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Australia news live: engineers try to drain Melbourne dam before it bursts; flood warnings for eastern states | Australia news

Engineers attempting to drain Melbourne dam before it bursts

There are concerns a private dam in Melbourne may burst, with the road currently closed between Greenvale and Craigieburn.

The Department of Transport’s Chris Miller told 3AW that the SES and police were on the scene.

“The concern is that the bank will actually burst and obviously if that gives way, huge amounts of water will come out,” he said.

Mickleham road is unlikely to reopen for up to 2 days (closed between Destination Drive and Point Ridley Drive in Craigieburn / Yuroke) as engineers start the delicate race to drain the leaking dam before a 3.5m wall “fails catastrophically”. @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/j52TLGQ4V0

— Christie Cooper (@ChristieCooper7) October 7, 2022

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Melbourne downpour delivers half of October’s average rainfall in one hour

AAP reports some suburbs received 30 millimetres of rain in as little as 20 minutes on Friday.

As of 4.30pm, authorities were concerned about two dams in Craigieburn in the city’s north, with fears a large private dam could collapse and affect local roads.

There were also moderate flood warnings for the Murray River downstream of the Hume Dam in the state’s north and the Loddon River at Laanecoorie, near Bendigo.

Authorities are bracing for major flooding on Saturday along the Avoca River at Charleton, north-west of Bendigo.

The Friday deluge followed a night of wild weather, with the SES receiving more than 600 calls for help in 24 hours.

The Evoca and Maryborough areas in regional Victoria received 50 to 65mm in an hour, which is roughly one month’s worth of rain.

Areas around Frankston, Bayside, Woodend and the Maryborough district were also hard-hit.

Kyle Sandilands apologises for slurs

Radio announcer Kyle Sandilands and radio network ARN have apologised for comments made by the presenter on his leading FM breakfast program, which included the slur “spazzes”.

“ARN does not endorse or condone the comments made by Kyle Sandilands, nor the language that was used or the context with which it was spoken during a segment broadcast on Thursday 29th September,” the network said on Friday.

Campers in for a wet weekend at Bathurst 1000

Campers at the Bathurst 1000 are bracing for muddy, stormy and potentially dangerous conditions as a large rain band crosses central and eastern NSW, AAP has reported.

A trough and cold front moved across the state on Friday, bringing further widespread rain to the eastern half of NSW, including the western slopes and ranges, central NSW and the south coast.

The weather bureau has placed many eastern catchments on flood watch, including Hunter and the Greater Sydney regions, as it waits to see exactly where the most intense rainfall occurs.

“Behind the rain band, there is a lot of convection which means we’re getting some really decent thunderstorms,” a bureau spokesperson told AAP on Friday.

Up to 100mm of rain could fall at motorsport mecca Mount Panorama over the weekend, potentially leading to flooding along the Macquarie River in Bathurst.

Peter Miniter (left) and Ken Reynolds at the first practice session of the 2022 Bathurst 1000 on Friday. Attendees are bracing for wet and stormy conditions at the annual event. Photograph: Murray Mccloskey/AAP

Sarah Collard

Sarah Collard

Man fined for destroying trees on NT sacred site

A NT court has fined a man $32,000 after he backed his truck into dozens of trees in a sacred site as part of road works in remote Arnhem Land.

On September 10, 2020, William Hayes was working near Mount Catt as part of his company Hayes Enterprises (NT) Pty Ltd when he drove a front-end loader onto Aboriginal Land Trust land and knocked down more than 60 trees inside a sacred ceremonial site.

Hayes pleaded guilty to conducting the works without approval under the NT Aboriginal Sacred Sites legislation.

Dr Sophie Creighton, A/CEO of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) said landholders can not “recklessly” clear country.

“The immense suffering and harm done here could have been avoided. Pastoralists need to listen, and to work with custodians to protect these cultural places of national significance.”

