Brittany Higgins' credibility is being scrutinised in the closing days of the trial for the man she accuses of raping her after she was described as a "honest" witness.

Bruce Lehrmann is being tried in the ACT Supreme Court after he pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent.

Higgins alleges she was assaulted by Lehrmann inside the Parliament House office of former cabinet minister Linda Reynolds, for whom they worked as staffers, in 2019.

READ MORE: 'He was in my body': Brittany Higgins finishes giving evidence

Prosecutor Shane Drumgold completed his closing argument on Tuesday, telling the jury Higgins was an honest, credible witness who has not wavered in her sexual assault allegation.

He said Higgins was facing a situation where political forces were at play and she was right to tread carefully.

But Lehrmann's defence lawyer Steven Whybrow said a closer look at Higgins' evidence made the prosecution's case against his client "totally untenable".

He said the "kindest way" to sum up the case was to say Higgins simply didn't know what happened that night, but suggested she had motive to fabricate the allegations to save her job.

Whybrow said "it would be pretty embarrassing" to be found asleep in a ministerial office and spark a security breach.

"Is there a reasonable possibility this complaint is being made because her 'dream job' is, from her perspective, in jeopardy?" Whybrow said.

He suggested Higgins woke up in parliament on Saturday morning after a night out drinking with colleagues and waited until "a more sensible hour" to leave, hoping no one would notice.

READ MORE: Former minister denies trying to interfere in Bruce Lehrmann trial

Whybrow also suggested Higgins fabricated doctor appointments at the time to "make it more believable" that she had been sexually assaulted.

He said there was no record of Higgins attending these appointments and the reason she didn't go was because she didn't need to.

"The person (Higgins) bringing the allegation is prepared to say anything," he said.

"She says things that superficially support her position and then they turn out to be not reliable."

But the prosecutor said if Higgins did make up her allegation, it was an elaborate fabrication and she was "quite the actor".

Drumgold said Higgins had not faltered in her evidence and was honest when she could not remember something.

He said her version of events had remained the same from the days after the alleged assault, to her police complaint two years later, to her appearance in the witness box.

Meanwhile, he said Lehrmann had given inconsistent accounts about his reasons for being at parliament on the night of the alleged assault to the security guards, to his boss and to the police.

Drumgold said Lehrmann's intent was to go to Parliament House with the "drunk" and "vulnerable" Higgins.

"We say this was the most convenient place to get her (Higgins) alone, not a sudden need to do some work in the middle of the night," he said on Tuesday.

READ MORE: Key points from the first week of the Bruce Lehrmann trial

Drumgold said the defence has argued that Higgins made up a complaint to keep her staffer job in Reynolds' office but pointed out she did not reapply for that job after the election.

He told the jury there were strong political forces at play in the period immediately after the alleged events, through the 2019 federal election and afterwards.

"It's clear that this is a young lady in the middle of strong political forces," he said.

"We say she was right to be scared, she was right to be cautious and she was right to move slowly and carefully."

The closing argument for the defence continues on Wednesday.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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The Echuca community is continuing to rally together to build a levy to protect thousands of homes from flooding when the Murray River peaks later this week.

Labelled the "great wall of Echuca" by locals, the levee, made from tonnes of soil, stretches nearly three kilometres long and two metres high.

The Bureau of Meteorology expects the Murray River to exceed the major flood level of 94.4m AHD (Australian Height Datum) on Thursday and may hit 95m AHD on Friday.

About 34,000 homes remain at risk across the state as thousands of homes are inundated or isolated in Shepparton.

READ MORE: 'Rain, and lots of it' coming as multiple weather events pass over nation

Warnings in place

There are about 60 warnings still in place across the state, 13 of those are emergency warnings with residents told to evacuate immediately in Echuca and Charlton.

Floodwaters in the town peaked yesterday, 15 centimetres shy of the 12.2 metres predicted however evacuation orders are still in place for the town.

Residents can find the latest warnings and evacuation orders on the VicEmergency website and weather updates on the Bureau of Meteorology website.

A fresh Emergency Warning for residents living in Rochester to move to higher ground was issued at midday.

