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Ms Cooke said significant flooding would continue across numerous inland catchments in the coming days.

“We are continuing to see peaks roll through the system even though there isn’t water falling from the sky at the moment,” she said.

Mr Pickup said significant flooding is impacting all major river systems across NSW.

Major flooding on the Lachlan River on Thursday is causing inundations in the town of Nanami.

Further downstream, major flooding is also occurring on the Lachlan River at Condobolin, with the river not expected to fall for weeks.

The Murrumbidgee River has also burst its banks, with major floods peaking at Gundagai on Wednesday night, and major peaks possible at Wagga Wagga on Thursday night.

Ms Cooke expressed her sympathies for the Gunnedah community, which has been hit by seven floods in recent weeks, and Wagga Wagga, which faces its fourth inundation since August.

Renewed, moderate flooding is also occurring at Albury and Corowa on the Murray River after widespread falls.

Ongoing significant flooding is continuing in the border town of Moama, where water levels are likely to remain high through to next week.

Clean-up efforts are continuing in the Riverina town of Cootamundra after thunderstorms and flash flooding on Monday.

Some 23 properties were destroyed and 37 damaged, rapid damage assessments by the SES and Fire and Rescue NSW found.

The SES has received 431 calls for assistance and conducted 15 flood rescues in the past 24 hours.

NSW floods update: hundreds under evacuation orders as rivers peak

I have a big update on the New South Wales floods from AAP. I am going to post it in two parts.

Hundreds of residents across inland NSW are under evacuation orders as rolling peaks continue to hit swollen rivers, inundating towns across southern and central-western NSW.

In the wheat belt town of Forbes in the state’s central-west, about 600 people have been told to evacuate their homes by 4pm Thursday as rising waters threaten to cut off homes and strand residents.

“I appreciate that communities right across the central and southern NSW are exhausted,” the emergency services minister, Steph Cooke, said on Thursday.

Everyone is flood weary but we need to keep working through this. We need to keep working together.

Whilst we are starting to see blue skies emerge … the flooding risk is very, very high at the moment.

The NSW SES zone commander, Ben Pickup, said record flooding was expected at Forbes on Friday night as the Lachlan River peaked at levels not seen since 1952.

He said peaks would continue through to Saturday morning.

“I really encourage the community of Forbes – please listen to the warning information,” he said.

“Please, please follow that messaging.”

Hello everyone, this is Cait. A big thanks to blog queen Natasha for taking us through the morning.

First up, I have this from AAP on electric vehicles:

Two in three Australians support changes to speed up the switch to electric vehicles, including discounts to lower their prices and a fuel efficiency standard to see more models arrive in the country, a new study has found.

More than 60% of Australians also support a ban on new petrol car sales by 2035.

The findings, from the Australia Institute’s climate of the nation report, showed wide support for more electric vehicle charging stations in Australia as well electric buses and the introduction of high-speed rail.

But the report showed backing for electric transport dropped when it came to removing tax breaks for large, fuel-hungry four wheel drives and utes.

Report author and Australia Institute transport lead, Audrey Quicke, said the survey of more than 2,600 people clearly showed Australians wanted “to reap the benefits of the transition to clean transport”.

I am signing off for this afternoon and handing you over to the fabulous Cait Kelly.

See you tomorrow morning!

Commemorations marking 80 years since end of Kokoda campaign under way

The minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, is in attendance for the commemorations to mark 80 years since the end of the Kokoda campaign in second world war.

Amanda Rishworth has avoided giving my colleague Amy Remeikis a firm answer on whether she believes the jobseeker rate needs to be increased.

Remeikis:

Given your portfolio crossover, do you believe the rate needs to increase?

Rishworth:

I will be working across the board with my state…

Remeikis:

A simple yes or no.

Rishworth:

I will be working with the whole of government about what women’s economic security will look like. We will keep working on that. Throughout my whole portfolio, working about how we can prevent poverty as well as how we lift people out of poverty. That is something I am very aware of and continue to work across government.

Our very own Amy Remeikis asks Rishworth:

Given the very well documented role property plays in violence, what moral justification is there for not raising the jobseeker rate for the associated social purpose payments in this last budget?

(Domestic violence was the topic of Rishworth’s speech.)

The social services minister responds:

We have been really clear in this plan that women’s economic security is an important part of the healing and recovery process. This has been something we have recognised and haven’t shied away from. It is something we put in the plan.

We can’t fix everything immediately and so what we have been doing is taking steps through the women’s economic equality task force to look at the whole broad range of issues that affect women’s economic security.

This plan cannot be seen in isolation to the work that is being done there. But we have a significant budget problem and so this is something that we do have to look at in the budget when it comes to raising the rate of JobSeeker. But we’re not ignoring this issue.

