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A 90-year-old man with dementia was locked in a dark room for up to 16 hours a day, and clad in an adult nappy and a wet suit he could not remove, for whenever he soiled himself, the police allege.The man’s son called him a “filthy…

As Queensland braces for a record rain event to hit "multiple areas and multiple regions" tonight, Western Australia is also preparing for a deluge.

Weatherzone says a late season tropical cyclone has formed over the Indian Ocean, which will see rain fall over WA later this week.

Cyclone Karim strengthened to a category two system last night.

ELECTION 2022: Morrison, Albanese clash in debate

Despite it being the cyclone off-season, modelling shows parts of the state could receive 30mm of rain.

"Australia's tropical cyclone season officially ended more than a week ago on April 30," Weatherzone explained.

"However, unusually warm water over the eastern Indian Ocean has helped spawn an out-of-season tropical cyclone.

"Showers will start to increase over the west coast of WA from late Wednesday, before rain becomes heavier and more widespread on Thursday into Friday."

The low pressure system is not expected to make landfall.

ANALYSIS: What did we learn during The Great Debate?

Queensland prepares for deluge

A major wet weather event is also set to hit Queensland.

Most of the rain will fall along more than 700km of the central and northern parts of the coast, from Townsville down to Rockhampton and inland to Longreach and Winton.

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Towns in that area already received a lot of rain over the Anzac Day long weekend and catchments are very full.

Bureau meteorologist Jackson Browne said 100mm could fall on Longreach in outback Queensland.

"That is five times the monthly rainfall in May for Longreach," Browne said, adding that rainfall forecast is "conservative".

"It's very unusual for May.

"The responsible character is a large high-pressure system in the Tasman Sea.

"And that's drawing a huge north-easterly fetch of moisture down from the Solomon Islands."

READ MORE: Chris Dawson breaks silence on eve of murder trial

Browne said rain will develop over inland regions from tonight, with the system shifting toward the coast later tomorrow.

Up to 400mm of rain could fall on parts of the coast in just 48 hours, with the SES preparing for emergency situations.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said it was likely flood watch warnings would be released throughout the day.

People in the affected areas are urged to stay across the warnings and updates and keep off the roads if possible.

Tomorrow to Thursday is set to be the biggest danger period.

The state's south-east is not set to see as much rain, but a severe wind warning is in place for the region.

The Sunshine Coast is also bracing for a thunderstorm and up to 90mm of rain.

The high-profile murder trial of Chris Dawson has begun in Sydney's Supreme Court, more than 40 years after his wife Lynette disappeared.

Dawson, a former rugby league player turned high school teacher, is accused of killing the mother-of-two, who was last seen on Sydney's Northern Beaches in 1982.

He has pleaded not guilty.

The fate of the 73-year-old now rests in the hands of Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison.

Dawson has always denied having anything to do with the suspicious disappearance, and although Lynette's body has never been found, he was charged with murder in 2018.

"I'm looking forward to justice being served and the truth coming out in the next few weeks," Dawson told 9News on his way from the Sunshine Coast yesterday.

Today the judge was told just over six years before Lynette vanished, Dawson was watching a broadcast of the Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fight in the Philippines with his football teammates.

According to the Crown Prosecutor he asked one of them "if he knew someone who could get rid of his wife".

Craig Everson SC argued the conversation didn't go any further until Dawson began an affair with a young woman in the 1980s.

"He was infatuated with her… he repeatedly asked her to marry him… He was motivated to kill his wife by his desire to have an unfettered relationship," Everson said.

Lynette Dawson has not been seen or heard from for more than 40 years.

Not long after she went missing, it's alleged Dawson told his girlfriend "Lyn was gone and she wouldn't be coming back".

It wasn't reported to police for six weeks and while there have been several sightings in the years that followed, none of them have been confirmed, nor has her body been found.

Dawson is the only person that's ever been charged but today the court heard there could have been others involved in the alleged killing and the dumping of Lynette's remains.

The trial could run for up to six weeks.

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War medals from World War II have been found by a former police officer hidden in an old piece of wooden furniture.

A retired homicide detective found the medals in the furniture, which was bought from a garage sale more than a decade ago in the Doncaster area, in Melbourne's east.

The set was handed into Warrandyte Police Station on May 3.

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Police believe the medals belong to David Bruce Welsford, who was born in August 1924.

The set includes a 1939-45 Star, a Pacific Star, a War Medal and an Australian Service Medal 1939-1945.

It is understood Welsford lived all of his life in the eastern and north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, with his last known address being in Doncaster.

He died in 2001 and his wife, Lorrie Welsford, passed away in 1999.

Police believe they did not have children but said Ms Welsford may have had children from a previous marriage.

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Police continue will continue to track down any of Welsford's family so the medals can be passed onto his loved ones.

Police have issued photos of the medals and urge anyone who knew Welsford or has more information to contact Warrandyte Police Station on (03) 9844 3231.

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Prime minister Scott Morrison and opposition leader Anthony Albanese have gone head-to-head on how to best address the rising cost of living, foreign policy and their perceived shortcomings.

In the second leaders' debate, Albanese was asked about his failure to clearly define his own party's NDIS policy while Morrison was put on the spot when Nine's political editor Chris Uhlmann listed people on the prime minister's own side of politics who didn't "like" him.

Uhlmann, 60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo, 2GB afternoon host Deborah Knight and chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age David Crowe weighed in on the debate.

READ MORE: The Great Debate: Key moments from heated Morrison-Albanese showdown

Uhlmann said the fact the leaders were so fiery in their clashes showed they were engaged.

"I have been engaged in these things before when the leaders would look straight ahead and give short speeches and not at any stage take any chance," he said.

"I thought Anthony Albanese, who is clearly leading at this stage, might go risk-free, and in fact he initiated the banter between the two of them, and at some stages he really did it quite willingly."

After the first ad break the panel also discussed Abo's tough job as moderator trying to wrangle the two leaders shouting over each other.

"You needed a whistle there!" Knight joked.

"Or a gavel, because they were not listening. That speaks to the night, they were really engaged," Abo responded.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about early voting

WHAT DID VIEWERS THINK?

We asked viewers to head to Nine.com.au or scan a QR code on their screens and answer questions during the debate.

In the end, those who voted decided it was a tie and neither leader had won the debate but there were a range of other questions where there was a clear winner.

"Who do you think would make the better prime minister?" was one question.

Our poll of more than 50,000 people showed Anthony Albanese in the lead at 49 per cent, with Scott Morrison at 46 per cent and the rest undecided.

Halfway through the debate we asked: "Which party do you think will win the election?"

Labor came out on top with 46 per cent of the vote while 15 per cent of people said there would be a hung parliament.

In the end, Labor was the preferred party for those voting on the website tonight.

Decided or not, which are you more likely to vote for?

• Coalition – 44%
• Labor – 50%
• Other – 6%

Choosing only between the two major parties, which are you more likely to vote for?

• Coalition – 47%
• Labor – 53%

Please note: Reader polls are not scientific and only reflect the votes of readers who came to the site and chose to participate.

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