Senior custodian Kenny Murray said in the statement by AAPA that he welcomed the conviction but the damage is irreparable.

The site is a culturally sacred ceremonial ground for the Gunapipi peoples and holds special meaning for many people connected across Arnhem Land.

“The damage that has been done to our trees, it is like physical harm to our family because the spirits of our elders are in those trees,” Murray said.

Cannon-Brookes gets his place in the sun with new chairmanship

Peter Hannam

Peter Hannam

Not sated by his tilt at AGL (see earlier post), Mike Cannon-Brookes has added another renewable-energy feather to his hat (or is it baseball cap?).

Already a “cornerstone” investor in Sun Cable, the company planning to build giant solar farms in the desert to power Darwin and Singapore (and possibly Indonesia) via a giant cable, MCB has now taken on the role of a director and inaugural chair.

Sun Cable’s projects could be worth as much as $30bn, and investors such as MCB have already agreed to tip in at least $210m. Not just whimsy, in other words.

“Mike is a visionary leader whose demonstrated passion and commitment for the energy transition strongly aligns with Sun Cable’s mission,” said David Griffin, founder and CEO of Sun Cable.

MCB is similarly upbeat as you might expect, referring to the main PowerLink project as “world-scale infrastructure”.

“It will unlock incredible value for all countries involved, work to decarbonise three major economies and transform how giga-scale solar energy gets built,” he said.

Another showdown looms between AGL and Cannon-Brookes

Peter Hannam

Peter Hannam

Just over a week after AGL announced it was bowing to demands from investors by bringing forward the closure date of its coal-fired power station in Victoria, another battle is brewing with the company’s biggest shareholder Mike Cannon-Brookes.

The Atlassian billionaire has amassed an 11.3% stake in Australia’s largest electricity generator and last month issued through his family company, Grok Ventures, a list of the four directors he wanted added to AGL’s board.

Since the board has five members now (surprisingly few for a firm so big), accepting MCB’s Fab Four potentially would have given him control. One of the current five, Miles George, is seen as particularly renewables friendly for this past role as head of Infigen Energy, a windfarm operator.

Anyway, AGL has rejected that three of the proposed members, telling shareholders today it would only recommend Mark Twidell, a solar veteran whose roles have included a stint with Tesla, for the board. Adding all four “would not add to the overall effectiveness of the board”, it said.

Since the board can only have a maximum of ten members, taking on all of MCB’s picks could also limit AGL’s ability to lure talent with “priority skills”, AGL said. Those overlooked are Kerry Schott, the industry veteran who until recently chaired the Energy Security Board, as well as John Pollaers and Christine Holman.

Not surprisingly, Grok isn’t impressed and plans to engage “directly” with AGL’s 150,000 shareholders in the lead up to its 15 November Annual General Meeting “to explain the merits of looking to fresh faces to provide a broader mix of skills and experience – as well as additional capabilities to undertake the monumental amount of work required by the board”.

“It makes no sense to us – or a growing list of shareholders – that the board is rejecting highly qualified, independent directors who are committed to helping them make AGL the leading green gentailer in the world,” Grok said.

Somewhat ominously, Grok said the rejection was “yet another poor decision that doesn’t seem to be rooted in logical business decisions and certainly ignores the threats and opportunities facing AGL”, adding to previous comments that it had “reservations” about the appointment of Patricia McKenzie as AGL’s chair.

AGL’s share price, meanwhile, was down almost 3% for the day in late trading compared with a 0.5% decline in the benchmark ASX200 index.

Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes.
Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has amassed an 11.3% stake in Australia’s largest electricity generator, AGL. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

I have a bit more information for you on the shark attack in WA here:

Guardian Photographer Ellen Smith was just down at Dights Falls in Melbourne and, oh boy, look at these pics!