Similar orders are in place for Bunbartha, Kerang, Loddon, Zeerust, Mundoona, Kaarimba, Coomboona, Mooroopna North, Tallygaroopna, Undera, Charlton and Echuca, as of Tuesday at 9.30am

READ MORE: Warning issued as venomous snakes spotted swimming through floodwater

From Loddon Weir to Kerang, people are being advised they may be isolated for at least a week if they do not evacuate the area.

"Boort is predicted to be isolated for up to one week, similar to the 2011 floods," Vic Emergency has said.

"Two more peaks are expected for Appin South. Water is anticipated to be higher than expected at Kerang, but remain below the levee. If you do not wish to be isolated for at least a week within the levee area, it is recommended you relocate as soon as possible.

"If you choose to stay you will need to be self sufficient for the period of isolation.

"Leaving now is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous."

Evacuation orders have also returned in the small town of Rochester, of which 85 per cent was flooded on Friday.

Since the event started, there have been more than 700 flood rescues and more than 7000 requests for assistance.

READ MORE: 'Frightened, wet and exhausted' native animals filmed desperately fleeing floodwaters

https://twitter.com/vicsesnews/status/1582179747773444096

Rochester residents are also being warned the town's sewerage system has been damaged by the flooding, and may take up to eight weeks to be fixed.

Over the past 24 hours the state's SES have conducted 130 flood rescues, with predictions some rivers, such as the Goulburn, will stay at major floods levels until Friday at least.

Today 250 beds at the Mickleham quarantine facility will be opened to house evacuated residents across Victoria.

The site has capacity to expand to 500 beds.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said "only a handful" of flood victims were at the Mickleham quarantine facility in Melbourne's north.

"There are four people there already," Andrews said.

"We have had a number of other people who have expressed an interest to move there.

"I think more and more, with the passage of time, people process that practical reality that they're perhaps not going to be able to get back into their house for quite some time."

READ MORE: Victorians impacted by floodwaters eligible for emergency payments

Homes deemed 'unsaveable' amid frantic rush to save Echuca

More heavy rain is expected to fall in the coming days as a low pressure system moves over the east coast.

The heaviest rain is expected to fall on Sunday. 

The town of Echuca is bracing for a second flood peak with the Murray River already experiencing significant flooding.

"River levels at Echuca Wharf may reach levels higher than the 1993 flood (94.77 m AHD) from Friday," the Bureau warned.

"As this flood water moves downstream, river level rises and significant major flooding is expected at Torrumbarry and Barham."

Locals have worked overnight to build a 2.5 kilometre clay levee, and walls of sandbags are lining the streets.

Despite the efforts, Today reporter Izabella Staskowski said some homes have still been deemed "unsaveable".

"They are on the other side of the levee," she explained.

"They've had to accept those homes are very likely to be inundated."

The town is surrounded by three river systems; the Murray, the Goulburn and Campaspe.

"The Campaspe and the Goulburn have already broken their banks," Staskowski said.

"The Campaspe has started to subside ever so slightly but the Murray is the incoming threat."

Kerang could be isolated for two weeks

Victoria's emergency measures commissioner Andrew Crisp has told reporters that the Kerang community could remain isolated for weeks.

"We know the community could be isolated for one to two weeks," he said.

https://twitter.com/vicemergency/status/1582242605131177984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1582242605131177984%7Ctwgr%5E50d239433cbc5de18b0db6dfdf49ab1577ee3327%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fnews%2F2022-10-18%2Fflood-live-updates-victoria-nsw-tasmania-latest%2F101545312

Kerang is located on the Loddon River in northern Victoria.

Residents have been told today to decide if they are leaving or staying as meat is stripped from the shelves at the local Woolworths.

The township was cut off in the 2011 floods and it's expected to happen again.

Evacuation orders remain in part of Shepparton

Shepparton is still awash with water, with people in some areas stuck due to floodwaters, and Vic Emergency advising them it is too late to leave the areas.

Some parts of Shepparton have remained untouched by the floods, but many residents have lost everything.

Hundreds of people are camping out at the relief centre at Shepparton Showgrounds, which has reached capacity.

