Tag Archives: oceania

Warragamba Dam spills amid flood warnings for parts of NSW

Warragamba Dam began to spill this morning as Sydney faces another day of heavy rain.

Water NSW said the catchment began overflowing at 7.30am today and may continue to spill for some time.

Residents are being urged to stay away from waterways and flood plains, including the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers.

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Warragamba Dam began to spill this morning as Sydney braces for another day of heavy rain

The Bureau of Meteorology said heavy rain along the southern coast and adjacent ranges was likely to ease later tonight.

However, the downpours may trigger minor flooding to moderate flooding in parts of the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley, St Georges Basin and Moruya and Deua catchments.

"Catchments are relatively wet along much of the NSW coast due to rainfall and isolated flooding in recent weeks," the bureau said in a midday update.

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"The weather system may cause flooding across the Flood Watch area where flood warnings are current.

"River levels are elevated; however, flooding is no longer expected for the Bega and Clyde Rivers."

The Hawkesbury River at North Richmond is expected to exceed the minor flood levels at 4.20 metres by this evening.

There are no flood warnings in place for the Upper Nepean however, Menangle Bridge is expected to remain below the minor flood level of 5.2m throughout today.

The Colo River at Putty Road may reach the minor flood level of 2.7m by this evening, with low-lying communities mostly impacted.

Earlier, a flood advice alert was issued for Wamban on the NSW South Coast after downpours of 150mm were recorded across the Moruya and Deua Rivers in the last 48 hours.

"You should stay informed by monitoring warnings issued by NSW SES on their website and Facebook page, listening to your local radio station, and checking the latest weather information from the Bureau of Meteorology online," the SES said in an alert.

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A sinkhole opened up in Dover Heights

The bureau said the South Coast and Illawarra was forecast to receive more than 100mm of rain over the next 24 hours.

Sydney is expected to record a further 20mm today after recording downpours of 30mm overnight.

"An upper level low over the Central Tablelands is pushing an area of rain into the southeast coast," the BoM said.

"The rain will contract northwards out of the South Coast during the day, and off the Illawarra coast through the afternoon and evening."

The Bureau warned heavy rain may lead to flash flooding in northern parts of the South Coast, southern parts of the Illawarra, eastern parts of the Southern Tablelands and far north-eastern parts of the Snowy Mountains districts this morning and afternoon.

Areas that may be affected include Nowra, Batemans Bay, Moruya Heads, Ulladulla, Narooma and Araluen.

Overnight, the SES attended Dover Heights in Sydney's eastern suburbs after heavy rain caused a sinkhole to open up at a construction site on a residential street.

SES crews remained on scene until 1am, using sandbags and a retaining wall to divert water away from surrounding properties.

The incident was one of more than 270 calls for assistance in which SES volunteers attended in the 24 hours to 8am today.

Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan said most calls were for leaking roofs, fallen trees and sandbagging properties in the state's south-west.

"Since the start of the weather event, we've responded to more than 415 incidents across the state and have had about 300 volunteers out helping their communities," Hogan said.

The SES is urging residents to take care as an additional 150mm is expected to fall in the Illawarra and south coast regions later today. 

Super for paid parental leave and Medicare at forefront of federal budget

Paid parental leave and Medicare services are set to receive billions in funding in next week's federal budget.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers flagged the measures in an interview with 9News political editor Charles Croucher on Today this morning.

The government will commit $1.1 billion in super contributions for paid parental leave in the upcoming budget, then $600 million a year thereafter when the scheme is up and running.

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"When mums or dads go on the government paid parental leave system, they shouldn't be missing out on superannuation," Chalmers said.

From July 1, 2025, eligible parents will receive an additional 12 per cent superannuation on their government-funded parental leave.

"We recognise that when people are making difficult choices about whether to have kids, we need to support them," he said.

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The treasurer also committed $3 billion to strengthen Medicare and an $8.5 billion investment in health overall.

Health Minister Mark Butler will announce today a further $227 million in funding for 29 additional urgent care clinics, bringing a total of 87 clinics to open across the country.

The clinics will offer walk-in care and operate seven days a week over extended hours, with services bulk-billed to Medicare.

"We recognise that health care and bulk billing is a big part of the cost of living challenge," Chalmers said.

"And so we want to make life a bit easier for people. And that's why we're making this investment."

The treasurer will announce the federal government's full list of measures when he delivers the budget on Tuesday.

Trump could owe more than $150m in taxes after ‘financial losses’ claims

Former US president Donald Trump could owe more than $US100 million ($150 million) in taxes as a result of a years-long Internal Revenue Service inquiry into claims of huge losses on his Chicago skyscraper, The New York Times and ProPublica reported yesterday.

The news organisations reported Trump claimed massive financial losses twice — first on his 2008 tax return, when he said the building, then mired in debt, was "worthless", and again after 2010, when he had shifted its ownership into a new partnership also controlled by Trump.

The 2008 claim resulted in Trump reporting losses as high as $981 million for the year, and there is no indication it drew an IRS challenge, the outlets reported.

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Donald Trump

Then, Trump's lawyers enabled further claims of losses in 2010 by shifting the Chicago tower into another partnership, "DJT Holdings LLC", The Times and ProPublica reported.

In the years that followed, other Trump businesses, including golf courses, would be shifted into that same partnership — which his lawyers used as the basis to claim more tax-reducing losses from the Chicago tower.

That move sparked the IRS inquiry. Those losses added up to $253 million over the next decade, the report said.

The outlets calculated the revision sought by the IRS could result in a tax bill of more than $150 million.

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Trump Tower is a skyscraper in downtown Chicago.

The only public mention of the IRS audit into Trump's Chicago tower loss claims came in a December 2022 congressional report that The Times and ProPublica reported made an unexplained reference to the section of tax law at issue in the case.

That mention, the outlets reported, confirmed the audit was still underway.

"This matter was settled years ago, only to be brought back to life once my father ran for office. We are confident in our position, which is supported by opinion letters from various tax experts, including the former general counsel of the IRS," Trump's son Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, told The Times and ProPublica in a statement.