‘My whole life I have learnt to mask the impact of my disabilities.’

The weather bureau issued a major flood alert for a rural village at 9.07am, warning of very high river levels in the afternoon.

About 17 minutes later, the village of Eugowra, in central western NSW, was hit by a destructive flash flood described by survivors as a "wall of water" or an "inland tsunami".

Lifelong resident Diane Smith, 60, and Ljubisa "Les" Vugec, 85, died in the disaster on November 14, 2022, which also resulted in 124 helicopter rescues as locals clung to trees or perched on roofs to survive.

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The vast majority of houses in the village, which has a population of 800, were damaged or destroyed when the Mandagery Creek peaked at 11.02 metres.

An inquest is examining the deaths of Smith and Vugec, along with the lead-up to the disaster, the weather warnings and the scale of the emergency response.

Matthew Collopy, a senior manager from the Bureau of Meteorology, today defended the agency's flood warning that morning as "clear and timely".

The warning issued just before the water rose said creek levels "may reach" 10.5m, leaving room for the possibility of further rises, Collopy said.

The experienced meteorologist, who manages the national warning system from Brisbane, said the flood advice was based on all available data from rain and river gauges, satellites and weather radars.

The bureau did not know until later that two gauges upstream at Toogong and Smithfield had been damaged and were not transmitting data.

There were also no instruments at the creek in the village, he said.

"It should be pointed out that we did not have any data information coming from Eugowra town," Collopy told the inquest at Orange courthouse today.

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There were up to six meteorologists working on the bureau's flood desk the night before the disaster, at a time when there were 43 warnings across Australia and 14 in NSW, the inquest was told.

The Mandagery Creek has since been prioritised for a telemetric gauge under a 10-year federal government program.

Collopy said the telemetric gauge could improve flood warnings, but it was awaiting various state and federal planning approvals.

When Deputy State Coroner David O'Neil questioned the "tardiness" of installing the gauge, Collopy said there were 10,000 flood warning instruments across Australia and only a third were overseen by the bureau.

He said the federal program to upgrade warning systems was a "once in a generation" opportunity.

"Without that funding and efforts, it's been very difficult for the bureau and other agencies to upgrade and maintain this very large network," Collopy told the coroner.

Water NSW maintained the upstream gauges.

Senior technician Andrew Cutler told the inquest it was an ongoing effort to make equipment as robust as possible to withstand extreme weather.

"If we had the budget, we would have started yesterday," Cutler said.

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Ahead of Australia's bushfire season, a landmark report has found bad wildfires are becoming more likely, more severe and burning far more land than they otherwise would have due to climate change.

The second annual State of Wildfires report, released this morning, has painted a bleak picture of the extreme natural disasters at home and abroad.

Researchers from more than 20 countries examined the causes and impacts of bushfires across the planet between March 2024 and February 2025.

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"Our study revealed that an area totalling 3.7 million square kilometres – which is a land area larger than India – was burnt by wildfires globally," Australian co-lead author Dr Hamish Clarke, from the University of Melbourne, said.

"We are witnessing the effects of climate change play out across our world on an extreme scale. 

"Not only is a warming planet creating more dangerous fire-prone weather conditions, but it is also influencing how vegetation grows, dries out and provides fuel for the fires to spread."

The report found 100 million people were affected by fires over the research period, including 200 who were killed by the blazes, and that $US215 billion ($330 billion) worth of homes and infrastructure were put at risk.

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Researchers also concluded that human-caused climate change had made the massive Los Angeles fires 25 times larger than they would have otherwise been, and ravaging blazes in South America's Pantanal-Chiquitano region 35 times bigger.

The impacts also extended to Australia.

"This included over 1000 large fires that burnt around 470,000 hectares in Western Australia, over 5 million hectares burnt in central Australia and major fires around Mount Isa with substantial smoke impacts," Australian co-lead author Dr Sarah Harris, from Victoria's Country Fire Authority, said.

"Here in Victoria, the Grampians National Park saw two-thirds of its park area burned, and the Little Desert fire burned 90,000 hectares in under eight hours."

While the report warned that future bushfires are likely to get even worse due to the warming planet, the authors also said it was possible to take action to avoid the worst outcomes.

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"While the future looks challenging, the report emphasises that it's not too late to act," Clarke said.

"Firstly, we need to take much stronger and faster climate action, including cutting fossil fuel emissions and reducing deforestation and land clearing. 

"Beyond that, there are many things we can do to prepare for and respond to fire risk, from vegetation management to householder preparation and supporting short and long-term disaster recovery.

"As Australia approaches yet another fire season, this global perspective serves as a stark reminder of the interconnected nature of our climate crisis and the urgent need for coordinated global action, bold commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions rapidly this decade."

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Landmark domestic violence legislation has been unveiled in New South Wales, ensuring offenders who murder their partners face the toughest laws in the nation.

The reform comes on the back of tireless campaigning from Tabitha Acret after her daughter, Mackenzie Anderson, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

He received a non-parole period of just 15 and a half years.