READ MORE: UK Prime Minister Liz Truss under pressure after historic tax cut U-turn

Andrews has announced a $351 million flood recovery package to help the state's recovery.

Of this, $165 million will be dedicated to road repairs, as hundreds of roads have had concrete torn from the ground by raging flood water.

Andrews yesterday said 359 roads were closed across the state due to damage or flooding, while crews had already 10,000 potholes and attended to 20 landslides since the flooding began late last week.

"Getting hundreds of roads fixed and reopened is going to be a massive job – so we're calling in reinforcements," he said.

"As part of a massive emergency road repair blitz, workers from our Big Build projects will be heading out across the state.

"They'll find and fix potholes, and entirely rebuild roads and bridges.

"Getting these roads back open is critical for people heading home after evacuating, and getting freight moving around the state."

Floods 'likely to push up the cost of living'

Treasurer Jim Chalmers yesterday warned the floods would put further pressure on grocery prices, stretching Australian budgets.

"I think we need to brace ourselves for the impact of these natural disasters on the cost of living, we're talking here about some of the best growing and producing country in Australia," he said, adding it would have consequences for the budget, set to be handed down next Tuesday.

"These are likely to push up the cost of living when Australians are already under the pump."

The warning comes as New South Wales and Tasmania also grapple with flooding of their own.

NSW SES currently has 70 warnings across the state. Of these, seven are at emergency level.

READ MORE: The Bureau of Meteorology wants you to stop calling them by the name everyone uses

"Flooding continues in western and southern NSW, with focus currently on Murray River community Moama and communities that may be affected by further rain," it said in a statement.

"Another low-pressure system is forecast from Wednesday this week and another one on the weekend.

"Given current flooding, saturated catchments, this weather will exacerbate current flooding, and multiple rivers are anticipated to see renewed minor to major flooding.

"Further rainfall is likely to continue until December."

The ADF has been called in to help flood victims in NSW,.

A total of 180 personnel will be sent into at-risk communities, particularly in the western regions of NSW.

The main focus for firefighters is on the Moama region, where the RFS has set up two base camps that will accommodate 550 people.

While the flood threat is subsiding in Tasmania, the BoM has issued several flood warnings .

Residents can stay across updates here. 

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A food entertainer's campaign of "tremendous ferocity and insult" towards a rival Instagram identity has cost him more than $300,000.

In the first matter to proceed to trial under reformed defamation law, the NSW District Court found Fouad Najem caused serious harm to a man he'd never met by falsely calling him, among other things, a pedophile and racist.

Issac Martin – a 31-year-old known as Sir Eats-A-Lot to his 300,000 Instagram followers – said the posts left him turning down jobs and avoiding certain areas of Sydney out of fear he would be assaulted.

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"The extreme nature of the allegations is an important factor," Judge Judith Gibson said on Monday.

"There are few more hated criminals in Australia than paedophiles. They are not even safe in gaol. To call a person a paedophile is at or near the top of the list of serious allegations. Allegations of being a racist are repugnant, but not in the same class."

Najem denied his four videos from April had the capacity to convey the meanings alleged or that they caused serious harm but raised no substantive defences, the court said.

While represented in pre-trial matters, he did not serve any evidence or attend the trial to defend the allegations.

In one video, using images of Martin's promotional work for the NRL Indigenous All Stars match, the plaintiff was called a "pedo dog" and a racist dog whose habit is "attacking Muslims" and who "hates multiculturalism", the court was told.

Gibson said the "most disturbing aspect" of the "campaign of tremendous ferocity and insult" was Najem's call-to-arms to supporters, insulting Martin and his wife in such a manner as to dehumanise him.

Najem directly contacted Martin to tell him he was "going to end (him)" and then told followers "I WANT EVERYONE TROLLING THIS C—"

"This is the pedagogy of hate," the judge said.

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Finding Najem's motivation was to discredit a competitor and strong evidence of an extensive grapevine effect, Gibson said Najem's repetition of the claims as recently as October 9 could amount to serious harm in itself.

Martin complained to police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre in April before deciding to sue for defamation over the most severe statements.

