Australia news live updates: Albanese lays wreath for Queen in London; Barnaby Joyce defends what Labor calls ‘pork-barrelling’ | Anthony Albanese

With that, I will bid farewell so I can make it to the Sydney Cricket Ground, leaving you in Natasha May’s more than capable hands. Go Pies.

NSW’s Burrendong Dam at 131% as floodwaters rise

In New South Wales, the Burrendong Dam, south of Dubbo, has jumped to 131% capacity in two days as high rainfall hits the region.

Yesterday, a caravan park in Dubbo was issued with a snap evacuation order amid rising waters.

Doctors call for cash relief for Northern Rivers healthcare services

Some of Australia’s top medicos have held an emergency summit in flood-ravaged Lismore to call for more help for local health service providers, AAP reports.

The groups, including the Australian Medical Association and the NSW Rural Doctors Network, want immediate cash relief to restore healthcare services in the Northern Rivers region following the destructive floods.

They also used Friday’s summit to call for health services to be dubbed essential services so they can secure fast financial relief after disasters such as floods or bushfires.

Floods in the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury-Nepean regions killed 13 people in NSW in February and March.

In Lismore, pharmacists are living out of caravans and doctors are providing limited services six months after floods devastated the area.

NSW Rural Doctors estimate 10 non-government healthcare businesses have damages exceeding $500,000 and another 15 have slightly lower levels.

That makes grants of $50,000 for small businesses and $200,000 for medium businesses inadequate, the group said.

Acting chief executive Mike Edwards said the summit’s proposal would help keep businesses open as some consider leaving the area.

Flood-affected communities must have access to health services and health professionals. These are essential services.

AFL carnage is starting to heat up ahead of the bounce.

Collingwood fans have descended upon Sydney.

On the hunt for (hundreds more species of ) wishbone spiders

Since the discovery of Australia’s first wishbone spider in 1873, another 45 species of the weirdly fearsome, burrowing arachnid have been identified nationwide.

Yet experts are convinced there may be another hundred of them out there, waiting to be classified.

Queensland Museum Network arachnologist Dr Jeremy Wilson has ambitiously given himself three years to complete the task.

Wishbones inhabit a narrow chute in the soil, the entrance to which is lightly laced with silk which they hope their next meal will become tangled in or tumble through into their lair.

Unlike other trapdoor spiders, though, they construct a second entrance with a lid that becomes an escape route in the event of attack. It’s also thought this passage acts as an air pocket if flooding occurs.

In any event, the two entrances give the burrow a y-shape, like a wishbone.

Having already completed their first field trip into central Queensland, Dr Wilson and his team have uncovered 24 new specimens, eight of which they believe are critical to the study.

The initial goal was to “rediscover” Aname pallida, identified a century and a half ago by renowned German taxonomist Ludwig “Spider” Koch in the since-named Whitsunday region.

Dr Wilson:

This particular spider was first described … around the town of Bowen, so we went searching in several habitats there to try to find it again. We have to understand what the currently known species of wishbone spiders look like so we can recognise new species, that’s why we returned to the location of the first species ever described.

While a number of yet-to-be named members of the genus are Queenslanders, they can be found throughout the continent, most commonly in the drier west.

Accordingly, Dr Wilson will be based at the Western Australian Museum and the University of Western Australia for the final two years of his research.

Joint investigator Dr Michael Rix will stay on at Queensland Museum throughout:

This is an amazing project to be a part of, with a principal aim of performing a complete taxonomic revision of the Australian endemic mygalomorph spider genus Aname. Using molecular sequencing we will be able to study the evolution of the group across Australia, which will be very exciting.

The scientist’s $7.6 million collaboration has been partly funded by BHP.

– From AAP

Teenage girls missing in Sydney’s north-west

Police are appealing for assistance to locate two teenage girls reported missing from Sydney’s north-west.

Clarissa Venter, 13, and Madison Wells, 14, were last seen at a school in Castle Hill about 3pm on Tuesday.

When they couldn’t be contacted, officers from The Hills Police Area Command were notified and commenced inquiries to locate them.

Police hold concerns for Clarissa and Madison’s welfare due to their age; the girls are believed to be together.

Collingwood president hit by Melbourne-Sydney flights delay

Media outlets are reporting Collingwood president Jeff Browne is among those affected by a series of delays and cancellations for some Melbourne to Sydney flights today.

With the bounce for the preliminary clash between Sydney and Collingwood taking place at 4.45pm at the SCG, he’d want to get a hurry on.

Meanwhile, Transport NSW is urging punters to take public transport to Moore Park today, with a crowd of 80,000 expected to make it out for the double header.

Hundreds of carpark spaces are closed in the area due to recent flooding.

Many thanks to Natasha May for keeping us going full steam ahead. I’ll be with you for the next little while.

Wong says Russia must be held responsible for war crimes

Penny Wong, the minister for foreign affairs, has said the discovery of mass civilian burial sites in Ukraine is “horrific”.

In a statement on social media, Wong said:

It is yet more evidence of Russia’s egregious war crimes in Ukraine. Those responsible must be held to account.

We stand with the people of Ukraine against Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion.

Australian Monarchist League welcomes possibility of William and Kate’s visit

Ahead of flying to London for the Queen’s funeral, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed preliminary discussions about the now Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, visiting Australia.

In an interview with British media outlet ITV, Albanese said, “Of course, the royal family have always been welcome visitors here in Australia and they would be again.”

The Australian Monarchist League has welcomed the news, releasing a statement saying:

The Australian Monarchist League is delighted to learn that the Prince and Princess of Wales are proposing to tour Australia in 2023. In the event they are accompanied by their children, it will be the first opportunity for Australians to see Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis on Australian soil.

Their Royal Highnesses last visited Australia in 2014 and had planned to visit in 2020 but this had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. The visit was to enable them to pay particular tribute to bushfire affected communities as they, along with the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, were exceptionally distressed at the death toll, widespread ecological damage, and destruction of homes as a result of Australia’s bushfire crisis as they were for the later widespread and traumatic floods.

The proposed visit for 2023 will provide an opportunity for them to empathise with Australians still affected both by earlier bushfires and the more recent devastating floods.

A royal tour of this nature not only embodies the love that the Crown and the Royal Family have for Australia but affords Australians an opportunity to visibly express their support for the system of constitutional monarchy which so many deeply value as a protection of their freedoms and democracy.

The Australian Monarchist League also wishes to thank the Prime Minister, the Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, for his “standing invitation” to King Charles to visit Australia and trusts that it will not be long before Australians have an opportunity to greet their new King.