As it happened:NZ border to reopen to fully vaccinated Australians in April 2022;search for William Tyrrell continues;Victoria records 1196 new local COVID-19 cases,three deaths

Parts of Victoria are on high alert amid concerns thunderstorms could bring damaging winds and heavy rainfall to parts of the Mallee,Gippsland and Wimmera regions.

The front could also lead to flash flooding in Nhill,Kaniva,Morwell,Traralgon,Warragul,Sale,Moe,Yarram,Mt Baw Baw and Mildura over the next few hours.

The thunderstorms are the result of a tropical air mass combining with a deepening low pressure system in eastern South Australia,according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

In the 24 hours to 9am today,the bureau recorded rainfall totals of up to 50 millimetres in Victoria’s north-east and of 30 millimetres in Gippsland catchments.

Up to 100 millimetres of rain are forecast to fall across Victoria’s eastern districts between now and Friday and about half of that in the central districts. The Gippsland slopes could get 130 millimetres of rain.

Residents in affected areas are urged to avoid floodwaters,debris,mud,damaged roads and fallen trees if driving and to stay away from windows and fallen power poles.

They should also monitor weather warnings,forecasts and river levels throughthe Bureau of Meteorology website and the VicEmergency app.

The ARIAS (Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards) are being held at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo tonight and you can take a look at all the red carpet looksin our gallery here.

The awardswill be broadcast live on YouTube from 7.30pm AEDT.

You can also readRob Moran’s piece onthe musicians vying for ARIAs this year here.

We’re looking for people in Sydney struggling with housing affordability.

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The Melbourne man arrested over the mysterious disappearance of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay has previously been quizzed by police over the matter.

Greg Lynn,55,of Caroline Springs was still being questioned on Wednesday afternoon after special operations group police descended on his remote campsite at Arbuckle Junction,north of Sale,via helicopter about 5.30pm on Monday. No charges have been laid.

Friends of Mr Lynn said they’ve been left scratching their heads at his potential involvement in the disappearance,as the wider aviation industry reacted to the pilot’s dramatic arrest.

The pilot was wanted for questioning over the disappearance of Mr Hill and Ms Clay,who vanished from the remote Wonnangatta Valley in the high country in March last year.

Under the Victorian Crimes Act,officers may only hold a person under arrest without charge for a “reasonable amount of time” before they must be released unconditionally,released on bail or brought before a bail justice or magistrate.

Police sources said on Wednesday Mr Lynn was quizzed by police as part of an extensive investigation in the months that followed the campers’ disappearance.

Police moved in to execute a search warrant at Mr Lynn’s home soon after he left on Monday,bound for a camping trip at Arbuckle Junction. There,detectives seized a number of small items. The trailer though,which was part of police’s recent appeal for information,is yet to be found.

Read the full story here.

Attorney-General Michaelia Cash has committed to work with the Labor Opposition in an attempt to gain bipartisan support for the government’s proposed religious freedom legislation.

Speaking on 2GB radio in Sydney,Senator Cash said the bill would go to a Senate committee for consideration after it is formally introduced to Parliament by the Prime Minister later this week.

“I look forward to working with the Labor Party,with[shadow attorney-general] Mark Dreyfus,to get bipartisan support in relation to a bill that really is just about helping protect what we value as Australians - difference,fairness,choice,charity and the right,you know,to live our lives as we please as long as we’re not hurting others.”

As chief political correspondentDavid Crowe reported earlier today,Labor leader Anthony Albanese endorsed the goal of shielding people of faith from discrimination,in a sign the government bill could pass the House of Representatives next week.

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Religious freedom

Labor backs religious freedom but warns on risk for gay teachers,students

But Mr Albanese and senior colleagues including education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek have warned against the prospect of gay teachers or students suffering from a new law that could give a religious school a right to discriminate.

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg set out the challenge facing the government in balancing its moderate and conservative wings in a speech on the issue today. Senator Bragg said he supported religious schools acting in accordance with their ethos but did not want anyone sacked because of their sexuality.

“I do think we need to clean up this issue where too many teachers,and indeed students,are excluded from schools.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has broadly condemned a call by maverick Nationals MP George Christensen for civil disobedience over state-based COVID-19 vaccination mandates.

Mr Christensen claimed just before Question Time began that Australia was heading down a totalitarian path similar to “Stalin,Mao,Hitler and Pol Pot” by requiring vaccines to do some jobs and go some places.

“The solution is the rediscovery of human dignity along with,and I don’t say this lightly,civil disobedience,” Mr Christensen told Parliament.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese asked the Prime Minister to issue an unequivocal condemnation of the call to civil disobedience,which he did in broad terms.

“As the son of the police officer I believe everyone should obey the law and no one should encourage anyone to disobey the law,no one,” Mr Morrison said.

“And I indeed,Mr Speaker,would condemn any encouragement,any encouragement whatsoever by any person in any place regarding acts of civil disobedience. That’s not something I would encourage,that’s not something I would participate in.

