Australian news and politics live updates: PM announces 13 weeks pay for ex-tropical cyclone Alfred victims

Now to some grim news from New South Wales, with police saying they have found a body in the search for a 34-year-old fisherman swept off the rocks on the South Coast on Friday.

Emergency services were called to a spot about 5km from Boyds Tower at Edrom, south of Eden, on Friday night at 5.10pm.

Police scoured the area for a few hours until fading light forced them to call off the search.

At 10.15am today police divers found a body in Leather Jacket Bay, not far from where the man was last seen.

A NSW police spokesperson said they believed the body was that of the missing 34-year-old.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Nationals leader David Littleproud said the Coalition was buoyed by swings in seats along Perth’s outskirts in the WA election result.

“I think there is a contest and there are green shoots,” he told Sky News on Monday.

“I think the question that West Australians will ask themselves once they divorced themselves of the State Election and looked towards the Federal Election is — do they feel better off after three years of Albanese?

“And will they feel better off if Anthony Albanese, Adam Brandt and a merriment of independents are running this country?

“There’s only two choices to be made. A minority Labor government or a Coalition government.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned the extreme weather event impacting eastern Australia is “far from over” and urged the public not to be complacent in the aftermath of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Speaking in Lismore, one of the worst impacted areas, Mr Albanese offered more details about economic relief for those who have lost their income or suffered property damage, and urged insurance companies to “do the right thing.”

“From 2pm on Tuesday, eligible workers and sole traders in South East Queensland and New South Wales who’ve lost income as a direct result of ex tropical cyclone Alfred will be able to access up to 13 weeks of income support, said Mr Albanese.

People can check on their eligibility by logging in to the myGov or the Services Australia website.

“The disaster recovery allowance is a solely commonwealth funded allowance and provides up to 13 weeks of income support at the jobseeker level to individuals who work in the local government areas impacted,” he said.

A personal hardship assistance scheme will also be activated for impacted residents in the Logan, Gold Coast City and Redlands city council areas to cover emergency costs, replacement of household goods and reconnections of services.

Residents can check their eligibility and apply by www.qld.gov.au/disasterhelp or calling the community recovery hotline, 1800 173 349.

Mr Albanese also urged insurance companies to “do the right thing” in the aftermath of the flooding.

“They have a social license, and people expect them to make payments in a speedy and effective way when they are due,” he said.

“This is a time where insurance companies can restore some of their reputation with the public by acting speedily, and we expect them to do so.”

The Government would be “give consideration” to further measures if insurance companies did not step up, cautioned the Prime Minister.

He also praised the “extraordinary work” of the ADF, the emergency services, public servants and community in responding to the disaster.

Peter Dutton has conceded the WA Liberal party will need a “couple of elections” to recover from the 2021 election massacre by former State Labor leader Mark McGowan.

The opposition leader said while swings were encouraging at the WA election on Saturday — particularly in outer suburban and regional areas — it wasn’t enough of a correction to rebuild against the pandemic-era red wave.

“In any normal circumstance, talking about 12 or 20 per cent swings in seats would be recorded as a massive landslide,” Mr Dutton told breakfast TV on Monday.

“But of course, it comes off the back of the absolute massacre that was the McGowan effect. There will be a couple of elections to recover from that for the WA Liberal Party.”

Read the full story here.

Travellers are slowly beginning to trickle in on flights to the Gold Coast and Brisbane as the airports opened for business on Monday after Cyclone Alfred.

Gold Coast Airport reopened to the public on Sunday with limted flights scheduled for Monday following a three-day closure in response to Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Queensland Airports Limited Chief Operating Officer Marion Charlton thanked her teams and the wider airport community for responding quickly to get the airport ready for reopening as soon as weather conditions allowed.

“As soon as it was safe, our teams returned to inspect the aerodrome, apron, and airport precinct to ensure we can safely resume operations once weather conditions improve tomorrow,” Ms Charlton said.

