NSW SES has responded to 430 incidents in past 24 hours as official warns of ‘significant’ rain to come
Debbie Platz, the deputy commissioner of NSW SES, just gave an update about the weather situation across the state. She told ABC News:
This system is very widespread and … already we’ve had significant rain right up and down the east coast of New South Wales, but also significant rain inland as well …
That’s going to bring with it flash flooding and renewed riverine rises. Previously to this event, we had a system go through probably 10 days ago, and that system is still causing flooding along the Namoi and Barwon rivers.
Platz said the state is in for “significant” rainfall, saying it’s possible that in the Sydney area and in the north more than 100mm of rain is forecast, with some areas possibly seeing up to 120mm.
Over the last 24 hours NSW SES has responded to 430 incidents.
Key events
Patrick Commins
Unions and the leading tech industry lobby group have agreed to work together on a model for payment for the use of creative content in training artificial intelligence.
Speaking to reporters this morning at the sidelines of the third and final day of the economic reform roundtable, Sally McManus, the secretary of the ACTU, described yesterday’s agreement with the Tech Council of Australia as a “breakthrough”:
There was discussion with the Tech Council and ACTU about wanting to address the issue of paying creatives, journalists and academics for their data (and) their creative work that they do.
That’s quite a significant shift, and it’s one we really welcome.
McManus said tech companies were already “rushing ahead’ in their exploitation of content to train large language models.
They’ll be crawling all your data. And people whose livelihoods depend on their creative output deserve not to have that stolen from them.
And so we’re committed to doing everything we can to address that. It was, I think, a big thing for the Tech Council to step up and say, ‘This is something we’re prepared to work on with you’.”
McManus said that she continued to advocate for an overarching AI act to address the potential risks from the technology, but that business groups remained opposed to such a measure.
Still, there was more commonality on the broader challenges of AI than she anticipated going into yesterday’s sessions.
None of us want to see AI used in a way that’s going to destroy jobs. None of us want to see AI leading to the, you know, theft, as is happening now, of the work of creatives and journalists and also academics.
The Tech Council has been approached for comment.
Lehrmann appeal: Sue Chrysanthou says Lee was ‘distracted by the so-called cover-up’
Adeshola Ore
Bruce Lehrmann is appealing Justice Michael Lee’s April 2024 judgment, which found the former Liberal staffer was not defamed by Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10 when The Project broadcast an interview with Brittany Higgins in 2021 in which she alleged she was raped in Parliament House.
Sue Chrysanthou SC, for Wilkinson, says Lee was “distracted by the so-called cover-up” alleged in the broadcast. She said:
The reason we lost section 30 is because His Honour could not accept that enough was done on this so called corrupt conduct of cover-up.
Chrysanthou said Lee concluded the Network 10 broadcast demonstrated the allegation of rape was the “minor theme” while the alleagtion of a cover-up was the “major theme.”
Chrysanthou says this is an acceptance of the fact the program was “not really about Mr Lehrmann”.
The appeal, expected to finish on Friday, is before the federal court’s full court of justices, Michael Wigney, Craig Colvin and Wendy Abraham.
More on the men missing from a vehicle that crashed into a river north of Sydney
NSW police say police divers are on scene and will begin a search for two men missing after a car drove into a river north of Sydney late last night. The accident took place about 20km north of Wisemans Ferry.
One of the missing men is in his 20s and the other is in his 50s. Another man in his 20s was able to escape the vehicle. Police say they believe the trio are a father and his two sons.
Natasha May
NSW minister says inquiry into health system in western Sydney not necessary
Carter pushed Park on whether he would support an inquiry into the health system in western Sydney. Park said he did not because his government had already initiated a royal commission – the special commission of inquiry into healthcare funding.
Park outlined what was being done for western Sydney, but acknowledged there is “more work to do”:
One, we are rolling out ratios of that hospital, resulting in a significantly increased number of staff.
Two, we are expanding beds at both Mount Druitt and Blacktown to the tune of $120 million investment 60 increases in beds between both hospitals.
Three we will continue to focus on the patient experience at that and other western Sydney hospitals as a result of that investment, with more to do and a lot more improvement to go. We have seen significant improvements in the performance at Blacktown hospital. But there is more work to do.
Natasha May
Claim patient ‘too scared’ to return to Blacktown hospital out of fear they would die there, NSW budget estimates hears
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, is appearing before budget estimates this morning and questions kicked off around the state of Blacktown hospital.
Opposition MLC Susan Carter asked Park about what has been done since patients were photographed sleeping on the floor of the hospital in September last year.
