global warming, armed with ambition and realism. We do not have time for fatalism or despair.”
| |||||||||||||
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| COPYRIGHT © 2021 PRIVATE MEDIA OPERATIONS PTY LTD, PUBLISHERS OF CRIKEY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. |