Australian athlete Georgia O’Callaghan was down there too, having some serious fun:

Heavy rain has caused high water levels on the Yarra River at Dights Falls in Abbotsford.
Heavy rain has caused high water levels on the Yarra River at Dights Falls in Abbotsford. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian
Georgia O’Callaghan in her slalom kayak tackles the high water levels on the Yarra River at Dights Falls in Abbotsford.
Georgia O’Callaghan in her slalom kayak tackles the high water levels on the river. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian
Heavy rain has caused high water levels, where the Merri Creek meets the Yarra River above Dights Falls in Abbotsford.
These huge rapids are very unusual for this part of the river. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian
Georgia O’Callaghan in her slalom kayak tackles the high water levels on the Yarra River at Dights Falls in Abbotsford.
While the rest of the city tried to stay dry, O’Callaghan had some fun. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

PM doesn’t rule out future amendments to tax cuts

Josh Butler

Josh Butler

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has left the door open to potentially amending the already legislated stage-three tax cuts, not expressly ruling out making any changes when asked point-blank if reforms could be considered.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers also said his upcoming federal budget would be about “following the responsible path; not the path of least resistance”, as the Coalition braces for a fight if the government looks to tinker with the Morrison-era tax changes.

Albanese has kept a low media profile this week as debate raged publicly and privately inside the government on the $244 billion stage-three changes, which will go to taxpayers earning over $45,000 but will overwhelmingly benefit those on higher incomes. After just one solitary radio interview since last Friday (when he was asked about cricket and Midnight Oil, not the news), Albanese told a brief press conference that the government’s view hasn’t changed.

“There’s been meetings, obviously, this week about [the expenditure review committee] and our processes. We’ll continue to get on with making sure that we deliver a budget that is responsible, that acknowledges the pressures that are on it,” Albanese said, when asked about the tax debate.

When asked if he would guarantee no changes to the stage-three tax cuts, the PM responded: “what I have said is that the Government has not changed our position.”

He did not rule out making changes in future.

In a speech in Brisbane, Chalmers said the government would “have to make some difficult decisions with this budget. Difficult decisions for difficult times.”

He didn’t speak specifically about tax cuts, but said the government would make “the right calls for the right reasons… We must be serious about rebuilding our budget buffers – particularly given the deteriorating global outlook.”

Engineers attempting to drain Melbourne dam before it bursts

There are concerns a private dam in Melbourne may burst, with the road currently closed between Greenvale and Craigieburn.

The Department of Transport’s Chris Miller told 3AW that the SES and police were on the scene.

“The concern is that the bank will actually burst and obviously if that gives way, huge amounts of water will come out,” he said.

Mickleham road is unlikely to reopen for up to 2 days (closed between Destination Drive and Point Ridley Drive in Craigieburn / Yuroke) as engineers start the delicate race to drain the leaking dam before a 3.5m wall “fails catastrophically”. @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/j52TLGQ4V0

— Christie Cooper (@ChristieCooper7) October 7, 2022

Stephanie Convery

Stephanie Convery

Unconfirmed reports of shark attack in WA

Emergency services are attending to an incident at Port Hedland, in Western Australia, that has been reported – although not confirmed – to involve a shark.

Details are scant at this stage but emergency services confirmed to Guardian Australia that the person involved is alive. Multiple agencies are on the scene.

Experts from WA’s Department of Primary Industries are investigating the incident and if it is confirmed to be shark-related, will issue a “shark watch” alert as soon as possible.

Victorian emergency services received 600 requests for assistance

A member of the Victorian SES (who was not introduced by name) has said they have received 600 requests for assistance:

With that rainfall that we’ve seen in the storms overnight, SES volunteers and our emergency services have now responded to over 600 requests for assistance.

Some of the busiest areas for that has been around Frankston and the bayside suburbs, also across Woodend and the Maryborough districts. Over 330 of those have related to flash flooding impacts or leaking roofs and the like.

We had over 120 requests for assistance representing to building damage associated with some of the damaging winds with those storms and thunderstorms and we have seen a further 100 requests for assistance for trees down.

