Kāpiti College’s head of school Amy Skipper is campaigning for the voice of youth to be heard in the fight for mental health support in Aotearoa.Having handed a petition to Parliament last year demanding an increase in funding…

From wannabe bricklayers to banana lovers, British PMs have had some unusual habits.

Two residents of Echuca, a flood-hit northern Victorian town, said their community will be divided by a makeshift clay levee for months, with a class action now brewing over the barrier.

The home of Nick Dean and his wife Kerrie is one of dozens of properties on the "wrong side" of the three-kilometre wall, built over the past week.

Some residents claim the levee is pushing water back into homes, with the Murray River sitting at a current major flood level and expected peak of 94.9 metres.

This surpasses the historic flood levels of 1993 and 1975.

READ MORE: 'Dangerous' hybrid cyclone set to form off the coast

The Deans told Today, river water has flowed into their backyard, reached the garage and "all through under the house", which sits 1.1 metres off the ground.

They fear what the rest of summer could hold as they've been told the levee is not going anywhere anytime soon.

"They're saying will be here till February," Kerrie said.

"With that river rising and dropping and the rainfall that we're destined to have, it will be here for quite a few months.

"We need to get everything out. It turned into a sludge pit. It's slippery and dangerous for residents to go up and over."

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Nick said they are considering taking legal action against the council, claiming they've not received any contact from councillors.

"We've been left on our own down here," he said.

"We call it the 'Shire of Catastrophe' now, not the Shire of Campaspe.

"They haven't been near. There's been no contact. It's heartbreaking.

"If that's what the guys down here want to do I would certainly be involved in that (class action).

"If there are any legal firms watching the show this morning that specialise in that thing please make contact."

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Floods crisis continues

Communities across the east coast are facing another day of uncertainty with flood waters remaining high across many waterways.

As of 9:20am, there are 73 flood warnings in effect across Victoria, stretching from the state's south to the NSW border. 

Of these, five remain at emergency level.

NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Daniel Austin is hopeful the Murray River has now reached its peak around Echuca, and Moama on the NSW border.

"It's been hovering at a pretty consistent level," he said.

"We've been waiting for it to peak, hoping very much it will peak and start to provide some relief to the communities."

Austin said the magnitude of flooding across NSW is hard to grasp.

"I don't think some people really grasp the magnitude of really what we are facing across all of NSW at the moment," he said.

"All the way from the Queensland border to the Victorian border we've got significant flood warnings in place, 140-plus warnings… 23 of those at the emergency warning level.

"There are thousands of kilometres worth of highways and roads under water. We talked about crops. We've talked about houses.

"This really is a massive effort."

Jonathan Howe, senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the weather focus is shifting to north-east NSW, all the way up into Queensland to Mackay.

"We are looking at the possibility of severe thunderstorms that could produce localised flash flooding," he said.

"Some strong winds but of course many other communities through inland parts of NSW are still struggling with significant flooding, so Wee Waa, Narrabri, Condobolin, Narrandera.

"Overnight the heaviest rainfall was on the NSW South Coast. We saw more than 100mm around the Bega area."

In a disturbing new development to the Medibank hack, the company has revealed main brand customers have likely been caught up in a widening data breach as hackers escalated extortion demands after releasing another 1000 customers' details.

"It has become clear that the criminal has taken data that now includes Medibank customer data, in addition to that of (health insurance business) ahm and international student customers," the company said in a statement today.

Australia's largest private health insurance company said its update was "a distressing development", after initially assuring the federal government that no sensitive personal information was taken during the cyber hack, first detected on October 12.

READ MORE: What to do if you have been hacked

It has emerged as much as 200 gigabytes of data was stolen from its servers, including highly sensitive medical details and diagnoses of customers.

Today, the insurer said the hackers had shared another 1000 ahm customer files, adding to the 100 customers it confirmed last Thursday.

Medibank said it was "too soon" to know the full extent of customer data stolen, the total number of victims or specifically what information was taken.

"As we continue to investigate the scale of this cybercrime, we expect the number of affected customers to grow as this unfolds."

Medibank boss David Koczkar apologised "unreservedly" and said the insurer is working with the government and AFP in their investigation.