“I don’t think I can be any clearer than that.”

Fellow rebel backbenchers Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic have agreed to support the government on motions in the Senate after Health Minister Greg Hunt announced an indemnity scheme for rare injuries caused as a side effect of COVID-19 vaccines would be covered by a federal scheme if they were worth more than $1000,rather than $5000. However,they have not resumed their support for government legislation.

As Anthony Galloway and Nick Bonyhady reported earlier today,Australia will list all of Lebanese political party and militant group Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation,making it a criminal offence to be a member.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews confirmed the government was following therecommendation of a bipartisan parliamentary inquiryin making that change.

A terrorist listing means that people who provide support to the organisations can be hit with high level counter-terrorism charges.

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National security

‘Hateful ideologies’:Australia lists The Base and Hezbollah as terror groups

Federal Liberal MP Julian Leeser,a member of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security,told the ABC’s Patricia Karvelas just now that “we recommended earlier this year when the government had only listed the military wing of Hezbollah ...[it should] list the entire organisation” as a terrorist group. He said it was an affectation to describe Hezbollah as anything other than a military organisation.

“That brings us into line with the US,Canada,and Germany and the Arab league and a range of other countries around the world,” Mr Leeser said.

“What is the effect of it having a terrorist listing? It makes it easier for prosecutorial authorities to prosecute people who may be high-risk offenders because they are a member of the group or supporters of the group.”

Veteran federal Liberal backbencher Russell Broadbent has lambasted state-based coronavirus vaccine mandates,although it is not clear whether as a matter of constitutional law the federal government could override state laws on the issue in any case.

“Vaccine mandates without reasonable exemptions are not only unconscionable,they are criminal,” he said.

Mr Broadbent shared two case studies to support his argument in the House of Representatives,neither of which has been independently verified byThe Sydney Morning HeraldandThe Age.

Australia’s medical authorities have thoroughly tested coronavirus vaccines in use here and declared them overwhelmingly safe and effective.

Last month,federal political reporter Katina Curtis filed this report on Mr Broadbent and his stance on vaccines.

Mr Broadbent did not outline exactly what exemptions he wants to vaccination mandates,or what steps he would take to pressure the government over the issue.

Another backbencher in the Coalition,George Christensen,vowed earlier this week to vote his conscience on government legislation until it acted on vaccine mandates. Coalition MPs already have that right and,as noted above,it is not clear whether the federal government can override state laws on the issue.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in Question Time today:“I encourage all Australians to go get the vaccination. I was disappointed they were people over the other side of the house that spoke against AstraZeneca vaccine.”

The NSW State Emergency Service and partner agencies have received more than 6600 requests for assistance in approximately 10 days and conducted over 60 flood rescues.

NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York said today there had been 150 requests for assistance in the most recent 24-hour period and six flood rescues.

The most requests had come from people in Forbes,Gunnedah and Coffs Harbour. Skilled SES members have assisted with animal rescues including for cows and horses.

“We’ve had one flood rescue where police assisted us,or led the rescue,and had two boys that had gone into the floodwaters,” she said.

NSW Police Sergeant Joel Hunter has been commended for a bravery award for that rescue on Saturday afternoon,when he swam out to save two 11-year-old boys who had jumped into the Lachlan River near Condobolin.

Severe weather has lashed the state in the past fortnight,causing major flooding on the Lachlan River in the NSW Central West and prompting evacuation orders for hundreds of properties in the town of Forbes,and a snap order for some residents of Denman in the Upper Hunter.

The SES issued a final “all clear” for Forbes this afternoon,meaning it is safe for residents to return to properties on four listed streets and no areas of the town remain under an evacuation order.

Jane Golding,the Bureau of Meteorology’s hazard preparedness response manager for the east region,said a major flood warning was also current for the Namoi River in the state’s north. The river has neared its peak at Gunnedah,causing major flooding.

“What we are expecting over the next few days’ time is for a low-pressure system to really deepen over inland NSW and progress towards the eastern part of NSW,” she said.

“Areas impacted today and tomorrow are really the inland areas over towards the Western Slopes and Ranges of NSW,but as we move through Thursday and Friday,that will progress over towards the coast.”

Ms Golding also warned of tree falls as a southerly wind trails the progressing low,reaching the coast on Friday and bringing a gusty change and high seas.

A severe thunderstorm warning for damaging winds and heavy rainfall was issued this afternoon for people in parts of the Central West Slopes and Plains,Riverina and Lower Western forecast districts.

Bureau meteorologist Jackson Browne said another round of widespread rainfall is forecast for eastern Australia,“as two tropical air masses look to collide”.

“Accumulated rainfall shows our cloud band shifting over the eastern two-thirds of Australia,with Thursday being the peak day of rainfall,” he said.

“Widespread falls of 25-100 millimetres,with higher amounts in thunderstorms,are likely.”