He says they have seen people drive through floodwaters:

We know the single largest death or cause of death in flooding is people attempting to drive through floodwaters. In the last 24 hours, we have seen 15 people attempt to drive through floodwaters both here in metropolitan areas and also in the areas of Maryborough… and the like. Again, we can’t appeal enough to people that driving through floodwaters could be the last decision you make.

Heavy rain has caused unusually high water levels, such as in this photo where the Merri Creek meets the Yarra River above Dights Falls in Abbotsford, Melbourne.
Heavy rain has caused unusually high water levels, such as in this photo where the Merri Creek meets the Yarra River above Dights Falls in Abbotsford, Melbourne. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

We are just heading to Victoria where authorities are giving an update about the weather

Hello everyone this is Cait Kelly, before we get going – a big thank you to Natasha for her great work this morning taking us through all of the headlines.

First up, I have this important story from Lisa Cox:

Natasha May

Natasha May

I leave you now in the very excellent hands of Cait Kelly, so I can watch Fat Bear Week’s livestream unfettered by political pressers.

Huge lineup of contenders for Fat Bear Week

In exactly the news Australians needed following those grim economic predictions from the treasurer, Fat Bear Week is under way with the lineup of contenders confirmed.

Each year, Alaska’s Katmai National Park celebrates how well its brown bears have packed on the weight ahead of winter hibernation, with fans invited to vote for which bear “is the fattest of the fat”.

I will be backing Bear 164, a small adult male because I can’t resist an underdog – or underbear as the case may be. Katmai National Park says that, “instead of competing for established fishing spots like most bears, 164 invented his own”.

You can check out who the contenders and find out a bit about each bear’s biography here, and see them in action hunting and catching pink salmon around Brooks River and Falls thanks to the park’s live stream.

Number 47, the 2020 winner of Fat Bear Week.
Number 47, the 2020 winner of Fat Bear Week. The bear thanked the salmon at Brooks River for helping him win the accolade, along with ‘all the little bears he pushed out of the way to gain access to the best fishing spot of them all’. Photograph: N Boak/Katmai National Park and Preserve/PA

Treasurer announces series of investor roundtables, starting with social and affordable housing

The treasurer Jim Chalmers is delivering that speech which Guardian Australia’s chief political correspondent, Sarah Martin, previewed on the blog earlier this morning.

Further to outlining the five biggest pressures on the budget (interest payments on servicing government debt, aged care, disability care, hospitals and defence) he has also announced the government will host a series of investor roundtables.

Today, I can announce that the government will host a series of investor roundtables from November 2022 to September 2023. Each one – held every three to four months – will focus on a different area of national priority investment. The first, in November, will address social and affordable housing.

To make sure our conversations are targeted, productive and have a degree of continuity, the roundtables will have twenty core participants. They include the CEOs of our big four banks, along with the heads of some of our largest superannuation and investment funds.

Participants in the roundtables represent institutional investors, including super funds, with over $2 trillion in assets under management. And all participants have the smarts, insight, and diverse range of experiences, to make these roundtables a success.

Cars skidding off wet track as Bathurst 1000 goes ahead despite flooding

The Bathurst 1000 supercars event is going ahead today despite the town in central west NSW being one of the worst affected by flooding from the intense weather system moving across the east of the country.

Up to 100mm of rain could fall at Mount Panorama over the weekend, potentially leading to flooding along the Macquarie River in Bathurst.

Event organisers released a statement yesterday saying the event would go ahead as normal despite conditions. Today, footage from the event shows cars sliding off a very wet track.

– with AAP

https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2022/oct/07/australia-news-live-economy-stage-3-tax-cuts-budget-jim-chalmers-floods-rain-nsw-greens-carbon-credits-offsets Australia news live: engineers try to drain Melbourne dam before it bursts; flood warnings for eastern states | Australia news

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