"This is a malicious attack that has been committed by criminals with a view of causing maximum fear and damage, especially to the most vulnerable members of our community."

READ MORE: What Medibank customers need to know after cyberattack and ransom threat

In the aftermath of the attack, Medibank is suspending premium increases, initially planned for this month, until next year.

Medibank is the latest high-profile Australian business to be hit by hackers in a major breach.

Last month millions of customers had their personal information stolen by hackers who attacked telecommunications provider Optus.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak to become UK's youngest PM in centuries

More to come.

China has hit out Australia's new security agreement with Japan.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has warned the deal has upset the positive trend in Australia's relationship with China and that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should avoid starting a new "Cold War group".

"The Asia-Pacific region does not need military blocs, still less groupings that could provoke bloc confrontation or stoke a new Cold War," a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

READ MORE: 'Dangerous' hybrid cyclone set to form off the coast

"People in the region will be on heightened alert and stand against any act that undermines regional peace and stability and hurts regional solidarity and cooperation."

Last Saturday, Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signed a joint declaration on security cooperation during their meeting in Perth.

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READ MORE: 'Beloved' Will and Grace actor Leslie Jordan dead at 67

"Our commitment to consult each other on contingencies is a natural step in our efforts to support the security and stability of our region," Albanese said.

"It shows the responsibility we share for security in our region and towards one another."

The declaration renews a 2007 commitment to closer defence and security cooperation.

"Our affinity is in our common desire for a peaceful, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific," Albanese said. 

READ MORE: Chinese intelligence officers charged in plot to obstruct US Huawei probe

A Taiwanese mountaineer's record-breaking claim of the fastest summit of the world's eighth-highest peak, Manaslu, is now under a growing cloud of suspicion.

On October 4, Grace Tseng claimed to reach the top of Manaslu, and in doing so becoming the fastest person to summit the 8163-metre mountain in Nepal without using supplementary oxygen.

However, since then, doubts have risen over Tseng's reported 13-hour climb, culminating in the company which is hosting her online fund raiser suspending donations, according to local media reports.

READ MORE: Famous wood cabin falls off mountain in Alps

More than $230,000 was reportedly donated to Tseng's fundraiser, launched as she sought to break the speed record for summiting the 14 mountains in the world which stand taller than 8000 metres, a group known as the eight-thousanders.

According to video of her climb, which was assisted by three Sherpa, it appears Tseng did indeed reach the very top of Manaslu.

The speed of the 29-year-old's ascent is where the controversy has arisen.

In early October, the expedition Dolma Outdoor announced "Grace Tseng has now become the fastest female to summit Manaslu without supplementary oxygen".

That declaration caused some in the climbing fraternity to raise their eyebrows.

Tseng's climb of 13 hours equalled the fastest time Manaslu had ever been ascended, with or without oxygen.

Climbing without oxygen at extreme altitudes is a far more difficult physical challenge.

READ MORE: How a record number of people suddenly climbed 'savage mountain'

As documented by specialist mountaineering website WebExplorer, conditions at the time of Tseng's summit attempt were extremely tough, which would make a 13-hour summit all the more remarkable.

Bad weather and heavy snowfall had created "incredibly slow conditions, brutally hard to advance through", the website said.

The day before Tseng's summit attempt, the climbing season on Manaslu was called off because of avalanche danger.

All expeditions on the mountain retreated and left because of the tricky conditions.

Tseng's team, however, did not. Instead they pressed on alone.

In a detailed examination of Tseng's climb, WebExplorer noted that her summit push "came as a surprise to everyone", particularly given her lack of experience in treacherous conditions above 8000-metres, known as "the death zone".

"There was one metre of fresh snow — murderous conditions for even a slow trudge with oxygen, let alone a speed record without oxygen.

"Ropes were also reported missing from Camp 3, and the trail was not packed down from Camp 4 to the summit."

9news.com.au does not suggest Tseng's record is not accurate.

In July, Tseng became the first Taiwanese mountaineer to climb K2, the world's second-highest peak, without oxygen.

She is seeking to climb all of the eight-thousanders before she turned 30.

9news.com.au has contacted Tseng for comment.