“With the region now entering the recovery phase, it is essential for us to reopen as quickly as possible, not only for passengers but also to provide critical access for emergency services and support agencies, including the Australian Defence Force.

“There will likely be some disruptions to scheduled services, so we encourage passengers to continue to monitor the status of their flight via their airline before heading to the airport. For anyone driving to and from the airport, please be careful on the roads.

“We appreciate the patience of our passengers and airline partners and look forward to reopening to the travelling public.”

As Round 2 of the NRL approaches this weekend, the Gold Coast Titans have had to relocate after their training facilities were engulfed by flood waters in the wake of Cyclone Alfred.

CEO Steve Mitchell said the team will be ready to play their first game of the season and are “eager to make the Titans communities from Logan to Lismore proud this weekend”.

“For many people on the Coast and across our region, the last few days have been challenging to say the least as families have dealt with the rain and winds that have battered their homes,’ Mitchell said.

“First and foremost, our thoughts as a club are for those across our region that are doing it tough as a result of this weather event and immense rainfall that has followed.

“Like many, we have had significant damage to our facilities as well and that means we need to change how we operate while we also mop up the damage.

“Working with our players, staff and their families, we first needed to check on the welfare of our people to make sure they were ok, and we’ve offered our support to those who need it most.

“With our high performance centre unusable for training this week, we will send our team to Sydney early to ensure they can properly prepare for our first game of the season this Sunday against the Bulldogs at Belmore.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has told Sky News he is trapped at home by floodwaters caused by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.

Mr Dutton, whose Brisbane seat of Dickson is right in the path of the severe weather, says his home is safe but the water is up and over his front gate.

“There’s been a hell of a lot of rain overnight... and it’s no less shocking than what we see in other parts of northern NSW and the Gold Coast, etc which have all received this downpour,” he said.

“Hopefully it recedes quickly but at the moment a few of us are trapped at home including ourselves.

“Fortunately our house is fine, but the water’s up over our front gate so that’s the reality at the moment and the emergency service workers, the council workers are doing an amazing job but a lot of families, a lot of businesses who are really heavily impacted again this morning.”

Mr Dutton also said the “phenomenal” winds kept he and his family awake overnight.

Australia is to send its military envoy to NATO to top level talks in Paris on Tuesday to discuss future assistance to Ukraine, Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed on Tuesday.

Air Vice-Marshal Di Turton will attend a meeting convened by French President Emmanuel Macron for military chiefs of staff whose nations are ready to offer Ukraine military support after any peace deal ending the war with Russia.

“We will be listening to what is being talked about in terms of the potential scenarios and planning for Ukraine,” Mr Marles told ABC Radio National Breakfast.

“Right now, that’s in a sense the request of us, is to participate in planning meetings and planning for eventual scenarios in Ukraine,” he added.

“We don’t as yet have a request for boots on the ground in respect of any peacekeeping operation, most obviously, because at this moment there’s not a peace to keep.”

Read the full story here.

The NSW SES have delivered another bleak picture as the deluge from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred continues to hammer residents on the north coast.

“Approximately 10,200 people, or 4500 dwellings, are currently under emergency warnings across the state,” said SES spokesperson Damian Johnson on Monday.

“There is also approximately 1800 residents isolated.

“They might be isolated from food supplies, from medicines and other essential requirements.

“We understand the community’s urgency with getting back into their homes and we want to make sure we can do that as soon as possible.

“We are working quickly to remove warnings so it safe to do so.”

Canada has a new Prime Minister after a former central banker was elected in a landslide victory to take control of the Liberal Party from Justin Trudeau.

Mark Carney will become Canada’s next PM after the governing Liberals elected him as their leader on Sunday.

Carney, 59, replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January but remains PM until his successor is sworn in in the coming days.

Carney won in a landslide, with 85.9 per cent of the party room vote.

Read the full story here.