Anne Aly criticises Simon Birmingham for repeating Netanyahu’s ‘dismissive’ response to aid worker’s death – as it happened

With that, we will shut the blog for the evening. Stay safe and dry out there. Here were today’s major developments:

• Sydney is bracing for heavy rain to drench the city over the coming days, potentially causing flash flooding, flooded rivers and the spillover of the Warragamba Dam. Rain is forecast to likely begin tonight in Sydney and become heavy on Friday before easing on Saturday.

• A man has died after his vehicle was found in flood waters on the outskirts of Brisbane this morning. Queensland police were called to conduct a welfare check of a vehicle submerged in flood waters at a private property on Begley Road in Greenbank.

• The Northern Territory’s Don Dale youth detention centre remains in indefinite lockdown after a group of inmates set fire to the education centre and climbed the roof as part of a riot.

• Private and rental electric scooters will become a permanent fixture on Melbourne streets as Victoria puts the finishing touches on safety regulations.

• And the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) says it’s conducting 15 corruption investigations and will soon publish a final report of one of its recently completed probes. The commission’s latest figures, released on Thursday, show the federal integrity body received 2,747 referrals of potential corruption in the nine months since it opened its doors.

All eyes on Warragamba Day as heavy downpour approaches

Back to the weather. All eyes are on the Warragamba Dam and its possible spilling in New South Wales, with forecasts predicting rain of up to 200mm into the weekend.

The dam level is currently at 96.2%, with just 3.7mm of rain in the past week. Don’t panic yet, though – it hasn’t dropped below 90% all year.

A taxi booking app was already facing challenges as UberX brought rideshare to Australia with an intent to “crush” the competition, a civil trial has been told.

Taxi Apps, the company behind the app GoCatch, is suing Uber in the Supreme Court of Victoria over claims it knowingly launched UberX illegally in Australia with the intention of injuring GoCatch.

Lawyers for GoCatch have claimed “tech bros” at the ride-share giant said they wanted to crush and destroy the business, suggesting they targeted Taxi Apps, but Uber on Thursday argued the language simply equated to “out-compete”.

Uber’s barrister John Sheahan told the court:

It’s just the language of the business ... it’s the way they hype each other up. ‘Crushing’ GoCatch is beating them. Its out-competing them at their own game.

Sheahan suggested GoCatch was to blame for its financial failings, with business plans to mandate in-app payments long-delayed and evidence some taxi drivers were ‘gaming’ the app.

Lawyers for Taxi Apps have conceded in court GoCatch had some management issues. But they maintain Uber tried to evade authorities’ attempts to stop their illegal conduct, hacked GoCatch’s computer systems and used spyware to scrape its data.

-AAP.

The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) has renewed calls for the closure of the notorious Don Dale Youth Detention Centre following the latest riot at the facility and associated lockdown.

The agency urged the NT Government to immediately investigate alternative accommodation options for children currently detained in the Darwin facility, of which it alleged approximately half were being held on remand having not been sentenced for any crimes.

Its principal legal officer, Jared Sharp, said the events were a “direct result of the appalling conditions within Don Dale”.

On any given night, there are approximately 40 mostly Aboriginal young people detained inside Don Dale with little access to the support they need to address the complex array of factors that have contributed to them being there in the first place.

Sharp said Don Dale should have been closed on the recommendation of the Royal Commission more than six years ago, with recent redevelopment of youth detention facilities in Alice Springs providing a potential template for improved care.

The Northern Territory spends more on youth detention than any other state or territory and the only way to stop this is by investing in solutions that do work – drug and alcohol counselling, behaviour change programs, adequate healthcare, stable housing, education, training, and employment.

More on the heavy rain and flood warnings in NSW

In New South Wales, a trough is forecast to deepen over eastern and central parts of the coast in coming days, bringing heavy rain and possible flash flooding for large parts of the state into the weekend.

If you were planning to hit the beach tomorrow in Sydney, maybe reconsider. The city is expected to be hammered with up to 100mm of rain.

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for parts of the north west slopes and plains, while a severe weather warning is in place for metropolitan Sydney, Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and parts of the Hunter, Central Tablelands and Snowy Mountains districts.

Minor flooding is already hitting some waterways, with particular concern for the Upper Nepean, Hawkesbury and Lower Nepean rivers.

Anne Aly: ‘This is not war. War has rules’

Aly goes on:

I do want to make a really important point about war. This is not war. War has rules – rules that have been agreed upon by the international community.

War has principles, and war has standards of behaviour that are expected of those who are acting in the war.

Israel has been … strongly urged by the international community and by the ICJ to abide by those rules of war. Now, the systemic destruction of an entire people, the deliberate withholding of food and aid to an entire people are not acts of war.

These are not things that just happen in war, and I think that if the Israeli government wants to continue to utilise war as a context for its actions, then it needs to start abiding by the expected principles of war and the agreed rules of warfare.

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The Labor frontbencher Anne Aly followed Birmingham on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, appearing alongside Barnaby Joyce.

Asked for her comments on the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, a clear split in rhetoric of the two major parties continues.

Aly expressed her condolences to Frankcom’s family and friends – and her “outrage” at Israel’s response.

The dismissive way in which the prime minister of Israel has said this happens in war, and quite frankly the way in which Simon Birmingham has repeated that dismissive claim is offensive.

It is offensive to Zomi, her family, to the aid workers, the journalists, the medics who have been killed by Israeli forces, and it is offensive to the 30,000 Palestinians that have been cowed and starved by the actions of Israel.

I think that the world is watching very closely, and foreign minister Penny Wong has said, in very clear terms, that Israel needs to change its course, and that it needs to be held accountable, and that it is losing very quickly any kind of support that it has.