One of the other I have taken is to invest more money into this budget to fix the escaping violence payment. That payment was rushed in by the previous government. The organisation delivering it has not been properly resourced and demand has exceeded what is needed. I have been working very closely to make sure that is addressed and that we have a system that that is working properly.

The other point I would make that is recognised in the plan is, in addition to the levels of social security payment, we’re also about the interaction that people have with the social security system. So where crisis payments are applied, were exceptional circumstances, where this is an issue around perpetrators perhaps using that as a result, as a way of coercive control, we are working through some of those issues about how the actual system itself can be better response to victim survivors. We are addressing women’s economic equality and it is something we will continue to work through.

Online betting exclusion register to be in place by ‘end of November’: Rishworth

Speaking of gambling ads, the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, is asked about this issue taking questions after her speech at the National Press Club.

Reporter:

As minister do you want to see tougher regulations for the online wagering industry when it comes to advertising, but also the promotion of their products? And could you in the future or would you personally like to see Australia go down the path of regulating advertising for the gaming industry, the way that we have done for the tobacco industry?

Rishworth:

Coming into this portfolio, it was one of the first issues that I was briefed on, was actually the role that our government has and that I have in enforcing the consumer framework to minimise harm on online wagering.

Since coming into this portfolio, we have introduced the activity statements, which is an email which people get monthly, and a record people get monthly, highlighting their wins and losses, and the second thing we have done is work towards the exclusion register, the Bet Stop, which will hopefully be in place at the end of November.

Where do we go next? Well, once the last steps of the consumer framework are established… I want to work with my state and territory colleagues and work with the House of Representatives Standing Committee that has started an inquiry into advertising and other areas of problem online wagering, so it is an area I am particularly interested in addressing.

Nationals call for consideration of gambling ad ban

Paul Karp

The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has welcomed news of tougher anti-gambling warnings in gambling ads, but opened the door to banning the ads entirely.

In a statement, Littleproud said:

I believe changes to gambling ads don’t go far enough. We need to have a [conversation] about whether or not gambling ads should be on at all – especially given that children are often watching sport, or families are together to support their favourite team when the betting ads come on.

Children are exposed to gambling ads as soon as they start watching sport on television or online and that’s often from a very young age. I encourage public debate on this matter through the online gambling committee process.

Luke Henriques-Gomes

Former director was ‘almost immediately’ concerned by early plans for robodebt

Plans for what became the robodebt scheme “almost immediately” concerned policy advisers at the Department of Social Services and were viewed by one official as “unethical”, a royal commission has been told.

Cameron Brown, a former director of payment integrity and debt management at Department of Social Services, said he was responsible for seeking advice from its internal legal team in late 2014.

That was in response to a proposal from the Department of Human Services to use “income averaging” to raise welfare debts – the central plank of what became the robodebt scheme.

He said he and his team were “almost immediately” concerned about the plan, which he viewed as unethical.

Brown compared the proposal to the so-called Dallas Buyers Club “speculative invoicing” saga in which copyright holders sent legal demands to alleged downloaders for large amounts of money in the hope they will settle”.

He noted that many of the people to be targeted by the robodebt scheme were vulnerable and the “onus of proof” was unreasonable given much of the information they would need to source went back years.

Brown said the subsequent internal DSS legal advice was “black and white” and that it “should have been the end of the proposal”.

The inquiry heard there were discussions within DSS about seeking more formal legal advice from the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS).

However, it heard this was complicated by the fact that at this time there was no formal plan – known as a “new policy proposal” – to be referred for the AGS’ consideration.

It remains unclear what the Department of Human Services – which led the proposal – did in response to the legal doubts within DSS.

The inquiry previously heard DSS’s internal legal were subsequently approached to review a more concrete proposal a few months later in early 2015. It heard this left them with only two days to review it, because the plan had been taken into the budget process after winning support from the then minister Scott Morrison. There is no suggestion Morrison was aware of the legal doubts.

The government went on to implement the scheme in July 2015.

It ran until November 2019, when the government accepted in federal court that it was unlawful.

Brown’s evidence continues before royal commissioner Catherine Holmes.

‘Beescaping’ parliament gardens a success

The landscape team at Parliament House has done a “fantastic job ‘beescaping’” its gardens, says the head beekeeper at the Australian Parliament, Cormac Farrell.

(Before you ask, yes head parliamentary beekeeper is an official role and Gabrielle Chan has written about it.)

Social services minister speaks at press club on domestic violence plan

Amy Remeikis

As we mentioned a little earlier this morning (it was at least three coffees ago) the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, is giving a national press club address today.

It is her first address and she is using it to speak on the national plan to end family violence which was released recently. The government plan aims to end family and domestic violence and sexual violence within one generation.

It’s a big ask.