Park said on-time treatment has gone up from one in six patients being treated on time back in March 2023, roughly about 16.5%, “under us, most recent data says one in two being treated on time, roughly around 44%”.
Carter asked about a resident called Patrick who she said emailed his office on Monday:
This week he was forced to wait for 38 hours and 17 minutes in Blacktown emergency department. He wasn’t fed. He saw patients sleeping on the floor of the emergency department. He’s now too scared to turn up at Blacktown hospital because he fears that he will die there.
Here’s a visual of the current state of flood advisories across NSW from the Bureau of Meteorology:
A major flood warning is in place for the Namoi River and a moderate flood warning for the Peel River, including at Tamworth, Manilla, Carroll Gap, Gunnedah and Goangra.
Netanyahu says Albanese’s reputation ‘forever tarnished’
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed Anthony Albanese in a new interview with Sky News. The Israeli leader expanded on his criticism of Australia’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state in quotes teased from the interview, set to air in full later today. Netanyahu said:
I’m sure he has a reputable record as a public servant, but I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters.
When the worst terrorist organisation on Earth … when these people congratulate the prime minister of Australia, you know something is wrong.
The full interview airs at 8pm tonight.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician
who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 19, 2025
Some parts of NSW saw 115mm of rain overnight, with more to come
The Bureau of Meteorology said NSW’s Port Macquarie saw 115mm of rain in the 21-hour period to 6am this morning, with heavy falls in the nearby area. Helen Reid, a meteorologist with the bureau, said those conditions are expected to continue throughout the day along the entire east coast of NSW up to south-east Queensland.
Widespread falls of 40mm-80mm are expected from the Gold Coast down to the Illawarra in NSW, with 20-50mm forecast for the ranges and western slopes. But the Bom said higher falls are possible, with many flood warnings issued across the state.
Reid said the heavy rain will ease on Friday, but wet conditions will probably remain through the weekend in coastal regions.
Friday will start off as a wet day along the coast, but we’re likely to start to see the rain easing to patchier showers throughout the afternoon. Rainfall totals will still be moderate on Friday.
Lehrmann appeal resumes
Adeshola Ore
Bruce Lehrmann’s appeal against the federal court ruling that he was not defamed by Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson has begun for the day.
Sue Chrysanthou SC, for Wilkinson, is expected to finish her arguments this morning. Zali Burrows, for Lehrmann, will then start her response.
Lehrmann’s written submissions published by federal court
Amanda Meade
Bruce Lehrmann’s written submissions have been published by the federal court ahead of the start of the second day of his appeal against his lost defamation case.
In the documents his lawyer, Zali Burrows, argues that the original judge, Justice Michael Lee, “misconstrued the meaning of the word ‘rape’”.
“The problem is that [The Project] broadcast clearly suggests a violent rape, where the complainant was in tears and repeatedly refused consent, of which repeated refusal the perpetrator must have been aware,” the documents released by the court says. They add:
That is quite different from a non-violent rape involving inadvertent recklessness as to whether there was consent.
Lehrmann is asking the appeal court to accept that Lee’s judgment denied Lehrmann procedural fairness and natural justice because “facts were not put to Mr Lehrmann” about “a version of the rape that His Honour found”.
We’ll bring you more from the appeal as the day goes on.
Patrick Commins
What could be one of the biggest tax reform ‘prizes’?
We mentioned earlier that Aruna Sathanapally, the chief executive of the Grattan Institute, was doing a presentation later this morning to the roundtable on “a better tax system”.
We aren’t allowed in the cabinet room, but we have a fair idea what will be in that presentation. In Sathanapally’s submission to the talkfest, she outlined a number of reforms.
First: “The biggest tax reform prize in Australia would be to replace state stamp duties with general property taxes.”
Then there are a range of suggestions: curbing super tax concessions; halving the capital gains tax discount and winding back negative gearing; broadening and/or raising the GST; and redesigning the petroleum resource rent tax.
The submission also floats the idea of an inheritance tax and a corporate cashflow tax, reminiscent of what the Productivity Commission recently proposed.
Sathanapally said a tax reform package “might be needed to share the costs more broadly and to raise enough revenue to be able to compensate those who can least afford it”.
One such package could be a GST “grand bargain” between the commonwealth and the states, which would involve broadening and hiking the consumption tax to pay for boosted welfare and lower income tax.