‘This is a war situation and tragedies are occurring all the time’: Birmingham

The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, appeared on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing earlier while on a visit to New Zealand with Peter Dutton.

Asked whether the deaths of the aid workers in Gaza could be “even partly explained as typical things that happen in war”, Birmingham said the killings were “very tragic events” that “should not have occurred”.

It entirely appropriate that Israel be expected to have a full investigation of them and to be completely transparent about the outcomes of the investigation … any further steps should be taken based on the outcomes of those investigation.

Birmingham said while “tragedies” and “mistakes” do happen in war, it was important for Israel’s prime minister to understand the “deep, deep concern and distress felt in Australia”.

These tragedies are just part of what has been an enduring tragedy since the barbaric attacks from Hamas on October 7 and the way in which Hamas has used the citizens and people in Gaza as human shields.

This is a war situation and tragedies are occurring all the time. Unfortunately this has now involved an Australian citizen.

A snap protest has been held outside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) offices in Sydney this afternoon after the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza, including Australian Zomi Frankcom.

The rally, attended by union members and grassroots community group Families for Palestine, called for an an end to the deaths of innocent civilians and aid workers in Gaza.

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The Northern Territory’s Don Dale youth detention centre remains in indefinite lockdown after a group of inmates set fire to the education centre and climbed the roof as part of a riot.

Police were called to the centre on Wednesday afternoon after reports of smoke billowing from the education facility and 14 children on the roof of the building.

Territory Families chief executive Emma White said the centre would remain in indefinite lockdown until a department investigation was complete.

The NT chief minister Eva Lawler labelled the children “some of the worst-behaved children in the NT”, with charges expected to be laid.

There are a number of young people who have displayed abhorrent behaviour. There will be actions that flow from that.

Graphic footage was shown on ABC TV in 2016 of four detainees being tear-gassed at the facility, leading to the 2017 royal commission into the protection and detention of children.

The NT government accepted in full or in principle all recommendations, including the closure of Don Dale. Five years later, the facility remains open and critics say the government is dragging its feet. Lawler said she remains committed to closing the facility.

– with AAP

Sixteen-year-old international student missing in Sydney

Police are appealing to the public to help locate an international student from China who has been missing in north-west Sydney since Sunday.

Jaiwen Zheng, aged 16, was last seen leaving a home on Beecroft Road, Beecroft on Sunday 24 February.

When he did not return home and was unable to be contacted, he was reported missing to officers, who hold serious concerns for his welfare due to his age and limited English-language skills.

Zheng is described as being of Asian appearance, about 170cm tall, of thin build, with brown eyes and black hair.

Anyone with information in relation to his whereabout is urged to contact Ryde Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The body of a 64-year-old man has been recovered by search and rescue crews in the Northern Territory after an abandoned tinny was found in waters where crocodiles were spotted.

The team was deployed yesterday evening after reports of the unoccupied vehicle, discovered near a boat ramp at South Alligator River in Arnhem Land.

Helicopters and boats scoured the area throughout the night and this morning, with multiple crocodiles spotted during the search.

With the help of Kakadu national park rangers, the body was found and recovered at midday.

Superintendent Jakson Evans said it was a “tragic outcome”.

Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.

The cause of death is to be determined, with a report to be prepared for the coroner.

Private and rental electric scooters will become a permanent fixture on Melbourne streets as Victoria puts the finishing touches on safety regulations.

E-scooters were allowed in Ballarat from December 2021 and parts of Melbourne from February 2022 as part of a trial, with users since taking more than eight million trips. The trial will be extended for another six months before permanent regulatory settings are introduced in early October.

The Victorian Labor government said it would use the time to investigate extra safety measures and rollout a refreshed education campaign across trial areas.

Public transport minister Gabrielle Williams said e-scooters were “here to stay”.

They’ve proven popular among commuters, especially shift workers, providing an additional option to travel home safely. We have more work to do on safety and compliance to ensure that e-scooters are safe when they’re made permanent later this year.

In December, the Australian Medical Association called for stricter rules after a study by the Royal Melbourne Hospital showed 247 riders and nine pedestrians were treated for injuries in 2023.

In Victoria, people must wear a helmet, be at least 16 years old, not carry a passenger and cannot be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

- via AAP

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4 Apr 202400.07 EDT

Sydney braces for heavy rain and possible flooding

Luca Ittimani

Sydney is bracing for heavy rain to drench the city over the coming days, potentially causing flash flooding, flooded rivers and the spillover of the Warragamba Dam.

Rain is forecast to likely begin tonight in Sydney and become heavy on Friday before easing on Saturday. Up to 200mm of rain could fall across greater Sydney in that time.

The intense rainfall may lead to flash flooding in the southern Hunter and Sydney metropolitan region on Friday morning as well as the Illawarra and Central Tablelands, before shifting south overnight into Saturday morning.

BoM said “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is possible between the Blue Mountains and Moruya from Friday evening into Saturday morning, with localised six-hourly rainfall totals between 90 to 150 mm possible, reaching up to 220 mm over the Illawarra Escarpment”.

Warragamba Dam, which supplies water to the city, could spill in the coming days if rainfall reaches the high levels expected. The dam is already at 96% capacity.

Multiple rivers throughout Sydney could flood from Friday and the New South Wales SES has warned communities near the rivers to stay informed.

The Hawkesbury-Nepean river in the city’s west is at risk of major flooding from Friday, while the Colo River in the north-west is at risk of moderate flooding, the Bureau of Meteorology said. The Penrith, Liverpool and Camden areas are among those that could be affected.

The Georges and Woronora rivers in the city’s south and the Cooks River in the inner west may also flood from Friday.

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