Australian news and politics live: Coalition split may end quickly as Nationals and Liberals open peace talks

The Coalition split may be short-lived, with Nationals leader David Littleproud confirming on Thursday he’s been in ongoing talks with Liberal leader Sussan Ley to broker a peace deal.

Mr Lilttleproud confirmed the two have met in Canberra today and said it was “a positive step” that Ms Ley agreed to reconvene her party room to discuss the four key policy principles that the Nationals demanded.

Ms Ley was expected to announce her Liberal-only shadow cabinet and Mr Littleproud his party spokespersons today, however, it’s been put on hold as they pair open the door to reuniting.

Mr Littleproud announced on Tuesday he would walk away from the agreement without the four policies etched into a renewed Coalition agreement. Ms Ley had refused to make preliminary assurances before a full review of the election loss and of all policies was conducted.

Australia’s banks are rolling out disaster relief measures as flood damage mounts across the Hunter and Mid-North Coast, with affected customers now able to apply for financial assistance.

Australian Banking Association chief Anna Bligh said banks are “making sure financial support is available to customers should they need it.”

She urged anyone experiencing financial stress due to the floods to contact their bank to discuss support options, adding, “This doesn’t have to be today, it could be in the next few weeks or months as recovery efforts get underway.”

Assistance may include deferrals of loan or credit card repayments, waiving or refunding fees, restructuring loans, increasing credit limits, temporary overdrafts, or extra finance for cash flow needs.

The ABA encouraged customers to reach out as soon as they need help.

Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain has been asked again if the Prime Minister or other Labor MPs will be visiting flood-affected areas.

Reporter: “Have you received word on whether the PM or other MPs will be going to the flood-affected areas?”

Minister McBain: “At this stage, we’ve got a disaster unfolding. Our focus right now is on that immediate response phase and assisting people that need evacuation.

“We don’t want to take any resources away from where they’re required.

“I’ve spoken to the Prime Minister last night and again this morning about that.

“I know that the Premier and he have had conversations as well.

“I’ll head up to that area very shortly. But at this stage, we won’t be going anywhere near those rescue zones.”

Ms McBain said she had also been speaking with her New South Wales counterpart.

Health Minister Mark Butler says Australia’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have marked a new 1.5 million-visit milestone.

The clinics are bulk-billed medical centres established to provide free, walk-in care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions to ease pressure on hospital emergency departments.

Speaking at Adelaide’s Western Medicare Urgent Care Clinic on Thursday, Mr Butler said an interim report of the evaluation of the clinics had found that nearly half of all attending patients would have gone to a hospital ED if they weren’t available.

“In two short years, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have become a vital part of Australia’s health system and clocked up 1.5 million free visits. By July next year, another 50 Urgent Care Clinics will open,” he said.

Ms McBain says climate change is having a big impact on natural disasters amid the NSW floods.

Speaking in the National Situation Room, Ms McBain said Australia was seeing more “devastating events”, “more frequently”.

“I don’t think that there is a question out there that climate change is having a significant impact on weather events right across the world. In Australia, here, we’re not immune to that,” she said.

“We’re seeing more devastating events like this happen more frequently. We came to Government in 2022 saying that we have to work more on disaster mitigation and resilience, which is why we put in place… the Disaster Ready Fund.”

Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain says the Federal Government has enacted the Disaster Recovery Allowance in response to the deadly NSW floods.

It comes after Commonwealth disaster recovery payments had been made available for 16 local government areas so far.

“Today I’ve enacted the Disaster Recovery Allowance to look initially at four Local Government Areas, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Dungog and the Mid Coast Council area,” she said.

“That is to assist people who have been impacted with up to 13 weeks’ allowance in lieu of them being able to undertake their usual course of employment.”

Speaking with media in the Canberra-based National Situation Room, Minister McBain was asked how long the Commonwealth disaster recovery payments would be available for, saying: “We are working on that”.

Former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, who led Queensland through the devastating 2011 floods, has told victims to seek support from their banks.

Speaking as the boss of the Australian Banking Association, Ms Bligh said: “I urge anyone who is facing financial stress as a result of this extreme weather event to reach out to their bank and discuss support options.”

“This doesn’t have to be today, it could be in the next few weeks or months as recovery efforts get underway.”

Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain has said a Prime Minister visit to the flood zones on NSW’s Mid North Coast is unlikely until the emergency response eases.

Speaking on breakfast TV on Thursday, Ms McBain said while the Federal Government had begun to roll out disaster recovery payments, they didn’t want to take resources away from the response.

“We don’t want to take any unnecessary resources away from local communities,” she said.

“But we are engaging directly with New South Wales. Both the Prime Minister and I spoke last night, and we’ve been speaking with our New South Wales counterparts.

“At the moment, in this response phase, we want to make sure that all of the resources are looking at where they need to, and that is directly at community. So, there’s no visit plan today.”

Anthony Albanese had said while leaving the National Press Club on Wednesday he was having “a couple days off” after returning from his first international trip.

“I’m going to have a couple of days off now and then… and then I’ll see you next week,” he told reporters as he exited the venue, where Labor’s campaign architect Paul Erickson had delivered the address.

Ironically, Mr Erickson had commended the PM’s hands-on response to the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred at the start of the election, describing it as a key factor that helped shape the public’s perception of Mr Albanese as a decisive and responsive leader.

It’s been revealed NSW State Emergency Service personnel were in contact with a 63-year-old man before he died inside a home at Moto, north of Taree, on Wednesday afternoon.

SES Commissioner Michael Wassing told a press conference on Thursday: “I can’t go into the exact details. But SES had been in contact with that male and police obviously had turned up as soon as his body was discovered.”

He added, “I can’t pre-empt all these things but I understand that there may have been existing medical conditions.”

Commissioner Wassing said a coronial investigation will determine whether floodwaters played a role in the man’s death.

Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain is expected to speak later this morning in the National Situation Room about the ongoing flood risk on NSW’s Mid North Coast.

The floods have turned deadly with the body of a man found in Taree on Thursday morning.

Ms McBain told breakfast TV that Taree was “copping it the worst” with more rain on the way.

“Taree is obviously the area that’s copping at the worst at the moment, and we don’t want to see those record flood levels being broken, but unfortunately, that’s what we’re seeing,” she said.

“We need to make sure our communities are heeding those emergency service warnings from local radio and from family and friends, and make sure that we are evacuating as soon as possible.”

Ms McBain said while the flood response was mostly in the hands of the NSW authorities, Commonwealth disaster recovery payments had been made available for 16 local government areas so far and Australian Defence Force members would be deployed for search and rescue. It will include night time capability if required.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told a press conference on Thursday there were 140 active flood warnings for the area roughly 50,000 people lived in and at least 9500 properties deemed in the “direct vicinity” of the flood waters.