The main announcement is an additional $100m from the commonwealth to deliver up to 720 safe places for women and children – and it is overwhelmingly women and their children – fleeing violence.

That’s on top of the $100m which was already committed as an investment in crisis and transitional housing for those fleeing violence, as well as older women at risk of homelessness. An announcement of $169m for frontline services has previously been made.

The national plan does recognise that men can be victims of family, domestic and sexual violence, but its aim is to stop gendered violence. And that also means acknowledging the violence against LGBTQ+ people, as well as a focus on the violence Indigenous women and non-binary people face.

Paul Karp

Mark Dreyfus says voice will send ‘unequivocal message’ that First Nations people have a say

He said:

The government committed during the last election to implementing the Uluru statement from the heart in full, including recognising First Nations people in the constitution by enshrining an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to parliament.

The voice will be an advisory body to parliament and the government that will have a practical impact for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by giving them a direct say in laws, policies and programs which affect their day-to-day lives.

Putting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice in our constitution is a very important step towards achieving true reconciliation with Indigenous Australians, and closing the gap. It sends a clear and unequivocal message of respect for our Indigenous culture and heritage by ensuring our First Nations people are heard and that they are given a direct say in matters that affect them.

The government has already begun work on the voice referendum, and we are committed to delivering it in partnership with the Australian community.

A successful referendum requires as much support as possible, at the heart of which lies support from First Nations people. We are working in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the Australian community more broadly, in the lead up to the referendum. This engagement with Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians will be broad, it will be based on respect, and it will be focused on building consensus.

Paul Karp

Discrimination complaints surged during pandemic, attorney general says

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, is giving the Enderby Lecture hosted by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

In it, Dreyfus noted that race discrimination commissioner, Chin Tan, has pointed to “a documented resurgence in discriminatory attitudes in our communities”.

Dreyfus said:

There was a 14% increase in complaints made under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 prior to the pandemic from 2017 and 2019. During the pandemic, between 2018 and 2021, there was a significant 57% increase in complaints.

We continue to hear allegations of race-based misconduct across sporting codes and within workplaces and in other aspects of public life. The government condemns racism without reservation.

Like so many Australians, to me, this issue is deeply personal. My father, his brother, and their parents, were forced to flee from Nazi Germany for the simple reason that they were Jewish. My great-grandparents could not be convinced to leave. They died in the Holocaust. My family’s story, as well as the broader history of the Jewish people, informs my work as attorney general today …

It is a history that makes me appreciative of the wonderful diversity of this nation and the need to continually protect that diversity. It reinforces the need to uphold and, where possible, to strengthen the fundamental human rights in which that diversity flourishes.

Australia’s continued success as a multicultural nation must include an ongoing commitment to addressing racism. The government takes this obligation very seriously.

Dreyfus did not refer directly to the government’s plans to introduce a religious discrimination bill, but he did say that through the anti-racism strategy the government “will not just tolerate people from other cultures and religions but actively seek to understand, accept and welcome people”. He also said that “our understanding of human rights is continually evolving, and with it so must our law”.

More than 500 people under evacuation orders in Forbes, NSW

The New South Wales emergency services minister, Steph Cooke, has given a midday press conference about the state’s flood situation.

She said while blue skies have emerged and weather conditions are set to ease over the coming days, “the flooding risk is very, very high at the moment.”

Many of our river systems are in significant flood, particularly the Lachlan River, Murrumbidgee River, and the Murray.

In relation to Forbes we are anticipating record floods to move through that community. There are evacuation orders in place impacting 500 to 600 people, and they are evacuation order is to take effect by 4pm today.

We have evacuation orders in place for the entire suburb of North Wagga.

Cooke encouraged residents in areas with evacuation orders “do not to leave it to the last minute to evacuate.”

She acknowledges that many communities are “exhausted” after repeated floods.

We also saw an evacuation order for Gunnedah. That community has experienced seven or eight flood in the past month. Down here in Wagga this is the fourth peak to come through since August. I appreciate communities right across central and southern New South Wales are exhausted.

Our rivers tend to rise very quickly because the ground is saturated and we are continuing to see peaks roll through the system, even though there isn’t water falling from the sky at the moment.

Benita Kolovos

Victorian Ibac granted interim injunction order against the Age over draft report

At a press conference the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is being asked about the Victorian anti-corruption watchdog’s decision overnight to launch court action to prevent the Age from publishing any details from a draft report.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac) was granted an interim injunction order against Nine’s the Age newspaper during a late hearing on Wednesday.

Ibac’s lawyers attended the supreme court hearing in Melbourne, but no lawyers for the Age were present.

The matter is currently before justice Gregory Garde.

Asked if the public has the right to know about the report, Andrews replied that it was “not a matter for him”:

They’re an independent agency.