"When the police system didn't work for us, I felt civil action was my last option to both restore my reputation (and) protect my family from such unnecessary attacks online," Martin told AAP.

"To this date, no apology has ever been afforded to myself or my wife for the vile abuse and harassment he continued to share.

"I'm not sure he himself accepts that what he's done is wrong yet."

Martin said he struggled to cope with it as an adult and was concerned children had to deal with this type of behaviour daily.

"The argument it 'wasn't that bad' isn't good enough, because it wasn't that bad until it was," he said.

The court did not name Najem's accounts so as to not draw further eyes to the claims that are "so sensational, abusive and profane that they should not be reproduced without the most compelling reasons".

READ MORE: BoM asks to stop calling them by its known name

Martin was awarded $306,656 in damages, including aggravated damages and interest. Najem was also permanently restrained from repeating the claims.

The case is the first to proceed to trial since Australian defamation laws were reformed to weed out cases where legal costs outweighed damages. Plaintiffs are now required to show their reputation has suffered serious harm.

Israel's prime minister has issued a scathing rebuke of Australia after Foreign Minister Penny Wong formally reversed the previous government's recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital.

Australia's ambassador has also been summoned by the Israeli government following the decision.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid labelled the move "hasty" and said the Australian government's handling of it was unprofessional.

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"In light of the way this decision was made in Australia, as a hasty response to an incorrect report in the media, we can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally," he said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

"Jerusalem is the eternal and united capital of Israel and nothing will ever change that."

Earlier on Tuesday, Wong reiterated Australia is committed to a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist.

"We will not support an approach that undermines this prospect," she said today.

"Australia's embassy has always been, and remains, in Tel Aviv."

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She reiterated Australia remained a steadfast supporter of Israel and an "equally unwavering" supporter of the Palestinian people.

The Morrison government recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2018, following a similar decision from the Trump administration in America.

Today Wong criticised the former government's motivations in recognising Jerusalem.

"You know what this was? This was a cynical ploy, unsuccessful, to win the seat of Wentworth in a by-election," she said.

READ MORE: Towns could be cut off for a week as thousands flee Victoria floods

Wentworth, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, has one of the largest Jewish populations of any electorate in Australia.

In spite of the recognition of Jerusalem in 2018, Australia's embassy remained in Tel Aviv.

Israel considers Jerusalem to be its capital, though the city remains the focal point of conflict because of its religious significance to Jewish, Muslim and Christian people.

Wong noted that Australia was one of the first countries to recognise Israel in 1948, and that it was a Labor prime minister, Ben Chifley, who did so.

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A mother desperately screamed "please don't let my baby die" after accused killer Lucy Letby allegedly injected the newborn with a fatal dose of air, a UK court has heard.

Letby, a former nurse, is charged with murdering seven babies and attempting to murder another 10 between 2015 and 2016 at Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester.

Her trial has now entered its sixth day, with a jury hearing evidence relating to the nurse's first two alleged victims – a set of twins born in early 2015, according to the BBC.

READ MORE: Warning towns could be cut off for a week as thousands flee Victoria

Letby is accused of injecting "an excess amount of air into the bloodstream" of Child A – which proved fatal – and then attempting to murder his sister, Child B, the same way the a day after.

Manchester Crown Court heard that the twins' parents were both told "you need to come quick" by a staff member at the hospital after Child A suffered a "sudden collapse" hours after his birth.

The baby's mother was then heard screaming: "Please don't let my baby die, please don't let my baby die."

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But despite doctors' efforts, the one-day-old boy couldn't be saved.

His parents never got to hold him alive.

The next day, Child B suffered a similar collapse to her brother, also while Letby was on duty.

"Not my baby, not again," the mother was heard saying.

Both parents rushed to the neonatal unit where a nurse told them Child B had stabilised, but the incident was a "very similar situation" to the day before.

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Child B's skin was found very discoloured and mottled, which one consultant said they "had never seen before".

Letby's trial is expected to last weeks, if not months.

Police launched an investigation into the deaths of a number of babies at the hospital in May 2017.

Letby was arrested three times in connection with the deaths before she was charged in November 2020.

Letby has pleaded not guilty to the charges.