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

NSW SES has been inundated with calls for help during the last 24 hours, with more than 1023 incidents reported including 339 flood rescues.

“Currently, 140 warnings are active for the state, with multiple communities now isolated,” NSW SES wrote on X.

“We urge everyone to stay informed, as the situation is changing rapidly.”

Call 132 500 for emergency help in floods and storms. Call 000 for life-threatening emergencies.

A second man has died as catastrophic floods grip NSW, while two others remain missing.

NSW Police said a body, believed to be that of a missing man in his 30s, was recovered from floodwaters on the Mid North Coast.

Police and emergency services were called to the intersection of the Oxley Highway and Huntingdon Road near Rosewood, about 4km west of Wauchope, following reports a man had become stuck in floodwater while driving about 8.50pm yesterday.

Emergency services searched but were unable to find the man or the vehicle, police said in a statement.

“The search resumed this morning, and the body of a man was located near Rosewood about 8am,” NSW police said.

“While the body is yet to be formally identified, it is believed to be that of the missing man, aged in his 30s.”

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the man’s death continue and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Read more about the NSW floods here.

Acting PM Richard Marles has declared Labor will be getting on with the job as the Liberals and Nationals are “completely consumed with themselves” amid the on-again, off-again Coalition agreement.

“What we are seeing here is the Coalition completely obsessed with themselves,” he told reporters while speaking in Brisbane at a TAFE announcement on Thursday.

“There is literally a news story every day when it comes to what is happening in relation to the Coalition. Ultimately, that is a matter for them. Our focus is going to be on the Australian people.

“You can watch the Coalition be completely consumed by themselves.

“The Coalition no doubt will be focused on themselves but the Albanese Government is going to be focused on delivering for Australian people.”

His comments come after Nationals leader David Littleproud announced the Coalition divorce was on ice 48 hours after he walked away from the long-term partnership.

Mr Littleproud and new Liberal Leader Sussan Ley have both paused their ministerial and spokesperson announcements to go back to the drawing board.

Ms Ley is expected to hold a party room meeting, although virtual for those not in Canberra, to revisit discussions around four key policies the Nationals wanted assurances on.

Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will recall Parliament at the end of July after securing a second term at the Federal Election.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Prime Minister said he had informed Governor-General Sam Mostyn the 48th Australian parliament would resume on July 22.

It allows MPs and Senators a more than 11-week break after Labor’s election victory on May 3.

“The Government is humbled by the support of the Australian people,” the PM said in a statement.

“I look forward to advancing the Government’s legislative agenda over the coming Parliamentary term.

“The reform program we took to the election was shaped by the priorities of the Australian people.”

His written statement comes after the PM told reporters on Wednesday while exiting the National Press Club that he would be having “a couple days off” after returning from his first international trip.

Emergency services announced on Thursday morning that three people were missing, with grave concerns for their welfare.

A woman is missing after her 4WD was trapped in floodwaters on Morora Road, Brooklana, west of Coffs Harbour, on Wednesday night; her vehicle was found this morning, but emergency crews are still working to access it.

In a separate incident, a man failed to return home after walking near a flooded roadway at Nymboida, south of Grafton, also on Wednesday night. Both searches were suspended overnight due to dangerous conditions but resumed this morning with the help of police, SES, RFS, and Fire & Rescue NSW.

Authorities continue to search for both missing people as floodwaters hamper rescue efforts.

While the third person, a woman who went missing in Lismore, was located.

Nationals former leader Barnaby Joyce has described the splitting and now potentially making up relationship of the Coalition as a “bit of a bouncing ball”.

Mr Littleproud had on Tuesday sensationally announced the party wouldn’t sign on to the Coalition agreement post-election, miffed they didn’t have guarantees on their four key desired policies.

The Member for New England told Sky News he hoped issues holding them apart “get resolved” in talks underway on Thursday afternoon.

“It seems to be a bit of a bouncing ball,” he said.

“I hope that things get resolved. Why would you hope for a less than… (an) effective capacity to hold the government to account, and, to be quite frank, chaos?