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"I hope that she'd be proud, because as a mum, there's a sense of such disappointment that I didn't keep her safe. And that's your job as a mum, and I didn't do it," Acret said.

She began relentlessly lobbying the state government after fearing that the sentence that her daughter's killer received would set a precedent for even lower sentences.

"That's when I thought, this is the norm? This is horrific," she said.

Today, her campaigning paid off as NSW introduced the strictest domestic violence laws in the country.

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The state will be the first to legislate a standard non-parole period of 25 years for "intimate partner homicide" – or domestic violence murder – up from the previous 20.

Although the periods are not mandatory, the law will give judges more discretion to set higher minimum non-parole terms.

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"It won't return a murdered loved one to their family, but justice is important," Premier Chris Minns said.

In the past five years alone, 42 women have been murdered by their partner in NSW.

In 2023, the average non-parole period for those killers was just 13 and a half years.

Tyrone Thompson breached an Apprehended Violence Order at least eight times before killing Anderson.

Acret says it should have attracted a mandatory minimum sentence the first time.

"This sends a strong message that AVOs are worth the paper they're written on, because the moment they're not," she said.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

CCTV footage has shown the moment a woman was randomly stabbed in broad daylight while walking to work at a sushi restaurant in Melbourne's CBD. 

The 36-year-old had just left her apartment near the intersection of Little Bourke and Spencer streets about 7.40am on October 2 when she was allegedly stabbed by an unknown woman.

Vision showed the alleged offender running up from behind while holding what appears to be a ball in one hand and a knife in another.

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She is seen stopping in front of the woman and stabbing her, before taking off on foot.

The victim told 9News she felt someone tap her from the back and turned around to be stabbed immediately.

Her lung was punctured, and she collapsed in immense pain, before passersby came to her aid and she was rushed to hospital.

She has since recovered but has been left shaken up by the incident and has moved house.

Her family told 9News the attack should not have happened.

"When we receive a phone call from her working place owner, it's quite confusing and shocked at the same time," her brother-in-law Chia Ting said.

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"It's not right. It should be safe to walk along," her sister Ivana Lai said.

Police have arrested a 32-year-old woman from Melbourne and seized a knife.

She has been charged with two counts of intentionally causing injury and one count of committing an indictable offence whilst on bail.

She faced the Melbourne Magistrates' Court the following day and was remanded in custody.

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Emergency services were called to the scene about 7.15pm.

The owner thought the most humane thing to do would be to let the dogs continue.

Officers searched four Ōpōtiki properties as part of an operation targeting drug dealing.

Investigations are under way into reports that explicit deepfake photos were made using the faces of female high school students in Sydney.

The ABC reported that families alerted police upon learning the digitally altered photos were circulating online, after a male student was sent one of the images and told the school.

NSW Police has confirmed officers in the Ryde area, north-west of the CBD, are investigating the report.

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"Officers attached to Ryde Police Area Command have commenced an investigation," a police spokesperson said.

"Inquiries are ongoing and there is no further information available at this time."

The Department of Education said it is working closely with police and will take action if any student is found to be behind the images.

"Deepfakes present significant new risks to the wellbeing and privacy of students," a department spokesperson said.

"The school is working closely with police on this matter.

"If any student is found to have engaged in this behaviour, the school will be taking strong disciplinary action."

Acting Education Minister Courtney Houssos said the report was "deeply concerning".

"These are deeply concerning reports, and police are investigating this matter as is appropriate. I expect those responsible to face the appropriate consequences," she said.

"I understand the school has support in place for the students affected as well as support for the broader school community.

"As this is an active police investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further."

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NSW tightens laws around deepfakes

Last month, NSW passed legislation to criminalise using artificial intelligence to create intimate images without consent.

It is now punishable by up to three years in jail.

Sharing those images, even if a person has not created them, can also land them in jail for the same amount of time.

The amendments also cracked down on the creation, recording and sharing of sexually explicit audio that is either real or designed to sound like a real person.

Attorney-General Michael Daley said the laws would better protect people, particularly young women, from image-based abuse.

"This bill closes a gap in NSW legislation that leaves women vulnerable to AI-generated sexual exploitation," he said at the time.

"We are ensuring that anyone who seeks to humiliate, intimidate or degrade someone using AI can be prosecuted."

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'Current crisis' for schools and students 

Deepfakes are digitally altered photos, videos or voice recordings of someone that have been edited to falsely depict them. 

Tools to create deepfakes can be exploited to create non-consensual and fake explicit images of a person, with women and girls the most likely targets.

The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, in June said deepfakes are a "current crisis affecting school communities across Australia".

"Students have found their image represented in fake nude photos or videos," the commissioner wrote at the time.

"Others have received AI-generated explicit content of their peers. Entire school communities have been thrown into turmoil – with families, educators, and students unsure how to respond."

Inman Grant added that deepfakes are "increasingly in use" among young people.

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.

Accused maintains he never sexually assaulted anyone, despite his previous convictions.