NSW SES has responded to 430 incidents in past 24 hours as official warns of ‘significant’ rain to come
Debbie Platz, the deputy commissioner of NSW SES, just gave an update about the weather situation across the state. She told ABC News:
This system is very widespread and … already we’ve had significant rain right up and down the east coast of New South Wales, but also significant rain inland as well …
That’s going to bring with it flash flooding and renewed riverine rises. Previously to this event, we had a system go through probably 10 days ago, and that system is still causing flooding along the Namoi and Barwon rivers.
Platz said the state is in for “significant” rainfall, saying it’s possible that in the Sydney area and in the north more than 100mm of rain is forecast, with some areas possibly seeing up to 120mm.
Over the last 24 hours NSW SES has responded to 430 incidents.
Patrick Commins
It’s day three of the roundtable. On deck: tax and budget sustainability
It’s day three of the government’s economic reform roundtable, and the two dozen or so attendees in the cabinet room will be discussing tax and budget sustainability.
Before booting out the media, Jim Chalmers in his opening remarks highlighted the “seven big intensifying pressures on our budget”.
While the treasurer didn’t list them all, the budget papers show the fastest growing major payments are (starting with the fastest growing): interest on the debt, the NDIS, defence, hospitals, medical benefits, aged care, and the child care subsidy.
“Five out of those seven are in the care economy,” Chalmers noted, adding:
The challenge on us is to convert the progress we’ve made in the near term in the budget, into longer term structural progress in the budget.
The treasury secretary, Jenny Wilkinson, is presenting first up, followed by a session on efficiency in government services (including care).
The CEO of the Grattan Institute, Aruna Sathanapally, will give a presentation on “a better tax system” later this morning, which will be the topic of conversation for the rest of the afternoon.
At 4.20pm the treasurer is scheduled to deliver a “close and way forward”, which might include some “announceables”.
Don’t hold your breath for a major tax announcement, though: Anthony Albanese has already ruled out any new tax changes in this term of government.
Woman assisting police after baby found dead in drain in WA
A woman in her 30s is assisting police regarding the death of an infant who was found dead in a storm drain in Alexander Heights on Monday.
The woman is receiving appropriate care and support, WA police said last night, but “given the sensitivities” the police would not make any further comment.
Read our story on the discovery of the baby here:
National road toll highest in 15 years, with number of pedestrians killed up more than 27%
Australian road accidents have claimed their highest number of victims in 15 years, with the national road toll fuelled by a rising number of pedestrian deaths, AAP report.
Recent figures show the national road toll had grown to 1,340 deaths during the year to 31 July – an increase of 2.9%. But the number of pedestrians killed in road accidents during the year jumped by 27.3%, an additional 44 people.
Road toll figures showed an additional 38 people were killed on Australian roads during the last 12 months, with significant increases in Tasmania (up 41%), the ACT (14%), and Western Australia (12%).
The figures represented the worst road toll recorded since 2010 when 1,395 people died in road accidents, and showed Australia was failing to meet its goal to halve the road toll by 2030, Australian Automobile Association managing director Michael Bradley said.
Prue Car says she is ‘doing OK’ amid treatment for breast cancer
NSW deputy premier Prue Car said she is “as well as you can be in the middle of chemo” after saying she would take time away to get treatment for breast cancer in June.
Car told 2GB this morning:
It’s a long and, at times, pretty brutal process, but I’m doing OK.
Car praised advancements in cancer research, pointing to the Cancer Council’s Daffodil Day today. But she noted every time she went in for treatment there was were hundreds of others there too, “having the same process for different types of cancers”.
We need to do better. We need to keep making the treatment less brutal. We need to ultimately find a cure, and we need to make sure that all those hundreds of people every day, of people having chemo right now for different types of cancer or going through surgery or radiation, that they can have a better chance of survival and thriving in their life once they’ve finished their treatment.
Dozens of flood advisories across NSW as heavy rain continues
There are dozens of flood advisories across NSW this morning after a night of heavy rain.
NSW SES is advising residents to stay informed from an area stretching from south of Sydney up to the Central Coast, the north coast, the New England region and the state’s north-west.
The agency wrote on social media:
With the morning commute in full swing, it’s important to take extra care and drive to the conditions.
Heavy rainfall is expected to continue today & renewed flooding is forecast for the coastal and north west areas of the state.
Stay safe on the roads during wet weather 🚗
With the morning commute in full swing, it’s important to take extra care and drive to the conditions.
Heavy rainfall is expected to continue today & renewed flooding is forecast for the coastal and north west areas of the state. pic.twitter.com/yrkFyFfXmU
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) August 20, 2025
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