Mr Joyce was asked about how the decision to split unfolded and whether Mr Littleproud didn’t put the issue out to a secret ballot.

Mr Joyce remained tight-lipped on how the party landed on the historic decision, adding that: “Obviously in conversations, people have a retrospective and discussion about it”.

“But I don’t want to dwell on that space.”

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has admitted there were “mistakes” in the nuclear policy that the Coalition put up at the election and it would need to be reviewed.

The nuclear policy is one of the four key policy demands the Nationals have blamed for their decision to walk away from the Coalition agreement on Tuesday.

Mr Littleproud wanted assurances that they wouldn’t be axed but new Liberal leader Sussan Ley couldn’t guarantee, saying all policies needed to be on the table in a post-election review.

While announcing that Coalition’s split was on ice on Thursday as reuniting talks continue, Mr Littleproud was asked about the policy.

He said the Coalition didn’t do a good enough job selling the nuclear policy and the party needed to “pivot in terms of what that looks like”.

“We weren’t good enough at selling that we got to put your hand up and acknowledge your mistakes,” he said.

“But what you’ve got to be able to do is say… ‘do we pivot in terms of what that looks like? And how do we roll that out?

“I think what you’ve got to do is you’ve also got to be pragmatic.”

He labelled the Labor party as “masters” at scare campaigns and accused them of inflating costing figures for the severn nuclear reactors planned under the Coalition nuclear policy.

“The scare campaigns of the Labor Party run are brilliant. They’re masters at it,” he said.

“They don’t have a lot in policy depth, but they’re very good at scare campaigns.

“I think the $600 billion perpetrated lie by Anthony Albanese, predicated on the Smart Energy Council Report, who donates to the Labor Party and who are funded by those who get money from renewable energy didn’t and shouldn’t have been used in a way that was weaponised.”

Two people are reportedly dead and Israeli embassy officials have been injured after a shooting outside a Jewish museum in the United States.

The shooting occurred outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC on Wednesday night, which was hosting an event at the time.

Local media have reported that a man and a woman are dead, however, police are yet to confirm details about the reported fatalities.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi travelled to the scene in the minutes after the shooting.

“I am on the scene of the horrible shooting outside the Washington, DC Capital Jewish Museum with @USAttyPirro.,” she wrote on X.

“Praying for the victims of this violence as we work to learn more.”

Initial reports suggest an Israeli diplomat may be one of the fatalities.

Read the full story here.

NSW SES Commissioner Michael Wassing says authorities are desperately looking for multiple people who have gone missing in floodwater.

It comes after one man was found dead in inside a home at Moto, north of Taree, on Wednesday afternoon.

“I also do want to acknowledge the tragic passing of a local in Moto, a local gentleman in Moto who was found passed away at his residence. It was in floodwaters,” Mr Wassing said.

“Circumstances associated with that are currently under investigation coordinated by the police service, so I can’t really provide too much further detail associated with that.

“We are also very that particularly overnight, we had a number of events. We do have other active rescues that may see potentially bad news further associated with what is a very significant event.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns is speaking at a press conference for the second time on Thursday as the flood crisis worsens on the Mid North Coast, with indications the rain will worsen further south toward the Hunter and Central Coast.

Mr Minns warned the community that “we’re seeing levels of rise in local tributaries, creeks, rivers, that we haven’t seen since 1920,” with many residents experiencing unprecedented flooding.

Mr Minns revealed that in the past 48 hours, 34 emergency warnings have been issued and 500 rescues carried out, with about 30 per cent of those due to people driving through floodwaters.

He added that while emergency services are working at full capacity, the intense rain is expected to move south around midnight tonight.

“That does not mean that the chances of localised (flooding) have been eliminated. In fact, some of the river networks that have hit their peak may continue to rise even if the intense rainfall moves further south,” he said.

“Moving further south means that communities down in this end, Maitland area and further closer to the Pacific Ocean, will experience perhaps isolation and perhaps Emergency warnings.”

He urged people in flood zones to “listen to emergency services” and follow evacuation or isolation orders, stressing that “it’s never OK to drive through floodwaters.”