Today's federal budget will be $42 billion better off, new details reveal, but conditions may worsen over the coming two years with minimal cost-of-living relief.

Chief Political Editor for 9News Charles Croucher said Treasurer Jim Chalmers has to walk a "perilous path" as he manages a waning economy while attempting to ease household budgets.

Although the deficit has shrunk to just under $36.9 billion, which is under the $78 billion shortfall predicted in March this financial year, it is still posing "a big problem", Croucher said.

READ MORE: Federal Budget 2022: What to expect from the government's cash splash

"The problem the Treasurer has outlined is we are approaching that trillion dollar in debt for the nation," Croucher said.

"If you go back to the cupboard, you are going to dig deeper into that debt, and if you go back to the cupboard and start handing out money it will fuel inflation.

"That will make things harder again.

"That is the perilous path that the Treasurer has to walk".

Croucher said people expecting big cash handouts "will be disappointed".

READ MORE: Treasurer Jim Chalmers reveals how federal budget will impact Australians amid cost of living crisis

"There is no big splashy spending that we've become used to. No huge cuts either," he said.

"Instead, the Treasurer will point to things like childcare subsidies, which is one of Labor's big election promises. That will be funded.

"There is also an extension to the paid parental leave scheme that will be available to more families and stretch from the 18 weeks as it currently stands to 26 weeks.

"That happens over a few years, though."

READ MORE: 'Dangerous' hybrid cyclone set to form off the coast

Chalmers will hand down the annual accounts in an economic environment where everyone's wallets are getting tighter: interest rates are going up, inflation is soaring and real wages are remaining low.

The first federal Labor budget in almost 10 years has three goals: addressing the nation's debt, funding the Albanese government's election promises and providing cost of living relief.

Almost $10 billion will be spent on nationwide infrastructure projects. And there will be $5 billion set aside for cheaper childcare – a major Labor election pledge.

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Other spending priorities will be cutting the cost of medicines on the PBS and more cash for pensioners.

Education will also benefit as the government tries to address critical skills shortages.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has played down offering major cost of living relief, particularly cash hand outs that would fuel inflation.

And the improvement to the budget bottom line is expected to be short lived.

Chalmers is tonight expected to warn that stubborn high inflation and global uncertainty will impact the economy over the next two years.

Leslie Jordan, beloved comedian and actor known for his work on Will and Grace, has died, his agent announced.

Sources told the Los Angeles Times Jordan was involved in a car accident on Monday morning in Hollywood. A spokesperson for the LAPD confirmed to CNN there was a fatal accident but would not disclose further details.

He was 67.

READ MORE: 'Dangerous' hybrid cyclone set to form off the coast

"The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan," Sarabeth Schedeen, Jordan's talent agent, said in a statement to CNN.

"Not only was he a mega talent and joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary to the nation at one of its most difficult times.

"What he lacked in height he made up for in generosity and greatness as a son, brother, artist, comedian, partner and human being. Knowing that he has left the world at the height of both his professional and personal life is the only solace one can have today."

Jordan's move to Hollywood

In his 2009 book "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet," Jordan documented his move from Tennessee to Hollywood in 1982. He "boarded a Greyhound bus bound for LA with US$1200 sewn into his underpants and never looked back," a publisher's description of the book read.

The actor found work on television in shows like The Fall Guy, Designing Women and The People Next Door.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak to become United Kingdom's next prime minister

Jordan originated the role of Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram in the award-winning play "Sordid Lives," which he reprised in the 2000 independent film adaption.

He was a fan-favorite for his recurring role as Karen's friend Beverley Leslie on "Will and Grace." He also appeared in "American Horror Story" and "The Cool Kids."

His star shone even brighter during the height of the pandemic when his social media presence took off on Instagram, garnering him millions of followers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkDnb4_AYUt/?hl=en

The platform also became a place where Jordan shared about his struggles, memories and family stories (many about his beloved mama) through the prism of humor.

Jordan talked to CNN's Anderson Cooper about his past substance abuse and being sober for more than 20 years.

"People say 'Well how do you get sober, what's the best way,'" Jordan said. "Yeah, well 120 days in the jailhouse in Los Angeles. That will sober you up."

In one post, Jordan recalled a guard who took pity on how much Jordan disliked incarceration and informed him that they had Robert Downey Jr. (who decades ago made headlines for a few brushes with the law) in custody and would be releasing Jordan and giving Downey Jr. his bed.

"Pod A, cell 13, top bunk," Jordan recalled.

"I feel responsible for most of Robert Downey Jr.'s success. Honey, I gave him a bed."

His last posting on Instagram was him singing a hymn with artist Danny Myrick on Sunday.

A hybrid cyclone is set to form off the coast, increasing the chance of more heavy rain and flooding across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.

Radar images supplied by Weatherzone show two distinct low pressure systems swirling above the east coast.

The first was seen hovering near the junction of the New South Wales, Victoria and South Australian border, with the other over the Tasman Sea, off the north coast of NSW.

Weatherzone explains the systems – a cold-core low and a warm-core low – are on course to crash into one other as they pass over Victoria today.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak to become United Kingdom's next prime minister

When they do, the differing temperatures will lead to the formation of a dynamic and dangerous system called a hybrid cyclone.

"This mix of air leads to a mix of energy sources, which can allow hybrid cyclones to intensify quite rapidly," it said.

"Hybrid cyclones are often caused when one type of low pressure system transitions into the other (e.g. warm to cold core).

"However, this system is different, as it is being caused by two already-established systems combining.

"This will cause the cores to try and balance out each other's core temperatures, resulting in an unstable and dynamically evolving system."

Weatherzone said hybrid cyclones are renowned for causing severe weather, including large tornadoes outbreaks in the United States.

As this system will be offshore, the most likely result will be more heavy rain.

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"(The) most intense weather should occur over water," it said.

"However, this system may still bring heavy rain to parts of the NSW South Coast, Victoria's Gippsland region and the east coast of Tasmania between Monday and Thursday."

While computer models forecast widespread falls between 60-100mm, Weatherzone warned hybrid cyclones can be unpredictable.

"These systems can sometimes produce up to twice as much as forecast," it said.

"It is possible that some areas between southeast NSW and eastern Tasmania could see falls in the range of 100-200mm over the next few days."

READ MORE: Brazen thieves steal hundreds worth of petrol from Sydney servos

Individually the lows have been responsible for dropping heavy rain over east coast states.

"The western-most low dumped 95.6 mm of rain on Renmark during the 24 hours to 9am on Monday, which was Renmark's highest daily rainfall on record," Weatherzone said.

"During the same 24-hour period, Alstonville in northeast NSW was inundated by 233mm as the Tasman Sea low drove heavy rain into the region.

"Nearby, Ballina's 126.4mm was equivalent to more than a month's worth of rain falling in a single day."

It comes after the news Sydney has had its wettest October in 165 years.

Flood crisis continues 

Both NSW and Victoria continue to battle through a deadly floods crisis.

A body was found on the bank of a flooded river in NSW Central West yesterday in the search for a woman missing after escaping a vehicle swept off a flooded causeway north of Mudgee.

READ MORE: Flooded Victorian town to remain divided for months

It's the fourth floods-related death in just over the week. 

As of 5.30 am, there are 141 flood warnings current across NSW, which stretch from the Victorian border to Queensland.

Of these warnings 23, are at emergency level.

Across the border, residents on the "wrong side of the levee" along the Murray river in Echuca are considering launching legal action.

A resident told 9News, community members plan to meet to discuss the floods response after a makeshift clay levee split the town in two, with some homes deemed "unsaveable".

"We'll talk about class action," they said.

Floodwaters from the Campaspe and Goulburn Rivers have combined with flows down the Murray River to cause major flooding at Echuca and Moama.

"River levels at Echuca Wharf have exceeded the October 1993 (94.77 m AHD) and November 1975 (94.80 m AHD) floods, and may peak slightly below 95.00 metres AHD during Tuesday, with major flooding," the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says.

"As this flood peak extends downstream, it is likely to exacerbate the current major flooding at Torrumbarry and Barham, and cause additional river level rises along the Murray River downstream of Barham."

There a 73 warnings current across Victoria. 

Of those, five are at emergency level.

He ran for Britain's top job and lost. Then he got another shot — and the chance to say "I told you so."